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The majority of those persons started out with absolutely nothing. The cousins did get their college paid for and 2 of those people got some family money to set them up, and, of course, the one inherited and then married for more.
Hard work, the right knowledge, networking, sales skills, and leverage.... Leverage your own and other people's (bank) money for ownership - buy income-producing properties, businesses, etc.. Leverage your own and other people's skills (employees) to create/sell products to the market. Oh, and don't trust anyone, have everything in writing...CYA. And have a good accountant / tax attorney.
Working as a greeter at WalMart. $10 an hour from age 18 to 65 works out to just about an even Million. Live at home with mom and dad, and bank every paycheck.
On my birthday, my brother gives me a phone call saying that our mother has agreed to put me in the will. My older sister, who I don't talk to, was good enough to finally convince my mother to include me in the inheritance. Sucker that she is, she wanted all the kids to have an equal portion, despite the fact that she had taken care of my mother for 20 years and really did deserve more.
But that wasn't good enough for me. I conspired with another sister, who I also don't like (but who, like me, knows that the bottom line to life is MONEY!) to whisk my mother out of state and have her sign over power of attorney to me. My sleazeball sister managed to get it into my mother's head that she needed to leave right away because her phone line was being tapped, etc... You'd be amazed at how easily people with Alzheimer's are fooled.
Well the fooling went on as my sister and I took Mom right away to a scumbag attorney, who had everything prepared and which "legally" stated that no one else was to know anything more about her. All information was henceforth private.
Funny thing this business, since I hadn't spoken to my mother in years and years, but here I am in control of 4 to 5 million dollars. So, with that I clear out the CD's our mother had put in the other kids' names and invest heavily in stocks. You see, I'm not content with small, safe gains that typically make sense for older people. I wanted to capitalize on this newly found wealth of "mine".
Well, my a-hole brother contacted the police, social services, and adult protective services. You know what happened?
That's right: nothing.
So, that's how I made my first million.
Oh, by the way. The story is my brother's. I'm the a-hole who just had the opportunity to watch all of this unfold.
On my birthday, my brother gives me a phone call saying that our mother has agreed to put me in the will. My older sister, who I don't talk to, was good enough to finally convince my mother to include me in the inheritance. Sucker that she is, she wanted all the kids to have an equal portion, despite the fact that she had taken care of my mother for 20 years and really did deserve more.
But that wasn't good enough for me. I conspired with another sister, who I also don't like (but who, like me, knows that the bottom line to life is MONEY!) to whisk my mother out of state and have her sign over power of attorney to me. My sleazeball sister managed to get it into my mother's head that she needed to leave right away because her phone line was being tapped, etc... You'd be amazed at how easily people with Alzheimer's are fooled.
Well the fooling went on as my sister and I took Mom right away to a scumbag attorney, who had everything prepared and which "legally" stated that no one else was to know anything more about her. All information was henceforth private.
Funny thing this business, since I hadn't spoken to my mother in years and years, but here I am in control of 4 to 5 million dollars. So, with that I clear out the CD's our mother had put in the other kids' names and invest heavily in stocks. You see, I'm not content with small, safe gains that typically make sense for older people. I wanted to capitalize on this newly found wealth of "mine".
Well, my a-hole brother contacted the police, social services, and adult protective services. You know what happened?
That's right: nothing.
So, that's how I made my first million.
Oh, by the way. The story is my brother's. I'm the a-hole who just had the opportunity to watch all of this unfold.
Bought first property at 21. Sold for $200,000 profit few years later. Invested that.
Bought second property. Sold for $50,000 loss few years later, but did so with a $100,000 sign on bonus from another firm.
Saved the maximum into 401K and IRA every chance you get.
Went into a mix of ibanking / and self employed for a number of years and made > $200K a year by 22/23 years old.
Saved aggressively on that income.
Took a paycut when I left self-employment.
Got a graduate education and took a higher paying job.
Started a small graduate application consulting business.
Lived largely below my means.
Hit $1M net worth at about 31.
Conclusion: luck, hard work, live below your means, save as much as you can, luck, compound interest, some more hard work, lots more luck.
I don't have an answer for a million $$ but there is a common joke in the coffee biz on how to make $100,000: Start with a half million, then open a coffeehouse.
A million dollars is not very much money any more. Even if you could earn 10% on it, which is extremely difficult in this economy, that is only $100,000 a year in income and then once all the taxes are paid on it, you are left with about $50,000 to live on.
$50,000 is barely hanging onto middle class by the skin of your teeth and you'd have to be darn good at budgeting to live any way but austerely on that amount. No yachts, no European vacation, no Lamborghini.
So, OP, I suggest that you aim higher.
If you're making $100k and only netting $50k, you need a new accountant.
me and a friend get asked this alot. then we tell them, then they get angry and begin to argue with us. the problem u see is the eddy murphy school of success does not teach hard skills austerity and small property acquisition for the long run as viable means to achieve wealth. the american mind set-- people are rich bek they are white and lucky. friend, its learn a trade and buy small properties and pay them off. its not house flipping.
its not $180,000 in student loans. its not PhD. its hard work saving money and owning property and not ever selling it. its dodging the marriage divorce merry go round, staying away from the marital industrial complex. its staying clean and sober.
Last edited by Huckleberry3911948; 03-11-2013 at 02:19 PM..
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