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I don't think it's totally random, but I don't think that rich people have some unknown knowledge or quality that allowed them to become rich. Plenty of rich pe

by dlp211 9y ago

I don't think it's totally random, but I don't think that rich people have some unknown knowledge or quality that allowed them to become rich. Plenty of rich people are rich because of circumstance, others, because they were in the right place at the right time with the right knowledge.

WalterBright 9y ago
I saw an episode about this years ago on PBS (Frontline?). They studied 401k investment results at a company where all the employees participated in the same plan, with the same choices. The lower paid employees consistently had much lower investment returns than the higher paid employees. It was pretty clear that the higher paid employees were managing their 401k investments better. In other words, it wasn't random. The company reacted to those results by offering free investment education classes to all employees. What the outcome of that was I don't know. It statistically stands to reason that people who are better at managing money, finance, and investments will accrue more wealth than those who are worse at it.
stinkytaco 9y ago
Or because they were born with it. Or at least born with advantages such as safe neighborhoods, good schools and social capital.
- dlp211 9y ago
  I said many rich people are rich because of circumstance.
  - WalterBright 9y ago
    85% of American millionaires are self-made, i.e. they did not inherit it. "The Millionaire Next Door" by Stanley
    - Mz 9y ago
      I am really enjoying this subthread and I appreciate your contributions to it. I think it is a little of column A and a little of column B. I think a lot of people want to emphasize the luck, happenstance and inheritance angle in part to try to make peace with not being rich themselves. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I am tired of being dirt poor and working so hard at solving my problems, seemingly without ever getting any credit while often feeling like the financial piece never really changes, no matter how much progress I have made. There always seems to be some reason why I am broke anyway. I wish life would give me a break and I end up often feeling like the difference between me and more financially well off people is entirely "luck" (bad luck) that no amount of effort can reverse. On the other hand, I want success that I earned, not some winning lottery ticket. I can't quite figure out if hoping for a break is worse or if wanting to stubbornly do it my damn self is stupidly and pointlessly masochistic. I don't have the answer. I am just trying to say that I have a lot of sympathy for the people who want to claim that rich people were just lucky. Yet, I have worked hard to get healthier and seen results for that while people dismiss that as wild coincidence and get incredibly defensive at the idea that making changes to their life might make a difference. And it gives me the sneaking suspicion that people who want to say rich people are merely lucky and that's it are people who don't want to examine what they might be able to do differently because it might involve admitting that their lack of money is partly due to not wanting to make certain hard choices.
      - WalterBright 9y ago
        Luck does play a role. But crucial to that is putting yourself into a position where luck can help you. I.e. if you're waiting for the wind to blow your way, you have to be out on the water in a sailboat with the sails ready. I've read about many successful people, and in the early days they would take every opportunity for luck to happen, and one day it did. For example, the Beatles spent years playing for anyone who would listen to them, until one day it mattered. There's Ray Kroc, a 52 year old broke failed salesman, who one day noticed an opportunity to run McDonald's. It goes on and on. Keep trying, and I wish you the best of luck(!). There's no country on earth with more opportunity than America, and it's never been easier in America. Heck, just recently on HN there was that guy who noticed he could buy stuff from Walmart and sell it on Amazon for a profit, and was making millions.

by dlp211 9y ago

WalterBright 9y ago

I saw an episode about this years ago on PBS (Frontline?). They studied 401k investment results at a company where all the employees participated in the same plan, with the same choices. The lower paid employees consistently had much lower investment returns than the higher paid employees. It was pretty clear that the higher paid employees were managing their 401k investments better. In other words, it wasn't random. The company reacted to those results by offering free investment education classes to all employees. What the outcome of that was I don't know. It statistically stands to reason that people who are better at managing money, finance, and investments will accrue more wealth than those who are worse at it.

stinkytaco 9y ago

Or because they were born with it. Or at least born with advantages such as safe neighborhoods, good schools and social capital.

dlp211 9y ago
I said many rich people are rich because of circumstance.
- WalterBright 9y ago
  85% of American millionaires are self-made, i.e. they did not inherit it. "The Millionaire Next Door" by Stanley
  - Mz 9y ago
    I am really enjoying this subthread and I appreciate your contributions to it. I think it is a little of column A and a little of column B. I think a lot of people want to emphasize the luck, happenstance and inheritance angle in part to try to make peace with not being rich themselves. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I am tired of being dirt poor and working so hard at solving my problems, seemingly without ever getting any credit while often feeling like the financial piece never really changes, no matter how much progress I have made. There always seems to be some reason why I am broke anyway. I wish life would give me a break and I end up often feeling like the difference between me and more financially well off people is entirely "luck" (bad luck) that no amount of effort can reverse. On the other hand, I want success that I earned, not some winning lottery ticket. I can't quite figure out if hoping for a break is worse or if wanting to stubbornly do it my damn self is stupidly and pointlessly masochistic. I don't have the answer. I am just trying to say that I have a lot of sympathy for the people who want to claim that rich people were just lucky. Yet, I have worked hard to get healthier and seen results for that while people dismiss that as wild coincidence and get incredibly defensive at the idea that making changes to their life might make a difference. And it gives me the sneaking suspicion that people who want to say rich people are merely lucky and that's it are people who don't want to examine what they might be able to do differently because it might involve admitting that their lack of money is partly due to not wanting to make certain hard choices.
    - WalterBright 9y ago
      Luck does play a role. But crucial to that is putting yourself into a position where luck can help you. I.e. if you're waiting for the wind to blow your way, you have to be out on the water in a sailboat with the sails ready. I've read about many successful people, and in the early days they would take every opportunity for luck to happen, and one day it did. For example, the Beatles spent years playing for anyone who would listen to them, until one day it mattered. There's Ray Kroc, a 52 year old broke failed salesman, who one day noticed an opportunity to run McDonald's. It goes on and on. Keep trying, and I wish you the best of luck(!). There's no country on earth with more opportunity than America, and it's never been easier in America. Heck, just recently on HN there was that guy who noticed he could buy stuff from Walmart and sell it on Amazon for a profit, and was making millions.