Thomas Stanley was a marketing by professor who made a name for himself teaching others how to sell to the rich. The Millionaire Next Door was largely written

Thomas Stanley was a marketing by professor who made a name for himself teaching others how to sell to the rich. The Millionaire Next Door was largely written to dissuade people of the notion the hyper consumerism and associated advertising was an effective strategy for reaching a majority of upper wealth households. Wealthy households are generally frugal compared to their level of net worth. This is particularly true for wealthy households at the lower end of the scale (e.g., the millionaire teacher who got that way by investing 15% of their net income consistently over 30-40 years). Immigrants and business owners do have an advantage, and he goes into detail about how living in less wealthy neighborhoods is a wealth building advantage, but his main argument is that thrift, savings, and simple math are the main drivers of wealth.