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Yeah, and I know someone who got rich by buying the lottery. Anecdotal evidence doesn't really prove anything, does it?

by afc 4y ago

WalterBright 4y ago
80% of American millionaires are self made. https://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Surprising-Americas/dp/1589795474/ https://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Surprising-Amer... Consider also that the US was populated by people who arrived with nothing. It wasn't wealthy people that came here from Europe.
- TimPC 4y ago
  This number is going down with every home inheritance and isn’t stable across generations. It’s largely a function of homes being bought for low values appreciating to over $1 million and not a function of labour markets.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    It doesn't sound like you read the book. Before dismissing it, I suggest taking a look at it. It costs $1.38. Not really a big investment in something that could make you wealthy. It's well worth it even if it has only one good idea you can use in it.
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  Does your use of “self-made" have any concrete definition? I looked on the related website and the very first blog entry is about how you can teach your children the skills they identify as leading to wealth. And yet, it appears that the claim is that, in general, people don't get taught these skills, and some people discover them through sheer grit and determination. Which seems contradictory. And that's putting aside the weird concept where someone who earns 10 million and spends 9 million on stuff, is ranked as the same as someone who lives a meagre life and dies with 1 million in the bank. I'm not sure that concept translates well into the commonly accepted definition of millionaire.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    Self made as in did not inherit their wealth. > people don't get taught these skills The knowledge is not hard to come by. The book lays it out in simple terms. There's nothing magical about it. > I'm not sure that concept translates well into the commonly accepted definition of millionaire. The book is not about a tortured definition of a millionaire or absurd stories about how their wealth was obtained. It's a quick read and the book is what, a couple bucks? Why not just read it, and then criticize it?
- bigjimmyk3 4y ago
  While this book is getting a little long in the tooth (the title needs to be inflation-adjusted now, I suppose), it's still a fascinating read. The authors considered "self-made" to mean that the subject did not receive monetary support from their ancestors as an adult in the form of trusts, inheritance, or other forms of "economic outpatient care" (their term).
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]

Yeah, and I know someone who got rich by buying the lottery. Anecdotal evidence doesn't really prove anything, does it?

by afc 4y ago

Yeah, and I know someone who got rich by buying the lottery. Anecdotal evidence doesn't really prove anything, does it?

80% of American millionaires are self made. https://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Surprising-Americas/dp/1589795474/ https://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Surprising-Amer... Consider also that the US was populated by people who arrived with nothing. It wasn't wealthy people that came here from Europe.

TimPC 4y ago
This number is going down with every home inheritance and isn’t stable across generations. It’s largely a function of homes being bought for low values appreciating to over $1 million and not a function of labour markets.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  It doesn't sound like you read the book. Before dismissing it, I suggest taking a look at it. It costs $1.38. Not really a big investment in something that could make you wealthy. It's well worth it even if it has only one good idea you can use in it.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
Does your use of “self-made" have any concrete definition? I looked on the related website and the very first blog entry is about how you can teach your children the skills they identify as leading to wealth. And yet, it appears that the claim is that, in general, people don't get taught these skills, and some people discover them through sheer grit and determination. Which seems contradictory. And that's putting aside the weird concept where someone who earns 10 million and spends 9 million on stuff, is ranked as the same as someone who lives a meagre life and dies with 1 million in the bank. I'm not sure that concept translates well into the commonly accepted definition of millionaire.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  Self made as in did not inherit their wealth. > people don't get taught these skills The knowledge is not hard to come by. The book lays it out in simple terms. There's nothing magical about it. > I'm not sure that concept translates well into the commonly accepted definition of millionaire. The book is not about a tortured definition of a millionaire or absurd stories about how their wealth was obtained. It's a quick read and the book is what, a couple bucks? Why not just read it, and then criticize it?
bigjimmyk3 4y ago
While this book is getting a little long in the tooth (the title needs to be inflation-adjusted now, I suppose), it's still a fascinating read. The authors considered "self-made" to mean that the subject did not receive monetary support from their ancestors as an adult in the form of trusts, inheritance, or other forms of "economic outpatient care" (their term).
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]