# How Rich People Got Rich **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567 "2012-08-05T23:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/42 "2012-08-07T13:37:02Z")
> [@dataguy](#): > > I’d like to follow up on this point. But first, can you give me an example of something you consider a “major invention”? Why does it have to be a “major invention”. I interned for a guy who made a couple of million off of some stupid aluminum reinforcing strap you nail to the roof frame when building a house in a high-wind zone. He was a giant asshole and his family was all fucked up, but that’s a different story. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/43 "2012-08-28T10:26:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I haven’t researched the examples, but isn’t drive/ambition also a factor. Some people relentlessly pursue their vision, some don’t. If only the desire to be rich made it so. 🙂 > [@boytyperanma](#): > > Considering the average net worth of an American is 320k, a million bucks will still make you wealthy. A billion is fabulously wealthy, well beyond what most would consider rich. Micheal Jordan has more than any other athlete yet his net worth is only a mere 500 million. I had to cut down the criteria to be included, otherwise it would take months/years to calculate “rich” including inflation. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Connections. The wealthy tend to go to the same schools, live in the same gated communities, grow up knowing each other and as adults help each other out. I would classify this in the “luck” category, since it’s related to birth family. > [@Motorgirl](#): > > Frugality. The folks who become rich and _stay_ rich don’t spend money unless it’s to make more money. I don’t believe it. I’d like to see anyone from that tv show about extreme couponing become a billionaire. But, thank you for something that wouldn’t fit into the other criteria. > [@PSXer](#): > > Why are the founders of Google there based on skill but Mark Zuckerberg is only there by luck? Because, quite simply, he wasn’t first. He lucked out that his model caught on. Google’s founders, on the other hand, aimed for innovation. > [@Lochdale](#): > > It’s complex and yet very simple. Absent massive inherited wealth or stumbling on a very good idea, the way to become wealthy or at least upper middle class is as follows: > > 1. Get a good education. It opens doors both from a contacts perspective and getting over the qualification threshold. > > 2. Work well with others. You simply have to be able to network and collaborate. Not just in your job but in your life. If you’re someone that people like to be with then you will tend to do well. If not, it helps if you have a very specialized skill sets. > > 3. Work hard. Never stop, always be on look out for opportunity for yourself and your network. > > 4. Save and be frugal. You don’t need a new car or a new suit. Save, save, save and save again. > > 5. Be Humble. You didn’t make it all on your own. You worked hard but you got some breaks. Never forget that even when you are at the top. > > 6. Appreciate your family. They gave you the foundation and security you needed. > > My view. I’m an immigrant who came over with 500 bucks but with a supportive family back home. I was given many opportunities by god people who had faith in me. I let several down but I kept going and did my best. I try to learn from my many mistakes. > > I would be considered wealthy by most butnim relatively young so I’m not rich yet! The evidence is fairly overwhelming that education is not the key to great wealth. I would recommend looking at the stats on high school diploma vs AA vs BA. > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I would disagree with the OPs classification of various fortunes and how they were made, as they appear to make subjective / personal preference distinctions for several of them. Alas, yes, I admit that I grasped on some of the categories. I didn’t feel, at the time, that I wanted to research about, for example, Columbian drug lords and converting their wealth into 2012 dollars. > [@msmith537](#): > > Here’s the thing. Most people will never be “rich” because they simply don’t have the talent. Here’s a couple of known paths to getting rich: Gimme a break. You basically plagizrized my list in your list. If you want to start a new thread, I would recommend waiting ~6-12 months for the STMB to forget this thread. Look again, what you listed fits nicely in my categories already. > [@msmith537](#): > > Why does it have to be a “major invention”. I interned for a guy who made a couple of million off of some stupid aluminum reinforcing strap you nail to the roof frame when building a house in a high-wind zone. He was a giant asshole and his family was all fucked up, but that’s a different story. Luck, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/44 "2012-08-28T13:20:07Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Gimme a break. You basically plagizrized my list in your list. If you want to start a new thread, I would recommend waiting ~6-12 months for the STMB to forget this thread. I had actually already forgotten this thread. Your list is so vague as to be meaningless. You basically said luck, stealing, or earning it (twice). Except that every possible method for earning it you then handwave as “luck”. > [@Superhal](#): > > Why does it have to be a “major invention”. I interned for a guy who made a couple of million off of some stupid aluminum reinforcing strap you nail to the roof frame when building a house in a high-wind zone. He was a giant asshole and his family was all fucked up, but that’s a different story. > > Luck, sorry. How do you figure that is “luck”? Winning the lottery is luck. Collecting an inherentance is luck. Recognizing a need for a particular product in your field (in this case, structural engineering), designing that product, applying for a patent, and then making a couple million off the sale of that product is not luck. At least it isn’t luck in the sense you are talking about where money just falls into your lap with no effort on your part. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/45 "2012-08-29T00:32:06Z")
What did Gates/Allen do that was fraudulent, unethical, or illegal? He provided a product that lots of people bought into. Who did he drive out of business. When IBM came calling, he was to provide a BASIC and he sent them to Kildall for an OS. For reasons that are still not clear (several stories have been told, but the most convincing was that Kildall didn’t want to sign a non-disclosure agreement) so they came back to Gates who bought a quick and dirty OS from Seattle Computing and modified it for IBM. Yes, he was much later convicted of anti-trust violations but that always struck me as BS. There are considerable advantages to a small of OSs (one thing developers absolutely hate is being asked to develop for more than one or two OSs). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/46 "2012-08-29T02:02:53Z")
Most people will never get rich because they think life is too short to spend every last minute working. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/47 "2013-01-04T14:22:40Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > What did Gates/Allen do that was fraudulent, unethical, or illegal? . If only to prove you have no idea what you are talking about, simply research what gates/allen did to Lotus. If you need a link, I will provide it. And, to make it especially ironic, I would provide you this link in Excell format. > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Most people will never get rich because they think life is too short to spend every last minute working. > **[Storage Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Wars)** > > Storage Wars (stylized as STORAGE WAR$) is an American reality television competition series that airs on the A&E network. It premiered on December 1, 2010. A 16th season was announced on March 5, 2025. > When rent is not paid on a storage locker for three months in California, the contents can be sold by an auctioneer as a single lot of items in the form of a cash-only auction. The show follows professional buyers who visit storage facilities throughout the state and bid on these lockers. Befo... These people are certainly rich ($1 mil or more net worth) regardless of whether YOU think they are “lazy” or not. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567/48 "2013-01-04T18:24:20Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Considering the average net worth of an American is 320k, It’s actually much lower. > [@boytyperanma](#): > > a million bucks will still make you wealthy. A billion is fabulously wealthy, well beyond what most would consider rich. Micheal Jordan has more than any other athlete yet his net worth is only a mere 500 million. A million bucks will put you in the top 1% of Americans. There are only about 1000 billionares on the entire planet. > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Most people will never get rich because they think life is too short to spend every last minute working. Life’s also too short to spend working some job that pays jack shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-people-got-rich/630567.md?page=2)