By Thomas Corley
How long does it take for the average rich person to become rich?
Ten years, 20 years? How about a minimum of 32 years?
That's how long it took the average self-made millionaire, according to my data. And let me repeat — that's the minimum.
It took 38 years for 52% and 42 years for 21%. Only a handful, 4%, became wealthy in less than 27 years.
Let me share some of my research with you. 76% of the wealthy in my Rich Habits Study were what you would call self-made millionaires. They came from non-wealthy households. 31% of them came from poor households, and 45% came from middle-class households.
What's even more compelling is the age in which these self-made millionaires actually rang the bell and struck it rich. Here's the breakdown from my study:
1% became wealthy before the age of 40
3% became wealthy between age 40 and 55
16% became wealthy between age 46 and 50
28% became wealthy between age 51 and 55
31% became wealthy between age 56 and 60
21% became wealthy after the age of 60
Read the rest here.
The more interesting point here isn't how long it takes, but the confirmation that economic mobility still exists in America.
ReplyDeleteDoes this imply that most people born into a rich family squander their wealth? Or the estate taxes take it? Or rich families don't pass that much on? Trying to wrap my head around that 76%. Seems like a huge number.
That stat isn't saying that only 24% of wealthy families produce millionaire offspring. It's saying that only 24% of millionaires came from wealthy families, but the number of wealthy families is low to begin with. Certainly, fewer than 24% of families would be defined as wealthy, so that stat is showing that they are outproducing millionaires relative to the rest of the population.
DeleteI must be really average- in 1984 as an unemployed engineer I was down to my last $1500. Today 31 years later I have about $1.6M not counting the residence, vacation cabin, car, sailboat, or small airplane. And in that time frame I'm embarrassed to say how much I lost in commodities and mining stocks; but I always bought a little gold whenever I had the itch to swing for the fences. I think modest living, savings and gold really work over time as long as a person is truly productive.
ReplyDeleteLove your story! Kudos to you.
DeleteMy personal observation is consistent with the findings of this analysis. Most of the successful business men for whom I worked hit the big money in their fifties/sixties. And most did it after a lot of hard work, sacrifice and a few failures.
ReplyDeleteIf you want the big money without a lot of effort, go into politics and/or finance/banking.
Oh, one more comment, a million isn't what it used to be. 1% interest on $1,000,000 is $10,000. Isn't a monopolized centrally controlled fiat monetary system just grand? The finish line is always moving farther into the distance.