Millionaire Interviews

I am in the process of moving this series from Wealth Lion to FMF. So here's the post that got it all started...

This blog is about how to grow your net worth.

To this end, I have been (and will keep) sharing the tips I've learned along the way, but I want to offer a broader perspective for my readers' sakes. Yes, I think I have something to offer, of course, otherwise I wouldn't spend the time running this site. But I'm certainly not the end-all expert on how to grow and manage wealth.

There are many ways to become wealthy and probably even more ways to manage wealth once you have it. So I wondered what voices could I add to mine to offer additional thoughts and tips on becoming and staying wealthy.

Well, there is certainly no lack of so-called experts out there. You can find them all over TV shows, on the radio, in print, on the web and so forth. But while many of these people know how to speak, write, and talk about managing money, they know it only in theory, not in practice. Yes, they know what to say and report on what to do, but they don't know how it really works. Why? Because they are not wealthy themselves. They spit out facts, but there's no insight, no extra tips, no real-life application because they haven't lived it themselves. No, these people would not add anything useful to the conversation.

Then there are the wealthy who have "made it" in some form or fashion. They are generally famous to some degree and most times have greater wealth than the average person could ever hope to attain (I'm talking $10 million+, and generally much more). They have started multi-million dollar businesses, are very talented in some way (sports, music, etc.), been in the right place at the right time, and so forth, and now are very wealthy. Yes, they certainly have something to share and their stories would be interesting. But since much of their results are not something the rest of us can replicate, I don't think adding their voices here would be as beneficial as I'd like. 

I prefer the everyday person. The one who started from nothing (or close to it) and became wealthy over time. The person who knows the ins and outs of growing and managing wealth because she's lived it. The person who is just like the rest of us -- a "normal", "regular" person, who we can relate to. And best of all, a person who has practical tips and insights that work in the real world -- ones that we all can apply to grow our wealth.

That's why I'm starting my "Millionaire Interviews" series. It will be a category here at FMF where I interview everyday millionaires. Here's how it will work:

• The interviews will be with people who have a net worth of at least $1 million. The levels of their wealth will vary and will be shared on each post. Some will have several million dollars to their names..
• I will ask them a series of questions and they will respond. They also have the right to add their own questions to the interview if they think I left out something important.
• As you might imagine, I want to keep the identity of these people guarded (to the extent they want to be guarded.) So I won't even use their initials in the posts -- I'll simply give them a number, starting at "1" and counting up.
• As you read each post, you can not only learn from them but also ask them questions. If they feel comfortable doing so, they will respond. I am guessing that some will and some won't.

These posts will hit at random. We may have a couple in one week and then none for a month or two. There's no set schedule. It's dependent, as you might imagine, on me finding millionaires willing to be interviewed. To that end, if you have a net worth of at least $1 million and are willing to be interviewed for this series, please drop me a line. We would all appreciate hearing your story.

So stay tuned. Millionaire Interviews will be coming your way shortly...

Comments

[Financial Independence]

This sounds like it will be a great read. I really enjoyed reading 'The Millionaire Next Door' because it showed what traits actual self-made millionaires had, as opposed to what 'the experts' think. I had a good chuckle when the author described how he ordered catering for his first millionaire group interview and no one ate because they did not recognise the fancy cheeses and pates - they just ate the crackers that they recognised!

You know what they say - those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

[Paul]

Make sure to ask them what car (or truck) they drive.

[Old Limey]

I'm a 78 year old retired aerospace engineer, married for 57 years, but am not willing to be interviewed for this topic because my experiences are really not very relevant or useful to today's generation but here's a short synopsis of my track record.

Emigrated from England in 1956, had 2 years in Canada, and the rest of the time in the USA after moving to the SF Bay Area where I worked until retiring in 1992.

We got off the boat in Montreal with $450 to our name, my wife worked until the first of our 3 children arrived and then resumed working when it became feasible without the need for babysitters. I was the principal wage earner and my salary started at $4,300/yr in 1956 and ended at $72,500/yr in 1992.

Our investment portfolio was $320K when we consolidated everything at Fidelity at the end of 1992. It reached $1M on 8/6/1997 and thanks to the internet bubble reached $3.07M on 2/29/2000 when I moved my investing style into the slow lane where it still is today but with a value of $7.36M.

Real estate was also very profitable. We purchased our first home in 1963 for $27K, sold it in 1977 for $90K, upgraded to a nicer area paying $107K for our present home which is now worth $1.3M. Along the way we also bought a vacation home that today is worth about $500K.

We stopped travelling in 2010 because of my wife's health but managed to see most of the world before that happened. These days we enjoy a very quiet and happy lifestyle. Our three children ages, 55, 53, and 50 are each doing well and will be our beneficiaries even though they are each very comfortable financially.

The bottom line is that we were very fortunate to live through a very favorable period where aerospace jobs were easy to find, raises were generous, and homes were inexpensive. Today's world is frighteningly different from the one that we spent our working years in.

[Jon @ MoneySmartGuides]

Really looking forward to reading these. You make a great point that many people can talk facts all day long, but they aren't millionaires. It would be great to hear how these people made it and lessons they learned along the way.

[KT]

Old Limey, I want to say that I always appreciate your comments. Not just because you and your wife obviously worked hard and invested wisely (good advice for everyone!) but also because you recognize that you were in some respects lucky to live in the time period you did, and you realize that it's a vastly different world for us younger folk to be struggling through. I really appreciate that you see that.

[No Waste]

I'll go out on a limb and guess very few drove new cars every few years or went out to eat very much.

[Apex]

@Old Limey,

Haven't seen you comment for few months. It's good to have you back!

[Old Limey]

I firmly believe that used cars are a much better buy than new ones. Our primary car is a 1998 Mercedes C230, now with 69K miles, purchased in 2002, and our backup car is a 1991 Mercedes 560SEL, now with 89K miles, purchased in 1996. The reason for calling it a backup is that my wife gave up driving about a year ago and it's handy if one has to go in the shop.

As for eating out, we hardly ever dined out when we had kids at home. These days now that we are down to just one driver we eat at home every night (with take-out twice/week) because since we enjoy a bottle of Chardonnay with our evening meal I can't take the risk of getting a DUI on the way home from a restaurant and having my license suspended. While some of our much younger friends drink expensive wines we have found one that we enjoy very much indeed and it's only $2.48/bottle at the case price.

I am also one of the few multi-millionaires that does all of his own gardening, grows many of his own fruits & vegetables, and performs almost all of his home repairs and maintenance. It doesn't bother me at all to be called "cheap".

[Param]

did you mean 'benefiticial' or 'beneficial'