But of course, is the story about the problems the yawning gap between rich and poor is causing?
Of course not. It's a story on how the already wealthy (and normal people, ostensibly ) can become "pentamillionaires", too!
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103017/Joining-the-5-million-Club-Takes-an-Open-MindReaching the $5 Million Club Takes an Open Mind
by Anne Kadet
Monday, May 14, 2007provided by
The Old Saying is true: The rich are different. But not only do their values and habits set them apart from the hoi polloi, they're different from their wealthy predecessors of a generation ago. For those interested in joining their ranks, it helps to understand why.
To enter the nation's top 1%, you need more than $5 million. And if you get there, you'll have plenty of newly-arrived company: The number of U.S. "pentamillionaires" has quadrupled in the past 10 years, to more than 930,000. Indeed, 70% of the nation's big family fortunes are less than 13 years old, according to research and marketing firm The Harrison Group. And the people who amassed them are, first and foremost, entrepreneurs — risk takers for whom wealth is a byproduct of pursuing their passion.
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What got them to the highest level? It isn't necessarily stock-market savvy: On average, folks who recently hit the $5 million mark report that only 10% of their money came through passive investments. And only 10% of pentamillionaires inherited their wealth. One might think that good fortune would play a role, but even luck is largely a matter of one's own making. Psychologist Richard Wiseman has found that people who describe themselves as lucky share common habits that account for their success: They're friendly and fond of new experiences, traits that put them on a collision course with new opportunities. In addition, "lucky" folks simply have higher expectations of success — they're too pigheadedly optimistic to heed the long odds and call it quits.
Not to say that getting rich is simply a matter of having a swell attitude. The path to riches usually involves the kind of risk that would make most people feel a little queasy. Harrison Group head Jim Taylor recently persuaded more than 3,000 pentamillionaires to discuss their path to success. Perhaps not surprisingly, none of them had a cushy union job down at the DMV. The vast majority — 80% — either started their own business or worked for a small company that saw explosive growth. And almost all of them made their fortune in a big lump sum after many years of effort.
Oh, the f***ing conceits in this article. Why, if only the rest of us were just more friendly, passionate and stubborn, why we'd ALL be "pentamillionaires". :sarcasm::
I hate these stupid articles and yet you see them EVERYWHERE. They seem to fuel the sales of those get-rich quick schemes and seminars.
I also like the claim that 90% didn't inherit their wealth. What these people don't get is that even just being raised in an upper-middle-class home, with the upbringing and education that entails, is an inheritance and a massive advantage in and of itself. Hell, I'd be optimistic, too, if my way had been paid for me by Mumsy and Pa-pa.
I guarantee you that further inspection of these people whould show that less than 5% of them were raised in a home with an income of less than $30K per year. Self-made, my ass.
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