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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost all of the really rich people I know worked very hard and owned their own business. My wife worked hard and was a director for a privately held company. When offered the opportunity to buy stock in the company she always did. At times I thought she bought too much of their stock. When the company went public the stock became worth over $20MM. She always said it was worth buying. So I’ll add stock options to one way people get rich.

Most startups fail, so this is less typical. Especially if not founder/executive. Maybe director is very high level?

There are stock options for many many companies that are established and beyond the "Start up phase". You simply get less options than if you enter as a startup, and often need to be at a higher level to get more. Many people in tech are rich from stock options; that has been happened for 30+ years. At a private company the entire executive team would have really good options and the next few levels would have decent (say to make $200-500K when company goes public, perhaps more). Whenever the company goes public, they make big $$$$.

Established private companies aren’t generous with options unless you are an executive level and it’s part of your TC to woe you from an established company.

Yes in the 90s and 2000s many people made lots of money in stock options but after FB IPO investor and founders got stingy, and they saw Zynga succeed with clawbacks, and realized there were plenty of people willing to work for lottery tickets who had no options to fight dilution, etc. hacker news talks about this all the time. If you want be a startup worker, treat it as a learning experience unless you are founder or single digit employee.

About 95% of them were born on third base. Had good educations and great connections and the smarts to go into finance rather than try to make the world a better place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost all of the really rich people I know worked very hard and owned their own business. My wife worked hard and was a director for a privately held company. When offered the opportunity to buy stock in the company she always did. At times I thought she bought too much of their stock. When the company went public the stock became worth over $20MM. She always said it was worth buying. So I’ll add stock options to one way people get rich.

Most startups fail, so this is less typical. Especially if not founder/executive. Maybe director is very high level?

There are stock options for many many companies that are established and beyond the "Start up phase". You simply get less options than if you enter as a startup, and often need to be at a higher level to get more. Many people in tech are rich from stock options; that has been happened for 30+ years. At a private company the entire executive team would have really good options and the next few levels would have decent (say to make $200-500K when company goes public, perhaps more). Whenever the company goes public, they make big $$$$.

Anonymous wrote:Started own business together which they funded with credit cards and sold for $20M.

So if they went bust they would have to move home to Appalachia trailer park?

Almost all the regular rich and very rich people i know were born into money
I know one *and only one* truly self-made guy - naturally bright, very hard working, worth millions; started his own business; is on the road 50 weeks a year.

Family money
Big Law Partner
High level Corporate Position
Business Owner

Big leagues rich people I know: Started and sold companies
Regular old DC rich: Lawyers who stick it out to make partner and political people who went lobbyist/political strategy firms

Based on research scrutinizing tax returns, it seems like the path to wealth is owning a professional services firm or a regional business. So, common professional services examples are owning a lawyer, dentist/doctor, consulting, or investment/financial services practice. Alternatively, owning a trade practice, residential/commercial real estate development company, or auto dealership. These are the types who typically reported income in the Top 1%. Of course, income is different than wealth, but if you’re making that type of money, you will soon be wealthy unless you have a spending problem.

Different ways for several people I know:
1. commercial real estate
2. inheritance/trust - old money
3. shipping business
4. CEO of Fortune 500 company
5. BigLaw partner who retired and joined several Boards, including a startup that hit it big in their IPO

- Born wealthy (many of these, comes with the territory of where I attended undergrad)
- good timing in tech
- private equity (several of these, with a leg up from connections from already wealthy but not enormous trust fund wealthy families like the born wealthy types)
- hard work and good timing in a non tech industry
- commercial real estate

I have one self-made rich friend. Has bought and sold several companies tech/media companies. He’s worth 100s millions.

The other rich friends (10s millions) got a leg up from rich parents and are working lucrative jobs found via networking.

We are poor in comparison to those friends but are comfortable.

Started own business together which they funded with credit cards and sold for $20M.

1. Her father made a lot of money in oil back in the 50s-60s.
2. Founded and sold a couple of tech startups (I know a couple of these. One is a really great guy, one is a total dick).

These are the only ones I know with real money - like endowing-buildings-at-your-alma-mater money. If we're talking net worth of a few million, then the answer is a lot more varied.

Anonymous wrote:Inherited business from daddy, construction. Works little, likes to sport fish.

Inherited money from daddy, who was a bank president. Has "business" where they golf most of the time.

One came from a middle class family, but is a mathematical genius and made $$$ by middle age working their butt off for tech companies back in the 90s and 2000s.

Yeah being staff employee in dot.com was very lucrative; now tech is feast and famine — startups enrich founders mostly, and only way to get rich is FAANG (according to hacker news).