1,000 Millionaires Tell You How They Got Rich
Written by
Jordan Rosenfeld
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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The “Money Guys,” Brian Preston and Bo Hanson, co-hosts of “The Money Guy Show,” a popular podcast, YouTube channel and financial education brand, recently surveyed 1,000 of their millionaire clients to ask them some key information about their finances, specifically, how they grew their wealth.
The answers might surprise you.
Net Worth and Income Aren’t the Whole Story
These millionaires are not necessarily earning million-dollar salaries. While the median net worth of the survey participants was $2.2 million, with most falling between $1 million and $5 million, the median income was only $250,000 per year, with 12% of them earning less than $100,000 per year.
These folks didn’t get rich through earning million-dollar salaries; they relied on disciplined saving and investing.
Education: Public School Works Just Fine
The survey also busted another myth of wealth building — that you must go to a pricey private school and get an Ivy League college education to become rich. In fact, 77% of the respondents attended public schools in their K-12 education and 69% went to public colleges. The most telling piece, however, is that nearly 90% of these millionaires graduated without overwhelming student debt.
They did this by either keeping their student loans manageable enough to pay them off while going through school or not taking them out at all.
Saving and Investing Early Pays Off
One of the biggest takeaways is the diligence with which these millionaires saved and the amount they put away. Nearly half — 58% — started saving before the age of 30, though another one-third didn’t start saving until their 30s and still made it to millionaire status. The biggest key however was the amount they put away — 43% of survey participants saved and invested at least 25% of their gross income.
Cars: Skip the Status Symbol
The more money people make, the more likely they are to shop for pricier things, including their cars, but these millionaires largely avoided pricey status symbol cars and expensive financing. Around 60% of millionaires paid in cash for their last car. While 72% financed their first car, they followed smart debt repayment rules and a whopping 84% of them drove that car for seven or more years.
Homes: A Piece of the Puzzle, Not the Whole Pie
These millionaires bought relatively affordable homes, not multimillion-dollar estates. The median millionaire home value was about $650,000 and these homes typically only accounted for about 25% of their total net worths.
Debt Management and Discipline Are Key
Is it possible to become a millionaire while using credit cards? The answer is a resounding yes, but there’s a caveat — while 97% used credit cards, almost all of them, 99%, avoided credit card debt. Most of them (94%) also had at least three months’ worth of emergency funds. In other words, they know how to use credit as a tool, but never a drain on their wealth growth.
Mindset Matters More Than Inheritance
Lest you think all these folks likely got to millionaire status because they came from wealthy families with inherited wealth, more than three-quarters of them built their wealth without an inheritance.
What may play a greater role is their mindset: 81% of them described themselves as optimists.
Core Takeaways
So, the key lessons from these 1,000 millionaires:
- Save aggressively, ideally 25% of income.
- Don’t overspend on cars or houses — keep them proportional.
- Choose affordable education and avoid crushing student loan debt.
- Start saving and investing early but remember it’s never too late.
- Stay out of high-interest debt and build an emergency fund.
- Adopt an optimistic, disciplined mindset.
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