BREAKING: Millionaires Found to Be Boring, Hardworking People with 401(k)s—Media Devastated
A study was conducted of 10,000 U.S.-based millionaires between 2017 and 2018.
They wanted to answer:
Who the hell are these people?
What do they do?
How do they save?
And what common traits do they share?
Now, we’ve all heard the noise from the media and journalists who say millionaires and billionaires are greedy or evil.
They’re all born with golden spoons in their mouths and had wealth handed to them.
That is not the case.
In fact, the reality is way different.
There’s a lot to this study…
…I pulled what I think are the four biggest insights — or call them traits — from this to help us understand who these people actually are.
And can we become (and/or remain) one!
Trait #1: Consistent Retirement Contributions
80% of these millionaires consistently contributed to their company’s 401(k) or another retirement plan — if they had access to one.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Trait #2: Investing Outside of Work
75% of them also invested consistently — over long periods of time — in other investment vehicles outside of their company-sponsored plans.
So it wasn’t just "set it and forget it" with their employer plans.
They were building wealth in multiple ways.
Trait #3: No Inheritance
Here’s one that blows people’s minds:
79% of these 10,000 millionaires never received an inheritance.
Let that sink in.
They built their wealth themselves — no generational silver platter.
Trait #4: No Fancy Degrees
Two-thirds of these millionaires did not graduate from Ivy League or elite schools.
Yeah — no Harvard, no Yale, no Stanford.
Mostly state schools and state universities.
Total surprise to me as well.
The Takeaway: This Is Achievable
Anyone can become a millionaire.
You. Your family. Your friends. Me. All of us.
You’ve probably already done more than what these four traits describe.
You’re likely on your way — even if you don’t realize it yet.
But the big lesson here (at least for me) — and something we stress all the time with our coaching clients — is this:
Delayed gratification + Consistent long-term investing
= The foundation of wealth.
Master those two things, and you’re on the path to becoming a millionaire.
👉🏼👉🏼 💸 Do you work hard as hell to simply pay the bills? And have little to show for it except being able to pay rent/mortgage, buy overpriced gas and food, with nothing left? Not even the ability to sit down for a movie and some popcorn without going into debt.
You are absolutely not alone!
Saving, investing, and building wealth is a way of life. The daily, monthly and annual decisions we make are everything toward our ability to retire, and retire early. This is what we talk about weekly on Working Wealth & Legacy Show.
We help thousands of people every day with simple easy tips, that stacked up over time will help you build wealth, not just income to spend on bills.
Jay Lieberman
Adoring Parent, Attorney, Radio Host, Realtor CA Lic #01874717 | NC Lic#341300
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