common ways that wealth is obtained

In my nearly 29 years in business I’ve come to the conclusion that wealth is obtained 90% of the time in one of these 10 different ways.  Last week I shared the first 5 (to visit last week’s blog, click here), this week the remaining ones that will be discussed are usually sudden, resulting in Sudden Wealth Syndrome and all the problems that come with it. I have personally seen individuals who have and suffered immensely from Sudden Wealth Syndrome or SWS in several of the following ways wealth is obtained listed below.

  1. Oil or Gas Discovery
    Since the discovery of the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, I have had many clients come in to see me because of oil and gas discovery on their land. They went from middle-class ranchers and farmers to millionaires in months.
  2. Lawsuits
    Unfortunately, it seems that lawsuits are happening everywhere these days. These settlements usually make the attorneys more wealthy than the victim. Nonetheless, it is quite common today to obtain wealth through a lawsuit.  Many have suffered from SWS and irresponsibly spent all of their settlement in just a few years.
  3. Lottery winner
    Lottery winners are far and few between, and though it may be one way to obtain extraordinary wealth, don’t count on it. The odds are virtually impossible. My advice is to never buy a ticket, don’t gamble with God’s money. You’d be better off saving that lottery ticket money and investing it elsewhere.  Though I have not personally seen any of my clients obtain wealth through lottery winnings, my research into Sudden Wealth Syndrome has gotten me interested in this method and all of the winners. Each of them has a story of gained wealth that cannot go unmentioned. The struggles of Sudden Wealth Syndrome and the gambling of God’s money inherent to the lottery mean that I personally have never bought a lottery ticket and never will.
  4. Professional Entertainer
    Celebrities are among the wealthiest in our nation. Athletes, musicians, and actors are paid the big bucks to keep us entertained. They have usually worked their way up to the top after many years of practice and finally get a lucky break that can turn them into a millionaire overnight.  For some reason gifted athletes experience sudden wealth syndrome the worst.
  5. Major Invention
    Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Google are examples. In a society like ours where technology is growing exponentially each year, there are a great deal of inventors, product developers, etc, that gain great wealth. Many of these people tend to be young and gain wealth at a very young age, needing guidance, direction and help with their wealth management.

Now that we’ve reviewed the top 10 ways I’ve seen wealth obtained, you can see that the most common way is diligence. Everyone can save and invest to obtain wealth. Not all of us are geniuses, gifted athletes, or lucky lottery winners, but having discipline in saving and investing can make anyone wealthy in their later years.