I very much enjoyed reading The Millionaire Next Door.  It was however, only a warm-up for this book.  Contrary to popular myth, the typical millionaire does not belong to an elite group of highly educated and exceeding lucky people who often inherit their money and spend it lavishly on pampered lifestyles.  The truth is, most were not born with a silver spoon handed to them.  Most are first generation wealthy.  They got that way because they earned it.  Hard workers, frugal spenders, good money managers, niche investors, strong family values, homeowners in established neighborhoods, college graduates . but not rocket scientists, they avoid conspicuous consumption and they follow a healthy and moral lifestyle.

Only 4.9% of the households in this country have net worth exceeding $1 million or more.  For the author, finding those people to profile for his book was a challenge because they were not in the neighborhoods where logic might lead you.  He says about those neighborhoods with lavish homes .  "Often these "big-home owners" are what I call Income Statement Affluent.  They have big incomes, big homes, and big debt, but little net worth.  They are experts at preparing loan applications . In sharp contrast there are those whom I call Balance Sheet Affluent; the people are of the millionaire mind.  They focus upon accumulating wealth.  Their assets greatly exceed their credit liabilities".

This book explores the characteristics of millionaires using a base of 733 participants whose wealth ranged from $1 million and up.  He did extensive surveys that examined characteristics about how they became wealthy, their propensity toward risk, their education and choice of vocation, their marital status, their homes, and their lifestyles.  He found many common threads among this wide-ranging group, from salvage yard owners to highly skilled heart surgeons.  And it is these commonalties which serve to state that wealth building is more about attitude and focus rather than luck, academic standing, or family ties.

His study about their educational background was particularly interesting to me.  We are often told to study hard and get advanced degrees, as this will ensure our place in upper middle class America.  Apparently, that's a myth.  Except for occupations that require extensive education, such as law and medicine, there does not seem to be much correlation between success in wealth accumulation and SAT scores.  Most millionaires report they were not "A" students in college.  Only 30% reported receiving a greater percentage of "A's" than all other grades.  Overall, the author found their average GPA to be 2.9.  Who would have thought? Clearly, I must be a worthy candidate!

I am not obsessed about millionaires.  Acquiring wealth for the sake of acquiring more wealth is not the message of FFD.  How to acquire it so you can, if you chose, stop working, that's the message.  This book provides some valuable insights of how wealth accumulation is more about attitude than some special gift or connection.

Throughout my career in the "financial business", I have worked with some millionaires.  It is easy to identify with the author's conclusions because those similarities prevail in that type of client.  However, I have never been able to solve the mystery about why many wealthy individuals often continue to run their lives as though they worry they might not have enough.  I would venture to say they have reached their financial-freedom-day but haven't realized it.  That subject should probably be the theme of another web site.

This book is a keeper in my library.