What's the best way to accumulate wealth?

Other than just saving up your salary, spending moderately etc..

What are some safe and more effective kinds of investment or ways to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth over time?

And yes, I lack knowledge in financing...

 
ANT:
Become poor and vote Democrat and push for more taxes that "redistribute" wealth to you.

Oh, Anferny, you so silly...

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

Real Estate.... find some people to coinvest with and buy a small apartment building and hire a management firm... obviously, you'll want someone in your syndicate to have real estate knowledge to take the lead role. You'll get tax shield from the depreciation, maybe a 5-8% after-tax yield on cash flow (depending on going-in cap rate and how highly levered you are and interest rate on debt -- expect to put 30-35% down today in most markets), and you'll be able to 1031 to avoid capital gains when it comes time to sell.

 

The value of information is the most underrated and essential piece of artillery that one can hold for prosperity. Read books and The Journal. Life is all about competition. Not only do you have to out work the next person and ultimately have the desire to want to be great, wake up in the morning everyday, look yourself in the mirror, and be content with who you are. Good luck.

 

Marry someone who is rich...otherwise stay single.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

Right not it is the perfect time, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, seriously. Real estate is incredibly cheap, I am in the process of buying an apartment here in South Florida that is selling for 1/3 of the price of 2 years ago. Amazing how many are out there.

Buy a few and rent them out, the rent money will pay for the mortgage and leave you with some extra income every month (as long as you buy them cheap of course). In the meantime, the housing market with time will recover, and you will find yourself with homes that are worth more that what you paid them for.

Same thing goes for stocks, buy a bunch of stuff like BAC, C etc and wait.

These are really exciting times, it's really sort of "now or never."

 
MrFuture:
Right not it is the perfect time, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, seriously. Real estate is incredibly cheap, I am in the process of buying an apartment here in South Florida that is selling for 1/3 of the price of 2 years ago. Amazing how many are out there.

Buy a few and rent them out, the rent money will pay for the mortgage and leave you with some extra income every month (as long as you buy them cheap of course). In the meantime, the housing market with time will recover, and you will find yourself with homes that are worth more that what you paid them for.

Same thing goes for stocks, buy a bunch of stuff like BAC, C etc and wait.

These are really exciting times, it's really sort of "now or never."

2 questions:

How do you find money to finance these cheap appts?

How do you find/know about these deals?

 
Cmoss:
MrFuture:
Right not it is the perfect time, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, seriously. Real estate is incredibly cheap, I am in the process of buying an apartment here in South Florida that is selling for 1/3 of the price of 2 years ago. Amazing how many are out there.

Buy a few and rent them out, the rent money will pay for the mortgage and leave you with some extra income every month (as long as you buy them cheap of course). In the meantime, the housing market with time will recover, and you will find yourself with homes that are worth more that what you paid them for.

Same thing goes for stocks, buy a bunch of stuff like BAC, C etc and wait.

These are really exciting times, it's really sort of "now or never."

2 questions:

How do you find money to finance these cheap appts?

How do you find/know about these deals?

Sorry for this very late reply but it's been a while since I checked this website.

If you have good credit, a downpament and a job, you'll get financing, regardless of what people say. Lenders like to see the same job for the past 2 years, or at least the same type of income for the past 2 years.

Good credit helps...I was happy to find out my scores are 738, 743 and 750.

As far as where to find them...remax.com or realtor.com have a bunch of listings that you can look through...I do not know where you live, but here is SF the real estate market was hit really bad and you can find $70k, 2bd/2br apartments that 4 years ago were selling for 200k......so you'll pay 800 per month (including hoa, taxes and insurance) while the rental rate is 1300....meaning you save 500 dollars, or you can make the 500 by renting it to someone.

This is what recessions are for....it's now or never...I just thank God I had no money back in 2005 when everyone was buying....look at them now....sucks to be them.

 
MrFuture:

Same thing goes for stocks, buy a bunch of stuff like BAC, C etc and wait.

These are really exciting times, it's really sort of "now or never."

Disagree. The once in a lifetime, now or never opportunity in stocks was ~2 years ago. Stocks will continue to go up while interest rates are zero but that's not going to last forever and then who knows.

Also, regarding Florida real estate, there are a lot of empty properties and prices won't go up much until those are filled, which will take a long time. Once that happens, they still might not go up that much.

 

1) Figure out who the best performing hedge fund managers are who hold on to stocks for long periods of time. Then steal their stock picks. If it's a hedge fund that actively trades, the information is worthless by the time you get it.

2) Start your own business. To be more specific, learn how to make a good bagel or a good slice of pizza. I know people who own pizza places and make north of $200,000 per year in an all CASH business.

3) Invest in the most volatile real estate markets you can find, and invest with as much leverage as possible. If you time things right you will become filthy rich.

4) Become highly educated. Lawyers, doctors, and investment bankers tend to make a lot more money than construction workers.

Typically speaking most of the ideas I listed above are not safe investments, but in my opinion you're better off trying risky investments over and over again, until you get it right than you are investing in safe investments, because safe investments rarely yield more than 10% annual gains.

Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions. -Niccolo Machiavelli
 

If you're seriously thinking about investments, all you're going to get here are ideas and maybe ideas on how to figure it out yourself.

If you want to make money, start studying. There is no easy way to make money, if there was everyone would be rich. You don't need a traditional university education to make money, but you DO need an education, even if you give it to yourself. Once you start understanding the markets and business in general, you will start to see investment opportunities everywhere, from foreclosure signs to mismanaged business to undervalued stocks.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

So I know there's a lot to be had with investing personally, even a lot. The problem I realize though is that you must have money to make money. Any significantly successful investor (as in regular family people who are just skilled) I can't see making so much with a regular job that they can invest enough to make millions. Is it really possible to turn, say, $20k in savings into millions?

Or do the "xxxx and family" investors that make all of this get portfolio money from other sources?

 

I just got word that my offer for a $70k condo was accepted. I am putting down only 3%, that's $2,235, and my montly payments will be less than $800, everything included. The rental rate in the same complex is $1,300.

Can't beat that !

 

Successfully make risky investments with a high payout, or get a few family members to give you money and invest it, or marry into it, or live a deprived life and save most of your wealth until you're in retirement or, lastly, become a surgeon and open a private practice.

 

1) actually read this site, since you're here 2) repeat #1

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
TylerB:

I know there are a few main categories when it comes to becoming wealthy, in like the 200-250k USD+ range

Ya...that's definitely not "wealthy" at all. Maybe "rich" depending on where you live, but certainly not "wealthy." In someplace like NYC it isn't even that much.
Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I must not be aware how much the median salary is for those catagories? lol, I mean a day.... no not really but a year, 250k a year, that doesnt even count as the median for those catagories? what can you make off of them then?

 
D M:

This is all relative. 250k isn't shit if you're living in FiDi in NYC. You're a god among men if you live in buttfuck Mississippi. Take cost of living into account. Learn how to use Google to find how much something is worth in different places and other inane questions. Stop asking about money and figure out what you like doing, it won't matter if you've got a shitload of money and you hate your life.

I know what i like doing, its called making money lmao, some people like their jobs, some people just like making money, and im one of the ones that like making money, in all honesty, id work hard labor in a shipping company with shitty unflexible hours, 5-9 for 50 years, if i made 250k, and i live in buttfuck new york so i consider that a chit load, actually upstate, and right outside a chithole city called troy, just east of albany

 

I know people that say they know they like making money, the job doesn't matter. They're the people that have a life crisis every couple of years. Best of luck with that.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
Kenny Powers:

Make a sex tape, easiest way to get famous apparently.

I already tried that, they threw me out and i still didnt get famous, can you believe that?

 
Kenny Powers:

Make a sex tape, easiest way to get famous apparently.

By the way, sorry for triple posting, but the little banana thing on the bottom right of the post, I dont know if it is bad or good but i clicked it for you, Im not sure if its like a rep like on other forums? but just so you know, thats what i meant to do is give u reputation

 
D M:

I know people that say they know they like making money, the job doesn't matter. They're the people that have a life crisis every couple of years. Best of luck with that.

how so?

 
SirTradesaLot:
Take_It_To_The_Bank:

People here like to exaggerate cost of living in NY. It's high, but 250k is still a shitload of money.

It's most definitely not a shitload.

250k is always a shitload, but when its not, your on wallstreetoasis, where we all ceo 10k a day

All jokes aside, if 250k isnt a lot, where do you work?

 
TylerB:
SirTradesaLot:
Take_It_To_The_Bank:

People here like to exaggerate cost of living in NY. It's high, but 250k is still a shitload of money.

It's most definitely not a shitload.

250k is always a shitload, but when its not, your on wallstreetoasis, where we all ceo 10k a day

All jokes aside, if 250k isnt a lot, where do you work?

ok so you make 250k, if you make that much chances are you live in a relatively high cost of living area. you have a wife and 2 kids.

taxes 30%, you now have 175k:

500k house, mortgage 35k a year, not counting down pmt private school for the kids since public schools are generally garbage, 10k each, 20k/yr gas and insurance for 2 cars 5k/yr food for family of 4 $15k/yr home and health insurance, all other costs, unanticipated expenses, etc: 25k/yr

that leaves you with $75000 left over. better start putting it towards the college fund for the kids since theyre both smart and going to top colleges, 50k per year per child when they get there since youre "too rich" for any financial aid. speaking of the kids, theyre in high school now so they need a car. 15k for that. your dad just got put in a nursing home because he has alzheimers disease and your mom cant pay for it, theres 25k a year gone. and you havent even started saving for retirement yet. and now the city wants to pass a tax on the rich for their latest pet project, so you get to pay even more of your "fair share".

your wife hates you because you work too much and she files for divorce, say goodbye to at least half of your net worth.

you see how these things add up?

my dad is in the low 300s range at the end of his career as an airline pilot but it doesnt mean jack shit since all his money gets taxed away or goes to college tuition. plus when you are in these high earning years of your career, youre getting older, so what's the point of all that cash anyways?

keep in mind: AVERAGE cost to raise a child from age 0 to 18 is $250,000. thats AVERAGE, as in, if you want better than average its going to cost more. that doesnt factor in college tuition.

 

250 is a lot, but it's not on some level of RARITY. Is that how you're defining rich? If you make 250 but 1/3 of your peers make at least that or more, then it's okay.

There's money to make a living, and then there's money for comfort items (depends on cost of living), and then there's money to keep score (hedgefund owner status). So...it depends.

I guess you just have a simple version of rich where you don't have to worry too much about finances.

I know someone who got a 250k salary job at the age of 23 at a startup. He wasn't even the founder he was like the 30th employee in a senior strategist role (not even VP or head of an office) in NYC.

 
Xepa:

I guess you just have a simple version of rich where you don't have to worry too much about finances.

Which is what most people desire anyway. I don't think I have ever met anyone who was just keen to see $1m in his account. Most people want the freedom and peace of mind they associate with having that kind of money.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Most of y'all here aren't making the 300K that supposedly an elite PE associate makes. Lot of misinformation and exaggeration spread on these forums. 250K is good money and you are sorely out of touch if you think it isn't.

 
Take_It_To_The_Bank:

250K is good money and you are sorely out of touch if you think it isn't.

"Good money" =/= rich

It's certainly good money and as a single guy, a hell of a nice paycheck, but it's hardly rich.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I don't know if you guys were born into wealthy, privileged families, but I was not. 250k has always been rich to me. Having seen what my peers make in a variety of roles from consulting, to banking, to accounting, to software engineering, to medicine, I still maintain that opinion. I know virtually nobody under 30 (including former bankers) who make a quarter of a million. That said, I am not a part of the social elite and I didn't go to an Ivy, so it could certainly be a matter of different peer samples.

 
abcdefghij:

250k is average/below average first year all-in compensation for pre-MBA PE associates. If a 24 year old can make that much, it's definitely not a "shitload of money"

This is my exact god damn point. 300K is thrown around daily as compensation for pre-MBA PE associates (typically without the disclaimer that it's megafund comp) but most of you guys here, banker or not banker, don't actually make that, you are just perpetuating the number. I am willing to be a immeasurably small % of the people on this web site are actually PE associates with 300K+ comp. And this web site itself is a high-income sample of the 20-year old age group.

It's the same story with top bucket bonuses. People don't actual talk about the median bonuses, they talk about top bucket and then this leads to misinformation about how first-years will make 150K all in. Inflated salary expectations across the board from what I see on this forum.

 

@Take_It_To_The_Bank

WELL if you count shadow equity, vested equity, deferred comp, sign on, 50% bonus inflation, and other perks, obviously I make $400-500K all in at age 24.

That was a joke btw - in all honesty you should just take the salary inflation on WSO as a given - apply standard 40% discount rule to get to real salary.

Calm down.
 
AxionJaxion:

250K is peanuts, especially in NYC. I am searching night and day for ways to increase my potential first-year income (500K).

You still here?
"Mr. Perkins poses an extreme risk to the market when drunk."
 

So back on topic, how do you actually become wealthy? I guess 250k a year isnt a lot, so how about 1.2million a year rich? How do you get to that standpoint.

 
TylerB:

So back on topic, how do you actually become wealthy? I guess 250k a year isnt a lot, so how about 1.2million a year rich? How do you get to that standpoint.

Unless you're a CEO or business owner, I don't see how you could without it taking until you're 65-70 years old. That would be the result if you invested everything you made into high dividend yielding stocks with a very hefty salary to go along with your investments.

 

You can make more than 250k a year working as a dermatologist or cardiologist with a degree from a good school. I would venture to guess that orthodontists can make near 250k a year and many of them work 4 days a week. Keep in mind that these figures can be attained in areas where the cost of living is substantially less than Manhattan.

"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man." ― William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
 

You are embarrassingly uncreative and immature if you think the only ways to wealth are what you mentioned. Believe it or not, you can make 200k+ in plenty of areas other than high finance. I know engineers, chiropractors, corp fin managers, lawyers, and Burger King franchise owners who all make at least that much annually. This is still America and as long as you are smart, hard working, and good at something then you will end up doing pretty well for yourself.

Wall Street Oasis is a fantastic community, but don't let it give you tunnel vision

 

As some have mentioned before 250k being a good chunk of money is relative to where you live. As a total all-in compensation it is a good chunk of money if you are a type-A driven individual. There is a large reason why only the top 1% in America make 250k+ as a HOUSEHOLD income, because it isn't exactly "easy." Take a lot of what you read here with a grain of salt because a lot of the view points here are skewed toward the high side. If you went on a forum for law JD Oasis for example unless you're going to a top law school and then to a top corp law firm you aren't seeing this kind of money... for a very long time. So like people have said before me, go read a little Google and get away from behind your keyboard and go experience some things, you'll quickly find out that the idea of making all the money in the world...doing whatever it takes certainly wont lead to happiness.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

What position would a job pay 250k for? Because I've heard of VP's making 400-500k in Canada, so I imagine that NY would be much more lucrative.

Yeah the first couple years as an analyst, and even associate you might have to live in some run down place, but atleast 5 years after leaving college you should be in the "wealthy" range.

I really think OP is throttling himself with this 250k figure. If his goal is to be wealthy then sucking up the shit for a couple years should make him achieve that goal.

That, or he can live in a palace in the outskirts of town, but who would want that.

Once I did bad and that I heard ever. Twice I did good and that I heard never.
 
Aliyeva:
"People are always trying to hit a home run. Life doesn't work like that. They try to make one big jump and flop. Work with what you have." indeed

I think this might be the most important point, though all points serve their own purpose and contribute to the overall success.

Ironically, I've been thinking about this point, in a slightly different context over the last few week...so the timing of this article serves as great affirmation of my conclusion.

At any rate, I've been guilty of being a person that thinks about starting a business, but hasn't done it. As with most people, my excuse is that it needs to be the right idea, so I'm passionate about the work and so the success will be certain to follow. The fact is, and I often tell folks this, you don't have to be a doctor or a lawyer or banker to become rich. Heck, you don't even have to be an entrepreneur, though your chances of becoming rich are probably much higher if you do. You just have to find one thing and become great at it. You can find wealthy, successful people in practically every industry around, so that should encourage people to think a little more outside of the box when it comes to career paths.

Anyways, the real point I've come to recently was to stop being passive and to quit waiting around for that one big idea. Being at a small PE firm, I get blasted with emails from no-name business brokers every week trying to sell some random gas station or frozen yogurt shop, etc. It's there I realized that a tremendous amount of wealth, and freedom, could be had just as easily, or maybe even more easily, with a bunch of small businesses as it could with the one large, perfect business every wannabe entrepreneur is waiting on.

You aren't going to take a moderately successful single frozen yogurt stand in nowhere South Carolina and scale it to tens of millions of sales, but you could certain scale your portfolio of businesses to that size. I saw a guy selling 6 laundromats for just over $1mm. Consistently cash flows $250k every year and requires about 3 hours worth of work a day, which primarily consists of collecting the coins and restocking the on-site vending machines. Not a bad lifestyle business if you have the seed capital and don't want to work too hard.

But, even then, $1mm isn't easy to come by and isn't easy to part with, so I started moving downstream to the aforementioned gas stations, frozen yogurt shops and delis. Some of these places cash flow $50k a year, with an absentee owner, and can be picked up for around $75k, sometimes with a little seller financing. Clearly you would have to do some diligence and make sure 'absentee' really means 'absentee' but $75k isn't hard to come buy in finance. You could smash your 1st and 2nd year bonus together and pick up a business that's going to return $50k annually into the foreseeable future. Seems like a sweet deal.

Obviously, the goal would be to start collecting these businesses until the point you could bankroll several businesses a year with the cash flow from the businesses already in your portfolio. Once you get it to scale, you could either retire and take it easy or look at buying a larger, more traditional business that you could invest some time and money in trying to scale up to a decent size. Then you decide whether you flip for a sale or hang on to it and keep it in the family.

There's no doubt that this isn't going to be the easiest thing around, with no hiccups or bumps in the road, otherwise everyone would do it, but after spending just a few years in finance, you could have built a large enough portfolio to provide you with some much needed/wanted options.

I'm still vetting this plan and I'm sure I'll come across some issues as I think it through but at first glance, I haven't seen much that scares me off. Realistically, geography is going to come into play, especially if you need to have constant oversight of the businesses and the time requirement of your 'real' job could be a constraint, but it seems like those issues could certainly be managed.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 
snakeplissken:
Great article and really inspiring story. I'm a Tony Robbins fan myself, though

I'm a sucker for his books. Have you ever met him in person ? The guys has a freaking aura ...

 

Most people don't do well and fail. If you're good, then do it. But if you're really good, why wouldn't you want to take these risks with someone else's money, at least until you get a nest egg built up?

This is not a good idea for a 22/23 year old exiting college. Most guys that young don't have a clue what they're doing/what to expect unless they've received some direct training and guidance from somebody with experience doing it. If it was that easy to make money, everyone would do it.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Exercitationem corporis et dolores modi deleniti iure nemo. Et sed earum odio maiores. Illo quia quis aut dolores exercitationem. Delectus labore dolores sit dicta odio sint facilis. A minima provident deserunt non modi dignissimos. Beatae earum quia unde repellendus dignissimos quis velit pariatur. Quibusdam eligendi reiciendis provident natus corporis natus tempore.

Dolorem temporibus voluptatem voluptas dicta deserunt ad est in. Dolores nostrum quia neque voluptas nemo. Voluptatum exercitationem qui ut.

Error rerum adipisci ut. Est dolores voluptas fugit nihil. Sit asperiores sapiente fugiat.

 

Veritatis dicta dolor aliquam. Voluptas veritatis nisi at debitis neque laudantium omnis.

Iste assumenda aut atque laboriosam. Rerum rerum et dolorum. A rerum facilis temporibus id qui voluptatem corporis occaecati.

Nihil ipsa omnis earum doloremque laborum velit minus. Itaque sed consequatur consectetur sunt eum sit explicabo. Voluptas sunt cupiditate doloribus doloremque voluptas dolorem modi eveniet. Et est harum porro. Aut ut totam necessitatibus optio enim eos porro explicabo. Et ducimus quia dolor eos.

 

Dicta voluptatem in laboriosam eius animi. Quae ut temporibus eaque praesentium aliquam et rerum.

Molestiae voluptas odit eos et maxime sit. Aut in dolore rerum sit praesentium in. Sit ea aliquid eos.

Dolor inventore voluptates officia et sit nostrum consequuntur. Sequi nihil delectus laboriosam excepturi quas.

Quibusdam repellendus voluptas iste rerum. Vel aut fuga quidem perspiciatis a doloribus dolore. Illo aut minima ex adipisci exercitationem. Explicabo deserunt aut sed consectetur quos et et repudiandae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”