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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Personal Finance QuickTake: Secret Billionaires



When I think of secret Billionaires I think of Bruce Wayne, Not Susanne Klatten, Birgit Rausing or John Sall. But there are a ever growing grow of billionaires whio you will rarely, if ever hear about.


They don't show up on E! or Perez Hilton they go about their daily lives. Sort of an uber-version of the millionaire next door. They are not leading quiet lives of desperation either. They run companies, sit on Fortune 500 boards and work very hard.


The real point of the story is that you can have the fortune and none of the fame, you just need to choose to!


So how about you? Are you wanting to amass a fortune? Are you content with where you are now?


For me, I like the things that money affords...not the cars,homes, jewelry...ok maybe the cars, but it affords you options; instead of having to work where you don't like, worry about bills, or see all this amazing world has to offer.

You don't have to be Batman if you amass a billion dollars, but it would be fun!

8 Comments:

Anonymous said...

My sister and her husband are not at the billionaire stage... (but knowing them, it is a possibility). But what I am trying to say, is looking at them you would never really know that they are multimillionaires. They appear somewhat upper-middle-class. They live in a lovely Victorian home, drive nice/but mostly used cars. (sis just bought her first brand new car, a Toyota Prius). They don't wear extravagant clothes or live and extravagant lifestyle. They are good people that have worked very hard for everything they have achieved. They are definitely not about fame...
I respect that much more than the fame seekers, or at least the fame seekers that don't really contribute to society.

Now me... definitely fortune over fame. I'm not even after millionaire status... but rich enough that I can help the kids out when I feel like it, and not hurt my own finances. Oh... on second thought, being a quiet millionaire might not be too bad of an idea... HEE HEE HEE :-)

Noel Larson said...

Maybe I should buy the website for "The Billionaires Next Door"

It is interesting that now, more so than ever before, almost regardless of your salary, you can retire as a millionaire, even a multi-millionaire. While the purchasing power is lower every year of that million it is still something I know that my parents would have never believed possible for one of their kids (my NewWorthIQ shows I am not there!)

Thanks so much for reading Dawn!

Anonymous said...

I'd be a billionaire quilting philanthropist. I'd live normally, keep working (maybe) but devote most of my energies to making quilts for preemies, at-risk kids, cancer patients, etc. I already like to do that, but I don't get as much of a chance right now because I'm working. And because quilting costs money (though I know how to keep it frugal, so I wouldn't blow my billions!).

Noel Larson said...

That is really cool!

Jsut don't ship the quilting jobs overseas!

Thanks for commenting!

Ian Denny said...

I heard a talk by an amazing guy - Ernesto Sirolli. He'd worked in Africa discovering how NOT to help disadvantaged communities.

Instead of forcing help, he invented something he describes as enterprise facilitation.

It's where you nurture the entrepreneurial dream in someone. Not with direct help, but guidance.

You complete their trinity. If they can sell, you make sure they have someone who can make the widget and lok after the money. So marketing, product and money are they key.

He discovered this by examining entrepreneurs. He made a startling discovery. Not one entrpreneur, famours or not, had all three skills. Sometimes they had two - they could make the product and do the numbers or make the product and sell it.

Strangely he found none (or rarely) who could sell and do the numbers!

One of his discoveries was that often behind the scenes, the entrepreneur who makes the headlines usually had a team or other individuals behind them that were as vital to the success as they.

Sometimes, the person with the most wealth was faceless.

Often, the corporation itself was the face without the characters to front it. But always with a secret person and team who together had this triniity of talents.

Noel Larson said...

Ian,

That is very dead on...The best accountant number folk I knew were Not good sales people. The best salespeople are generally not good number people.

Key reason why you can two very qualified candidates for a job, but you should pick who's skills balance the team better!

Thanks for reading!

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I intend to amass a fortune so that I can help improve the world.

The fame part I'm not sure about. I'd like to be known for doing good things. But, I wouldn't like the type of fame where everyone recognised you on the street. That would be too intrusive, and possibly also dangerous if you had a lot of money.

Noel Larson said...

The security is a scary part...Look at Bill Gates house. It has to be like a fortress. Whenyou are that rich people would come after your children etc...Pretty scary.

Low profile for me as well!

Thanks for commenting!

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