The parents of the Virgin Group’s Sir Richard Branson think it’s a good idea to abandon your son around age 5 on some random hillside and have the boy figure out how to get home on his own. “I didn’t want him to be a namby-pamby little boy like all the other little boys,” explains Branson’s mum, Eve.
rich
Why Are Beautiful People Happier? Mainly Because Good Looks Help Them Get Rich
Beauty is the path to happiness—by way of money. A new series of studies shows that attractive people earn more money and marry better-looking spouses, and that the economic benefits of being good looking make them happier than their homely counterparts. Logically, you’d think that efforts to improve one’s appearance would somehow lead …
Cheapskate Wisdom … About the Downside of Having Too Much Money
“Money is like fire: it will warm your feet or it will burn your socks off.”
$7.5 Million: That’s the Magic Number, Then I’ll Feel Rich
Plenty of rich people don’t really feel particularly well off. In a new survey of millionaires, the magic number—the amount they’d need to feel truly rich—seems to be $7.5 million.
Cheapskate Wisdom … About the Unassuming Millionaires in Your Neighborhood
“These people are not into status, they are not into designer brands.”
Luxury Purchases Are Up, But It’s Not Just the Rich Doing the Buying
Spending on luxury goods during the peak holiday shopping weeks of 2010 rose 8.5% compared to the year before. Jewelry sales were up even higher, rising 10.4%.
81 End-of-Year Money Tips
As 2010 comes to a close, keep some money in your pocket when bellying up to the bar or the fast food counter, considering luxury “status” purchases, shopping the post-Christmas sales, and planning your kid’s birthday party.
Meet the ‘Cheapest Man Alive’
He owns a successful investment firm, employs 1,000 people, and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He also brings a homemade lunch to the office every day, had the office carpet repaired with duct tape, pays “only for the meat” and nothing else at holiday parties, and, after company meetings, gathers up paper clips so they can be reused.
Another Rich Cheapskate
He owns one of the largest beer companies in the U.S., and yet he drinks coffee out of Styrofoam cups—and then rinses the cups out so he can reuse them.
Awesome Question: Would You Rather Be Middle Class Now or Rich in 1900?
Either way, you’d be making roughly $70K a year.
How to Be a Savvy Estate Sale Shopper
More foreclosures—especially among the rich—mean more estate sales, and more potential for smart shoppers to snag antiques, furniture, and fixtures at well below market value.
Cheapskate Wisdom … About the Difference Between Success and Mediocrity
“There’s no such thing as get rich quick. Building wealth takes time, and a lot of hard work. If you want to be successful in anything, you must work at it for hours every day – sometimes late into the night, and early in the morning. If you are happy with mediocrity, punch the clock after 8 hours, plop down in front of a television …