Randomguy Posted July 17, 2018 Share #1 Posted July 17, 2018 What does it take to be a billionaire? 13 July 2018 Share this with Facebook Share this with MesShare this with Twitter Share this with Email Share Image copyrightREUTERS Image captionForbes estimated Kylie Jenner's net worth at nearly $1bn, based largely on its $800m valuation of her cosmetics firm Forbes caused a stir this week when it reported that social media star Kylie Jenner had a self-made fortune worth nearly $1bn. It's a distinction very few can claim. There were only about 5,700 people in the world worth more than $500 million last year, according to Credit Suisse's annual Global Wealth Report. True billionaires are even rarer. So what does it take to become a billionaire? 1. Start your own company Looking at the top tier, big names such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Zara's Amancio Ortega and Alibaba's Jack Ma dominate. And the trend holds: Forbes identifies about two-thirds of the 2,208 people on its 2018 billionaires list as self-made - a share has increased over time. It's true that self-made can be tricky to define. The magazine's characterisation of Kylie Jenner - born into a rich and famous family - as "self-made" raised some eyebrows this week. Kylie Jenner: How the reality teen founded a cosmetics empire Meet the world's youngest self-made billionaire But no matter how easily you got there, studies confirm that it pays to be the boss. On average, chief executives at the biggest 500 public companies in the US earned more than 361 times the typical pay at the company last year, according to analysis of government filings by the AFL-CIO labour union. inRead invented by Teads Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionJeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, was the number one ranked billionaire on the 2018 Forbes list 2. Inherit money About one third of the people on the Forbes list inherited their money. That includes seven members of the Walton family, heirs to the Walmart fortune, and Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, whose family started L'Oreal. Inheritance is especially important in Europe, where it factored into the fortunes of about half of billionaires, according to analysis of Forbes' 2014 list by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. There are plenty of reasons why people with a head start maintain their lead. For one thing, the value of financial assets like stocks and bonds has risen more rapidly than other kinds of assets in recent years. Those kinds of assets are also often taxed at a lower rate - if they're taxed at all. An academic study last year estimated that 25%-35% of personal taxes are evaded each year by those in the top 0.01%. 3. Be a hedge funder There were more than 140 people in the finance sector with fortunes greater than $2.5bn on the 2018 Forbes list - more than in any other industry. Many of them hail from the US, where 25% of billionaires source their riches from finance. But don't expect to simply rise through the ranks. JP Morgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon is the rare billionaire banker who took that path. Most financiers entered the billionaire club like people in other industries - by striking out on their own. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionAbigail Johnson, who heads the US money management firm founded by her grandfather, Fidelity Investments, is one of only about 250 women on the Forbes list And many of the financiers - almost one-fifth of the richest 143 - have ties to a hedge fund. Of course, if you're set on breaking into the top ranks of billionaires, odds favour those in the tech industry, which claims four of the top 10 spots. 4. Get out of the UK The number of billionaires in the UK declined last year - one of the only places in the world where that happened, according to Forbes and other surveys. The fast-growing Asia Pacific region is more fertile territory. About 29% of the world's new billionaires last year came from the region, according to an annual survey by WealthX, which estimates that there are about 2,750 billionaires globally, a bit more than Forbes. China alone claimed 29 of the 259 newcomers on Forbes' list - more than any other country. China's route to riches Britain's inequality map - stark and growing Despite gains in other parts of the world, the US remains home to the highest number of billionaires at 585. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionAlibaba founder Jack Ma is one of China's richest men 5. Don't worry too much about following the rules Billionaires are no strangers to legal battles. Take Bill Gates. He might be known as a philanthropist now, but his reputation wasn't always so squeaky clean. In the 1990s, the US sued Microsoft for anti-competitive practices. The US won the initial suit and Microsoft appealed. The fight ultimately ended in a settlement. The European Commission has also fined the firm. Mr Gates is in good company. Regulators have fined a slew of billionaire-making companies over matters that range from bribery payments to price fixing and other competitive practices. Those include Google and Samsung, as well as firms outside of tech, like casino company Las Vegas Sands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Silly Posted July 17, 2018 Share #2 Posted July 17, 2018 Of the options above, I think I want to inherit my billions. It seems like the easiest row to hoe. Where do I go pick up my inheritance? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted July 17, 2018 Share #3 Posted July 17, 2018 17 minutes ago, Mr. Silly said: Of the options above, I think I want to inherit my billions. It seems like the easiest row to hoe. Where do I go pick up my inheritance? You need to pick your parents well. That goes for avoiding heart attacks also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted July 17, 2018 Share #4 Posted July 17, 2018 24 minutes ago, Mr. Silly said: Of the options above, I think I want to inherit my billions. It seems like the easiest row to hoe. Where do I go pick up my inheritance? There is an easier way. GoFundMe begging. https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2018/07/13/people-are-donating-money-to-kylie-jenner-to-help-her-become-the-worlds-youngest-female-billionaire/23481565/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted July 17, 2018 Share #5 Posted July 17, 2018 how about starting your own forum I bet SW is rolling in dough 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizeye Posted July 17, 2018 Share #6 Posted July 17, 2018 Start with $999,999,999 and sadly, some still can’t. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted July 17, 2018 Share #7 Posted July 17, 2018 A really good idea, hard work, a lot of risk taking, a high win to lose ratio, a little good luck and old age. This is the self made method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkpow Posted July 17, 2018 Share #8 Posted July 17, 2018 Seems like a lot of trouble to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital_photog ★ Posted July 17, 2018 Share #9 Posted July 17, 2018 Inherit 5 billion and take up farming. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 17, 2018 Share #10 Posted July 17, 2018 6 hours ago, Mr. Silly said: Of the options above, I think I want to inherit my billions. It seems like the easiest row to hoe. Where do I go pick up my inheritance? Speak Greek? Some expensive cosmetic surgery might let you successfully stage a "back from death" storyline that even the soap operas would be jealous of! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted July 17, 2018 Share #11 Posted July 17, 2018 I started with nothing and still have some of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkpow Posted July 17, 2018 Share #12 Posted July 17, 2018 2 hours ago, Further said: I started with nothing and still have some of it. I bet I have more nothing than you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted July 18, 2018 Share #13 Posted July 18, 2018 Kinda mind boggling. Having even 1 billion dollars. But then to stay rich, you have to tie up a sizable chunk of money in financial instruments. Still...having ie. 10 million dollars to use and rest socked away.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now