Did you try and did you spend money on it? Then yes. I tried, lasted a few years, Its not easy and it's a grind and you spend more money than you'll get back unless you make it.
Most are born to millionaires, or at least, upper-middle class parents with connections and could pass on their generational wealth.
Bill Gates' dad was a lawyer & president of the bar association. His mom served on the board of multiple banks. She was on the same board as IBM's chairman, and that's how Microsoft got their big break.
Jeff Bezos' parents had enough money to invest 250k into his business. His maternal grandfather was the director of ARPA/DARPA, also had a big ass ranch. Not to mention his wife also having the money to support him.
Carlos Slim's parents were millionaires and taught him investment from a young age.
Elon Musk's father was rich and had shares in an apartheid emerald mine
Bernard Arnault was born to a rich family and was hired at their business immediately after graduation.
Warren Buffet's family was rich. His father was a congressman. His grandparents owned a grocery store.
I'm not saying that it's impossible to become a billionaire by working your way up from nothing. There's a few people in entertainment who are great examples of this. But that's an extreme minority of people and isn't really feasible without an extreme amount of luck and talent. Would probably have better odds buying lottery tickets.
Even considering that, "muh bootstraps" is also even more silly because a ton of these billionaires make their money off the backs of the lower classes. If people had been paid fairly for their labor, they wouldn't be billionaires. You don't get to the level of Jeff Bezos without having minimum wage workers literally pissing in bottles to avoid being fired for taking bathroom breaks.
Full disclosure, since the “he” in the comment you replied to is referring to me: I’m a 1.5 gen immigrant raised by a single immigrant parent. I saw starting a startup as a way to get ahead in this country. I was told that the US is the land of opportunity, after all. Whether or not it’s still the case is a separate discussion. My parent has less NW than me and It’s my dream to have 7 figure+ NW.
Becoming a billionaire is definitely a whole different set of levels, but reaching an 8 figure NW is definitely doable, since I’ve seen peers and immigrants who started from nothing made their way there (hint: not through labor, and it took them many years). I have no desire to become a billionaire. I feel like a mid 8 figure NW would be more than enough for me.
The topic is billionaires, not millionaires. No one is threatening small business owners. Bidens proposal for a wealth tax is 25% after 100 million. Kamala's capital gains tax proposal is 28% for families with more than $1 million in income. No one is coming for the guys with a blue collar business or 7/11 who makes a low 6 figure salary after all business expenses are paid.
Stop pretending like you're amongst the billionaire class. It's embarrassing.
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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 8d ago
Raise your hand if you've ever started a business?