Thomas J. Stanley : Millionaire Next Door Author; Researcher; Expert

In a previous blog, I mentioned "that Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC, a billionaire, has 'been wearing the same shoes of 10 years . . . .  owns only two pairs of work shoes . . . has them resoled.'" I also mentioned that according to the data in The Millionaire Mind of "the top 1% of wealth holders in America . . . 70% regularly have their shoes resoled/repaired."  People who have a propensity to build wealth tend to be quite frugal in allocating dollars for consumer products.  Mr. Bloomberg is a prodigious accumulator of wealth.  I often refer...

I was delighted to learn of one of my reader's (Mr. RK) transition from being a member of the income statement affluent segment to one in the balance sheet affluent population.  Congratulations! The examples (of income statement types) are endless.  My personal example was similar.  Professionally, I'm an engineer.  I'm really good at math and people pay me to solve problems.  Financially, I sucked.  That's a hard thing to have to admit to yourself, especially with my (high) income and profession where 'I know all the answers.' Most engineers are members of the balance sheet affluent segment.  In Stop Acting Rich, I suggested...

Beverly's good friends often joke about the worst place a toy shopper could be during the Christmas season: standing behind her at the Toys-R-Us check out counter! More often than not she is in line with multiple shopping carts loaded to the hilt.  This is because one of her favorite pastimes is to provide toys for hospitalized children.  Beverly believes giving is enhances her self image.  It is one of the rewards that she receives from being a top producer of income.  Her high income and frugal lifestyle enable her to be so very generous.  On average she donates about 30% of her...

In a recent New York Times article, the topic of  fake artwork was discussed.  Most millionaires [about 92%], however, do not have to worry about owning fake artwork because they don't own art that has any market value.   Art comes under the broad heading of tangible/collectibles.  I once wrote an article about the tangible/collectible myth for American Demographics.  Surprisingly under 6% of the typical millionaire's assets are held in such tangible or collectible forms such as antiques, coin and stamp collections, precious gems or WORKS OF ART. But I wrote this article more than 25 years ago.  Have things changed since then? ...

The dislike, even hatred, of the socioeconomic successful by vocal segments of our population is not new in America.  In Salem, Massachusetts (1692-1693) 19 people were executed because they were found guilty of "witchcraft."  But  Dr. P. S. Boyer, in his highly acclaimed book, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, revealed the real truth.  According to Paul Vitello's New York Times profile of Professor's Boyer's exhaustive research on this topic: . . . (Boyer) suggested that social envy motivated many of the accusers in the 17th-century witch trials.  . . .  made innovative use of historic land records and...