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

Warren Buffett is the best of the best at transforming income into wealth.    How did he do it?  Wise investing, you say.  Combine this with his reputation for having enormous integrity and his well publicized frugal lifestyle.  When it comes to consumption he seems to possess traditional midwestern values.  In spite of his substantial wealth he lives in a relatively modest home and drives American makes of cars.  Ah , but there is something else.  As I stated in The Millionaire Next Door, Millionaires know that the more they spend, the more income they must realize.  The more they realize, the more they must allocate for income...

Not all of the interesting information in the Forbes 400 issue deals with billionaires.  For example, in Matthew Schifrin's article, he profiles several amatuer investors who became millionaires by significantly outperforming the market.  One of these investors, not surprisingly, is a civil engineer and is pictured standing next to his no frills Ford 150 pickup truck.  Remember that Ford was the #1 make and the F150 pickup truck the #1 model among the millionaires profiled in The Millionaire Next Door.  The characteristics of the investors profiled in the article are certainly congruent with those that I have found among self made millionaires who grew their portfolios via their own research and intellect.  In The...

The diet police are up in arms again.  In essence they are proposing that the government take action so that our children will be discouraged from patronizing fast food restaurants. Imagine banning Happy Meals?  From this writer's point of view this is un-American!  I believe that the diet police are made up of malcontents who are misguided.  Fast food companies are not the cause of childhood obesity. Generally speaking, children who are overweight eat more than those who are not overweight. Overeating is also related to indulgent parents who facilitate overeating.  Just like hypereating is a danger to one's physical well being,  ...

Many millionaires have told me that being economically successful has more benefits than just financial independence.  As one very wealthy entrepreneur said, "It's an absolute joy to associate with other successful people."  This fellow wasn't just talking about other multimillionaires like himself.  He was also referring to many of the high grade professionals such as lawyers, accountants, investment managers etc. whom he had hired throughout the years.  And professionals who provide services to the affluent as a result often become affluent themselves.    I have learned a great deal from interacting with these millionaires and the professionals who cater to them.  One of these professionals is my...

Why is it that most of the millionaire next door types do not cheat on their taxes?  One of the reasons is that on average they only pay the equivalent of 2.1% of their net worth in income tax each year.  From The Millionaire Next Door that is $79,000 in tax and a net worth of $3.7 million [income: $247,000].  Even those millionaires profiled in The Millionaire Mind who had a much higher income, about $750,000, and a net worth of over $9 million, paid the equivalent of just over 3.0% in federal tax. So, why would they risk going...