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

Wall Street recently lost one of its greatest investment gurus, Dr. Martin Zweig.  His obituaries were published prominently in both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.  His accomplishments were many.  On the Friday before the Monday stock market crash of 1987 he predicted "crash" on TV's Wall Street Week program.  Also The Zweig Forecast ranked 1st among newsletters that predicted performance, according to Mark Hulbert.   People have a great advantage in life if they can select their ideal vocation early.  Zweig was no exception.  He "began his investing career at age 13 when his uncle Mort gave him six shares of General...

The national survey which served as the base for The Millionaire Mind represented a fraction of the top 1% of the wealth holders in America.  Some of the myths about these people are that they were all straight A students, scored at the top on the SAT, attended elite private schools, etc.  The average SAT score for the sample was 1190.  Their most frequent grade in both high school and college was "B."  Their GPA in college was 2.9.  They typically did not qualify for admission to an "elite" college or university.  But there were a few who, in spite of their mediocre credentials, somehow made it into the...

The holiday shopping frenzy begins this week!  Therefore I thought it might be a good time to run a blog from last year entitled Black Friday Blues.  The theme of the blog is that in most cases the retail prices on popular consumer products are not at their lowest the Friday following Thanksgiving.  Certainly there are some items that are offered at steep discounts.  These are the headliners and traffic generators.  They are offered with the hope among retail marketers that customers will continue buying once they enter the store.  Ah, the recreational shoppers. In a recent article on the topic of holiday bargains in The...

RE: Toll Collectors on the George Washington Bridge According to the Wall Street Journal, . . . some toll collectors make more than $100,000 [annually with overtime] This is the equivalent of more than two and one half times what the typical American worker earns.   But toll collectors are not the only blue collar high income producers in America, not by a long shot.  Based upon my research  cited in my first book, Marketing to the Affluent: One of my favorite blue collar [affluent occupations] is that of materials handler. [Materials handling-supervisors, handlers, including crane operators and laborers].  As a side note, captains/officers of...

State death taxes are economically self defeating because tax return data confirm that the wealthy in America often arrange to die tax free in states like Florida and Texas. So says an editorial in The Wall Street Journal.  The editorial cites the research on this topic conducted by economist Arthur Laffer.  Much of the discussion focuses on the adverse effect that high gift and death taxes has upon the geographical mobility of wealthy households and businesses headed by the affluent. "Tennessee is one of only two states that imposes an estate and gift tax.   . . .with a gift and...