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How to Become a Billionaire

A reader recently wrote in wanting to know how to become a billionaire. There is no set path to becoming a billionaire. If there was, you can be certain that I would have majored in it in college along with everyone else. Realize from the start that odds are against you becoming a billionaire. I am not saying this to stop you from trying, but if it were easy, everyone would be rich beyond their wildest dreams. Let’s discuss many of the various ways you can become a billionaire anyways.

Have Billionaire Parents

The easiest way to become a billionaire is to have parents who are billionaires. Odds are that they will leave their money to you to inherit and then you can sit back and relax because you are a newly minted billionaire, unless you are the child of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett who are giving away their billions to charity.

Of course, you can’t choose who your parents are at birth and if you are asking how to become a billionaire, I am assuming that your parents aren’t billionaires, so this option is off the table you.

Become A Movie Star

Tom Cruise earned $20 million for starring in Oblivion [1]. Sandra Bullock earned $56 million for The Blind Side [2] and The Proposal [3]. While these earnings aren’t in the billions of dollars, if you string along enough movies and are smart with your money, billionaire status is achievable.

Achievable but not likely.  Before you run over to your mirror and start your best Jack Nicholson impression, understand that the big-time movie stars are the exception and not the rule. Take a trip to Los Angeles and ask any waiter that serves you food what they do for a living and odds are they will tell you they are an actor. Sure someone has to make it, but when millions are trying, the odds of you making it are slim.

Become a Sports Star

See the above point about movie stars here. Less than 2% of college athletes in football and basketball make it to the pros. An even smaller number of high school stars make it to the professional sports leagues.

Again, there is a chance. I would never tell someone to quit their dream, but you have to be honest with yourself at the same time. I’ve heard many people talk about how much faster the NFL is compared to college football. It makes sense. Only the cream of the crop plays professional football.

In college, Reggie Bush of USC would outrun everyone on the field. In the NFL, he routinely gets caught. He is no longer the faster person on the field. However, if you do have the skills be sure to read the Financial Advice for Pro Athletes [4].

Become The Leader of a Drug Cartel

Leading a drug cartel will yield you billions of dollars. But, the drugs you would be working with are illegal and you run a very high risk of ending up in jail. Actually, odds are more likely you will end up murdered since other leaders and defections in your own gang will be looking to take power from you.

Having to look over your shoulder all of the time and questioning everyone you know doesn’t sound like much fun. You want to lie on an island beach, soaking up the sun all day, not locked in a room worried about whether you are being targeted every day.

Win The Lottery

You won’t become a billionaire by winning the lottery, but if you win a large enough jackpot and invest the money wisely, you could easily end up one.  But, the odds of winning the lottery are slim and the fact that 90% of lottery winners go broke within 5 years is sobering. And don’t forget You Have to Pay Tax on Lottery Winnings [5].

Start Your Own Business

Creating a successful business and then going public with your company stock is a great way to become a billionaire. Of course, you’ll need to come up with a great product or service that people need and want to buy and then be able to make certain your product is the best.

Even then, many small businesses don’t survive, so this path isn’t guaranteed either.

Follow Your Dream to Become a Billionaire

What we have learned here is that there is no certain path to becoming a billionaire. If there was, many more people would be a billionaire. Here is my advice on your best shot at becoming a billionaire:

Find something you love and start working in that field. If you are truly passionate about the subject matter, you will want to always know more and stay on top of the latest news and developments. Work won’t feel like work. It will just be fun. Through all of this knowledge you gain, you will begin to see shortcomings in the industry that you might be able to exploit.

Maybe there is a better way of doing something. Maybe a product or a service that isn’t offered could be offered. Then create that service or product. If you do it right, you will have customers and will be making money. But here is the key: you can’t spend the earnings you make on cars, houses and vacations. You have to save the money.

By re-investing the money into the company you have a greater chance of staying on top and fending off future competition. Trust me, if your product or service is good, you will have competition eventually. As your company grows, you will earn more money which will allow you to re-invest more money. Compound interest will take over and your company will be worth millions.

Ideally, you will either go public and offer investors stock in your company or someone will want to buy your company. Either way, you are well on your way to becoming a billionaire. Of course, none of this is guaranteed. You can follow my advice and never become a billionaire. But many times, the journey is worth more than you can imagine.

Since this list isn’t exclusive, add your methods to becoming a billionaire in the comments below.

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