Watch the story of Ronald Reed, a janitor who became a millionaire at the age of 92.
Some dream of luxurious life. Some are content where they are in their life. Ronald Reed was among the latter.
And yet, at the age of 90, he shook everyone with the sudden discovery of his $8 million in wealth.
Did he hit a jackpot? No
Did his ancestors leave him a secret stash of cash somewhere? Nope.
So how did he make those millions?
That secret lies in the power of compounding. What it means is his wealth grew over time.
He never even had a high-paying job. Or even a college education.
Ronald worked in the Army for 5 years. Then he went on to work at Haviland's Service Gas station as an attendant and mechanic for 34 years.
Ronald Reed serves as a great example of the fact that
You don’t need money to make money.
The only thing that made him different from an average man was that
he was a quiet worker… and an even quiet investor.
Even after his retirement, he took a job as a part-time janitor at a local J.C. Penney department store.
He truly lived by the quote "Another day, another dollar"
Why most people, including his own children, couldn't make sense of his wealth is because of his lifestyle.
Mr. Reed spent mindfully.
His only large spends were 12,000$ for the house he bought, a second-hand Toyota Yaris he used to drive, and the cost of his step-children's education.
He would usually walk to most places. And the rare times that he drove, he would park the car a little far to save on the parking cost. Even the coat he used to wear was held together with safety pins, which often made people believe he was poor. But in reality, he was just living below his means.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t indulge or didn’t have any taste buds.
He was regular to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's Coffee Shop. He'd have his regular coffee and an English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast.
His hobbies were wood chopping, stamp collecting, and coin collecting.
But his most rewarding habit was borrowing books from a local library. There he stumbled upon the wall street journal and became a regular reader.
He'd study the market and invest. And eventually, he became a wizard at picking stocks.
Ronald Read started small. He spent 60+/- years quietly accumulating equity in some of the most successful businesses in the world.
Here’s Ronald Reed’s investing pattern that made him millions of dollars:
1. Holding a diversified portfolio. He didn’t put all his eggs in one basket. But he also only invested in familiar companies & sectors. From toothpaste companies to credit cards and banks, he held ownership in these assets, come wars, inflation or deflation.
2. Living a frugal life. As he can see from his lifestyle, he was heavy on investments and light on consumption.
3. Reinvesting. His portfolio consisted mostly of blue-chip stocks that paid a dividend. But he didn’t spend that money. He reinvested the dividends to build more wealth.
4. Long-term investor. Mr. Reed held onto his investments. He didn't sell them when the market fell. Also, he kept stock certificates in a safety deposit box, which means he most likely didn't trade very often.
More importantly, Mr. Reed donated most of his wealth to charity. He donated US$1.2 million to Brooks Memorial Library from where he used borrow books and $4.8 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the cafe at which he used to eat frequently.
If you haven’t already, start your investing journey on Kuvera - your safe space to invest. Click on the link below to get started.
[ Ссылка ]
