Be rich with this simple tricks

In a free enterprise system, getting rich is a tempting proposition. Some want to become rich for the amenities and the trophies wealth offers, others want to become rich for the financial freedom, power and fame, or the opportunities wealth offers to contribute to society.


Prosperity by itself, however, is not a cure-all against an ill-led life. Money is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the good life, for happiness and wisdom. But how can one become rich? What is the sufficient condition for the good life?

Certainly, one can become rich in many ways. Forbes World’s Billionaires list reveals three such ways:

1. The Company-builder Way. Carlos Slim Helu, first on the list, amassed his wealth by setting up large-well managed corporations in heavy industry, mining, and retailing. He took, for example, an ailing state monopoly phone company Telemex and turned it into a real company. This way to reaches isn’t new. The “King of Steel,” Andrew Carnegie and the  “King of the Automobile,” Henry Ford (NYSE:F) and the “King of Oil” John Rockefeller followed a similar path—they did create their own company empires that changed the course of economic history.


2. The Business-builder Way. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, second on the list, amassed his fortune by helping scores of engineers and marketers become entrepreneurs, who in turn helped other engineers and marketers become their own entrepreneurs, work at their own pace often in their own place, sharing the risks and the rewards with him. This way to riches is new. It follows the tradition of other Silicon Valley scientists-entrepreneurs like William Hewlett, and David Packard (NYSE:HPQ) who amassed their fortunes by helping other high-tech scientists-entrepreneurs amass theirs. Venture capitalists like Ned Heizer, Jim Markkula, Bill Drapper, Eugen Kleimer, Tom Perkins, and Andy Bechtolsheim became wealthy by serving as financiers and mentors to high-tech start-up entrepreneurs.
3. The Financier Way. Berkshire Hathaway’s Chair Warren Buffett (NYSE:BRK-B), third on the list, accumulated his fortune by buying up shares of well-managed corporations and entrepreneurial ventures like Exxon Mobile Corporation (NYSE:XOM), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), and Nike (NYSE:NKE), in essence combining the previous two strategies. Warren Buffett’s way to riches is neither new nor unique. A number of other investors have amassed their own fortunes by picking up winning companies.

Irrespective of which path one follows to riches, history has shown that staying rich is often more difficult than getting there. Even more important, being rich doesn’t warrant a good life, which bring us to the second question: What does it take to turn a prosperous life into a good life?

Reason. The capacity to examine life, to search for opportunities to expand your mental and spiritual horizons; to understand what can be controlled in life; to distinguish between false and true pleasures; to identify and treasure true friendships; to attain a properly balanced existence; to be a responsible human being, and to be kind to others—all of which can contribute to a meaningful spirituality.