In the late 19th century, a man named Benjamin Franklin Thomas decided he wanted to be rich. He became obsessed with business, investing, and finding a single opportunity that would set him up for life, allowing him to live off his capital. According to Constance L. Hays in her book The Real Thing: Truth and Power…
I’ve been setting up custodial accounts such as UTMAs, looking at dividend reinvestment plans, and more for the past few days.
For the past hour, my mind has been on the power of some businesses to capture annuity streams that pay dividends for years, even decades or generations, with very little additional work. When you can get one of these in your portfolio, they pump out wealth as long as you update them every once in a while. They are the closest thing to geese laying golden eggs that exist outside of fairy tales.
Jack MacDonald was a frugal attorney who wanted to build a big net worth to give to charity. He quietly amassed a $188+ million fortune investing in stocks.
I was up almost all night baking and cooking so my part of Thanksgiving dinner today was ready without having to rush. I finished the corn chowder my brother made me promise half a dozen times I was going to make, then followed it with a granny smith apple pie that my mom wanted, the…
Following the post on the Dies Irae Principle earlier, I started thinking about the role of sound in regulating mood. Thirteen years ago, I was sitting in my undergraduate freshman music theory class, having moved thousands of miles away from home to begin university. At the time, I had enrolled in the Bachelor of Music…
I’ve been thinking about how differently people see the world and how that influences their view of events. Something that rolls off one person’s back can cause another to spend a week sobbing in bed, barely able to contain their grief or embarrassment. What is a minor setback to one person can be a career-ending…
Mozart penned one of his greatest symphonies as a result of dire financial need – something he wouldn’t have had to if he would have humbled himself and admitted that someone he considered evil, Voltaire, had something to teach him when it came to wealth management.
We talked about theft a couple of years ago but it’s on my mind, again. I still struggle to come to terms with it, despite overwhelming, conclusive evidence that it is true: A small percentage of the population will steal, simply if given the opportunity. They won’t even need the stuff. They may not even want…
I’ve watched in fascination over the past couple of years as German conglomerate Joh. A Benckiser has been quietly buying up the world’s leading coffee brands, acquiring Caribou Coffee for $340 million, Peet’s Coffee & Tea for $974 million, and my personal obsession, Douwe Egberts for $9.8 billion, among others. The firm is the personal holding company of…