CHAPTER 1
THE SAVAGE TRUTH ON GETTING RICH
Financial Security Demands Smart Choices
Everyone wants to know the secret of getting rich. And lately, people are wondering if it’s even possible to “get rich”—or at least to live well and then retire confidently. America faces real challenges, given our country’s burden of debt and our political infighting, not to mention the current economic situation. It’s tempting to give up, to forget that this is not the first time America has surmounted challenges and gone on to prosperity.
So here’s the Savage Truth: The American Dream is not over.
Achieving financial security will require a fresh start and a new approach. If you’re willing to try, or try again, you can succeed. You need only to understand the basic Truths, which have not changed despite market volatility and economic uncertainty.
It’s a tribute to America that there are many roads to wealth in this country, and they are open to all. Stories of young technology entrepreneurs abound, but age is no barrier. Michael Dell founded his computer company at the age of 19, and by age 34 his personal stock ownership in Dell Computer was valued at $16 billion. Ray Kroc, on the other hand, didn’t start McDonald’s until he was in his mid-fifties. Great fortunes were started in the Depression years of the 1930s.
In case that seems like ancient history, consider the fortunes built in the last few years. Facebook made its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire even after the tech bubble had ...
