The Ten Roads to Riches: The Ways the Wealthy Got There (And How You Can Too!)

70 The Ten Roads to Riches

MOGUL

MEANDERING

A more reliable way to wealth and celebrity is becoming a media

mogul. Moguls straddle the breadth

of

media and entertainment.

They

own studios, cable companies, networks, record labels, maga-

zines, and maybe sports teams. Moguls even produce movies and

music. As opposed

to

talents, moguls are far richer.

The

Forbes

400

is littered with moguls like:

•

Michael

Bloomberg,

Bloomberg founder and

current

New

York mayor ($11.5 billion)

II

Charles

Ergen,

founder

of

EchoStar ($10.2 billion)

II

Rupert

Murdoch

, News

Corp

CEO,

just

bought

the Wall

Str

eet

Journal

($8.8 billion)

II

Sumner

Redstone,

owns major stakes in Viacorn and CBS, gave

Tom Cruise a public upbraiding (which Cruise likely deserved)

($7.6 billion)

II

James

c.

Kennedy

and

Blair

Parry-Okeden,

brother

and

sister, Cox Cable heirs. He's the

CEO

($6.3 billion a piece)

1'1

David

Geffen, founded Geffen records and co-founded

DreamWorks, college drop-out and former mailroom clerk, erst-

while friend of the Clintons ($6 billion)22

It

goes on and

on-through

George

Lucas

($3.9 billion),

Steven

Spielberg

($3 billion) and beyond. You

get

the point.

Not

a single pure "talent" amongst the richest of the rich, yet plenty

of

moguls. Bigger bucks and longer-lasting opportunity!

Murdoch

is

77, Geffen's a spry

65-both

in their prime.

It

requires grit, deter-

mination, business

savvy,

but

not

Cameron

Diaz's looks or youth.

Though

I've listed the biggest of the big, there are obviously myr- ...