The Everywhere Millionaire
It’s becoming something of a running theme that many of my new investing-related reads originate from listening to a Talking Billions episode. This time it was The Everywhere Millionaire by Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick.
Having listened to the podcast interview with the authors, I had a reasonably good idea of what to expect before getting started. Whilst we often find ourselves drawn to stories of billionaires, public company founders or those who have achieved celebrity status through their wealth, The Everywhere Millionaire directs it’s lens a bit closer to home. It goes under the hood of the more ‘everyday’ millionaires who run small to medium-sized businesses and quietly accumulate significant wealth largely outside mainstream attention.
It follows a theme found in a number of books on business and investing success by giving the reader reason to ponder over the fact that becoming a millionaire doesn’t necessarily require a path to wealth that feels completely removed from what the ‘average’ person can realistically pursue.
That shouldn’t understate the level of focus, effort, hard work and persistence required to accumulate millionaire, and in some cases decamillionaire, status. What the book does well though is present stories from more everyday industries, providing a sense of what’s possible for those with the gumption and desire to start something of their own.
During the first part of the book, I began to think that was going to be the extent of what was covered, with the remaining chapters simply providing different examples of broadly similar paths to wealth. To some degree that's true, but the book goes considerably further by exploring not only how business owners accumulate wealth, but also the factors that influence their ability to maintain it once established.
Beyond the businesses themselves, Zidar and Zwick examine how taxation and policy decisions over recent decades have affected wealth creation and preservation. They also explore how successful business owners can find themselves in positions of influence when it comes to future policy decisions.
Nothing presented suggests anything particularly nefarious, and readers will inevitably have different views on the taxation and policy questions raised. Either way, I found it enlightening that the authors continue beyond the point of simply asking how these individuals became wealthy. Building wealth is only part of the story. Understanding what happens afterwards provides a more complete picture.
The focus is predominantly on the US, so some of the industries, policies and particularly the tax considerations are naturally specific to the American system. The underlying principles themselves are more transferable though. For readers elsewhere, it still provides a useful framework for understanding the factors worth considering which you can then research as far as local applicability and specifics.
This isn't your everyday finance, investing or business book, but that's why I think it deserves a place in a personal library of anyone interested in business or finance. It goes deeper than simply presenting another collection of entrepreneurial success stories, examining the wider ecosystem around business ownership and wealth creation whilst grounding most of the discussion in data.
Who’s It For?
The Everywhere Millionaire sits somewhere between business, entrepreneurship, wealth and finance rather than fitting neatly into any one category.
For that reason, I think it will be particularly valuable for those considering starting a business or already pursuing their own entrepreneurial journey. If you're near the beginning of that path, there's inspiration to be found in the businesses and people featured, but also useful insight into the broader considerations that accompany building and maintaining wealth through business ownership.