The Hard Truth About Becoming a Millionaire in Today’s World

0:28So, hey guys, listen, we're all trying to get more productive. $10 ,000 worth of courses that are in there that come with the app. Also, some of the top influencers in the world are all posting content in there on a regular basis, like having the Avengers of personal development and business in one app. And I'm honored that he asked me to be a part of it as well and contribute on a weekly basis, and I do. So go over there and get signed up. You're going to get a free tuition-free voucher to go to an event with Brendan and myself and a bunch of other influencers as well. So you get a free event out of it also.

0:53So go to growthday.com forward slash ed. That's growthday.com forward slash ed.

1:26when you need it, so your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.

1:49This is The Admirate Show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. So you want to be a millionaire, huh? Well, let's talk about that today. You know, one of the most popular topics on our show, and I only cover it three or four times a year, is money. And so we're going to talk about being a millionaire today and even making a million dollars a year and what that really looks like, what's really going on in the world and in the United States specifically, and whether or not it matters. And I know a lot of you, as we start the show today, say money isn't everything. Of course it's not, which is why I only cover it three or four times a year on the show.

2:22But we're going to cover it today, and I want you to stay in there, and I don't care whether you're a school teacher, a bus driver, a CEO, a professional athlete, a stay-at-home mom or dad, a wealth manager. Stay in here with me today because we're going to talk about wealth. Specifically, we're going to talk about becoming a millionaire, but so many of you asked me to look at making a million dollars a year. And so we're going to talk about that today and hang in there even if you don't make a lot of money or you do make a lot of money. So let me give you some statistics first of all. let's look at this millionaire thing, which isn't what it used to be.

2:56And if you're not on track to do that right now, and you're in your thirties or forties, you're more than likely going to retire broke. Actually, you're more than likely never going to stop working. You're never going to retire if you are not at least on pace to be a multimillionaire in your retirement years, if you're 30 or 40 years old now. So there may be a necessity for you to begin to look at a second income or a way to make more money or certainly at the way you spend and earn money. So let me give you some stats. Over the last five years, the population of millionaires in the United States has grown 35%.

3:30That's nearly twice as fast as China's. The U.S. is now home to 30 % of all of the world's millionaires, which is up from 35 % back in 2018. The divergence, though, of top wealth in this country is getting wider and wider. The U.S., by the way, has about 10 ,980 ,850 centimillionaires. Those are people worth 100 million or more, which I'm honored to be one of. There's only 9 ,850 of them in the United States. China, by the way, only has 2 ,352. So the U.S. has a giant chunk of the people in the world worth$100 million a year or more. Let me give you some stats here that are going to blow your mind.

4:11Just hang in there because it's fascinating. The top 5 % of all earners in the United States make at least$290 ,000 a year. So if you make $290 ,000 a year, you out earn 95 % of the people in the United States. Now, I know the vast majority that means of people watching this today do not make$290 ,000 a year. It means probably 5 % of you do. So in 2021, annual wages rose fastest. Guess for who? The top 1%. In 2021, the top 1 % wages went up 9.4%. The top 0.1 % went up 18.5%. So that means successful people are becoming more and more successful. They must know something. Some would say, well, the system is rigged in their favor, or they learned how to rig their own lives for success in this system.

5:02No matter how you see it, the bottom line is the top 1 % income went up almost 10 % last year and the top 0.1 % went up almost 20%. What's incredible by contrast though, well, those in the bottom 90%, they actually saw their real earnings fall by 0.2 % in 20 and 21. Let's just settle in on this. The top earners, top 1 % are up 9%. Top 1 % of 1%, 1 tenth of 1 % are up 20%. Everybody else, the bottom 90%, saw their wages drop with inflation. Workers in the 90th to 99th percentile, so the bottom 10 % earners, experienced real losses in 2021. Here's some stats. The top 1 % earned 14 % of all wages earned in 2021.

5:52That's twice as much as they did in 1979 when they were earning 7 % of all the money. So of all the money earned in the economy in the United States, the top 1 % earned 14 % of it, double what it was in 1979. The bottom 90%, the bottom 90, earned just 58 % of all wages. So there's a disparity here between those that are flourishing in the system and those that are not. The lowest share on record since 1979 for the bottom 90%. See, in 1979, to give you an example, the bottom 90 % earned about 70 % of the money, so it was within range. Now, it's just a little more than half. So, the bottom line is this.

6:36Wages for the top 1 % and the top 0.1 % have skyrocketed. 206 % for the top 1%, 465 % for the top 0.1%, while the wages of everybody else have grown just 28%. I'm throwing a lot of stats at you. Let me just make it simple. The top 1 % since 1979 are up 206%. The top 1 tenth of 1 % are up 465%. Everybody else up just 28%. That means the income gap's growing. I think I've illustrated the point. On an annual basis, the bottom 90 % wages have grown only 0.6 % a year, which is not even close to inflation. So we're falling behind 90 % of us are. There's no really such thing as the bottom 90%. It's just everybody.

7:24So here's what's really interesting. It's a great article in CNBC that I'll put up on the screen on YouTube, and it doesn't matter if you're on audio, I'll just tell you what the article says. It says the average American thinks they have to make a million dollars a year in order to be wealthy. They think they have to make$1 million a year. Well, that's interesting because less than 1 % of all people make more than a million dollars a year. Now, and that'd be cool to do it once, wouldn't it? The odds are 99 % you're not going to make a million dollars in a year. By the way, how many people do you believe make a million dollars five years in a row?

8:01So it becomes their income. Do you know what percentage of people do that? 0.1%. 0.1 % of all people, only 80 ,000 people in the United States have actually made a million dollars a year, five years in a row. 80 ,000 people out of a country of 370 million. Now, of those that make the income five years in a row, you ready for this? If you take out hedge fund managers, fund managers, venture capitalists, you're now to less than a quarter of 1 % of people. If you take out professional athletes, it's even lower. So now you're talking about 24 ,000 people, somewhere between 24 and 50 ,000 people under the age of 60 make a million dollars a year consistently in the United States.

8:51So you can't even fill up the average football stadium in the United States with people under 60 years old who aren't in those fields that make a million dollars a year. You're talking about 24 ,000 people. So now here's what's crazy. So that's probably not going to happen, although it should be your ambition. I've been privileged and honored that I have made over a million dollars a year in my life for the last 25 straight years, some years, you know, eight figures and above. And so I'm, I'm lucky, blessed, and I know some things that have put me in that group. Here's what's interesting about making that money.

9:28For people that make$500 ,000 a year and up, they're four times more likely to file bankruptcy than people that don't. For people that make a million dollars a year, they're eight times more likely to file bankruptcy than someone who does not make a million dollars a year. So I don't know that income is correlated to wealth. In fact, a lot of people, by the way, and I know that more people make this money than it shows up on tax return because people don't claim all their income. These are people with net incomes.

9:57This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it, so your dollar goes a long way. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.

11:02We'll see you next time. One of the things on social media that drives me crazy is so many people think so many people make millions of dollars. So you hear, well, X, Y, Z, a guy made$3 million last year. She made$3 million. They haven't paid. You haven't taken account. That was their gross. You haven't taken account their rent, their employees, their insurance, their legal, all the overhead that comes with it, their inventory in some cases. Also, this big thing on social media, so-and-so exited their company for$50 million or$500 million or a billion dollars. That doesn't tell you anything. You don't know, number one, what percentage of the company they owned.

11:37You don't know how much debt they had. You don't know how many people they had to pay off that are other shareholders or investors. You don't know what they paid in taxes. And so oftentimes I've had people that have been on my show, the people go, this person exited their company for a hundred million. And I know this person doesn't even have $2 million in cash. So this whole money conversation online and anywhere right now is very bizarre and perverted and isn't always telling the truth. Turns out that most of the people don't make a million dollars a year, especially if they don't run a hedge fund or they're a fund manager or they can throw 25 touchdowns a year or dunk a basketball.

12:13So who are these people that make$200 ,000 a year and more? Like what do they do when you break down the tax returns? So some of them are very successful executives at companies or even high-end executive assistants. Here's what they all are at that level, really great at what their job is. if you're going to be take the corporate route, you have to be great. Okay. You have to be great. Many of them are in sales. They're in persuasion. They help people make decisions by buying things, real estate, life insurance, automobiles, things of that nature, pharmaceutical sales. So many of them are in sales.

12:56I'm talking about now, by the way, minus athletes and fund managers, several attorneys and doctors. For most of us, we're not going to law school. We're not going back to medical school, but they're in the group as well. And then the vast majority of the remaining people are entrepreneurs. They have found a way to solve people's problems. They've started businesses. None of them were born entrepreneurs. Most of them had jobs before they started the business. Most of those people have failed in multiple businesses before they became successful in the one they're now pretty successful in. I can tell you this.

13:38All of them have faced adversity. All of them had fears. All of them had people in their family telling them they were crazy. All of them have had people tell them they're not going to win. All of them have had people root against them. All of them have had somebody hurt them. Most of them have had somebody steal from them, lie to them, take from them, and use them. And they won anyway. See, there has to be a point in your life where you go, I'm not going to be a statistic. My family is not going to be a statistic. And if you really love what you do, but you want to provide for your family, than get a career that can provide and do what you love as your hobby or your pastime, or go get enough money saved that you can dedicate all your time to doing this other thing.

14:28I am not suggesting in any way, shape, or form that what you're doing doesn't work. My middle sister is a Christian school teacher. I would be crushed if she ever did anything other than that for a living. I just would. But her husband, who has a nice corporate job, also has an entrepreneurial hustle as a podcast. Okay. And so somewhere in there, they've got a game plan. They also started saving money in their early 20s because they were clients of mine in the financial business. But they started a savings plan. They've got lots of equity in their home. They have found a way to live extremely below their means.

15:11And so there is a path for everybody. There's a path for working people. There's a path for entrepreneurs. There's a path for salespeople There's a path you have to find yours. You have to become committed to a plan You have to get a strategy down If you are going to be in a career that does not pay you a lot of money, then you've got to be great with your money You're gonna have to be very disciplined You're gonna have to save You're gonna have to invest You're gonna have to find a way to cut out excess and live below your means Or you need to start a side hustle in addition to that career or your spouse does or maybe one of you works on the weekends and earn supplementary income.

15:48Unfortunately, the way the system works today is it's almost impossible for two people in a relationship that raise a family and have children with the way taxes work now, with the lack of wage growth that I've told you to get ahead unless they are unbelievably diligent with their money. And so if you're going to have those careers that make a difference in other people's lives, but won't make a financial difference in yours, I salute you. I admire you. this show is really for you today. If you're one of these people who wants to get financial increase, well, we've already talked about the different things you need to do.

16:21And I will hear as we go down the list in a minute. So I want to honor those of you that do work every day that changes other people's lives and you don't get the appreciation verbally, emotionally that you deserve. And you certainly don't get the financial remuneration and appreciation that you're worthy of. So it's going to be incumbent upon you to even be more disciplined, more focused with your family. The reason this matters so much is that people who choose these careers in the service of other people that are not going to also pay a lot of money, they have chosen those careers because money doesn't mean anything to them.

16:53It's not a priority. Contribution is. Peace of mind is. Personal growth is. Making a difference is. So these precious people who work in careers where there's not a lot of income, money is not a priority to them. And what I'm saying to those of you that are those people who I admire so much, it needs to still be a priority to you because someday you can't do this job. And when you're done with the ability to do this job, you love so much. You have to have enough money safe so that you can live. There's also going to be life happening to you. Mom or dad's going to need some help. Kids are going to need some help.

17:30Cars are going to break down. Emergencies are going to happen. And so precious, beautiful you who's dedicated your life to other people. You should continue to do that. But this idea that you could ignore money altogether, if I can say this as a friend, is irresponsible. Because what you will do is you'll spend your entire life caring for other people. And when you most need to care for yourself and your family, the government's not going to be there. The government is not going to be there. That pension you have is probably not going to be there or promised. And so you've got to take the steps right now to make money a priority outside of your career so that someday you don't have to worry about it.

18:09If you just get a good budget, a good plan, a good savings program, a good person to help you that's trustworthy, then you can put all that stuff on autopilot and you can continue to do what you do for a living, serving other people and living in the peace and harmony and contribution that comes with that. But what you can't do is just say, it's not a priority to me at all. I know too many people who spent their lives, changing other people's lives, but never paid any attention to their own, get to a point in their life where they can't do that job anymore, and they're scared, and they're destitute.

18:40And you will have helped when you retire someday. Way too many people to have to live like that at that age. It's not fair. And unfortunately, other people aren't going to do this for you, and the government's not going to do it for you. No matter what political party you vote for or believe in. Neither one of them are going to care for your family like you need it cared for or you in retirement. And you certainly can't wait around to trust that they will 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now. So you need to get a game plan of saving some money now and reducing your expenses. And I know you're saying, Ed, you don't know what it's like at my income level.

19:15I do. I lived on minimum wage for many years. Okay. I made less than six figures, many years, many years. I made less than$50 ,000 a year, many years ago. And I know what that's like. And so, but I found a way to save money then just in case I never made a lot of money. And so please, everyone listening to those of you that plan on making a lot of money, but we got to get our act together because we know not that many people really make a million dollars a year. So let's look at who they are and what we need to do to be like them. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter.

19:53You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at goodtoknowfacts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit goodtoknowfacts.org. So is there room to do it? One million percent yes. I talk about how to do that on the show all the time. I'm actually qualified to talk about it because I've been doing it for 25 years. I've made eight figures a year for the last 17 or 18 straight years.

20:34Not seven, eight figures a year. And so do I know about this stuff? Yes. I also know a bunch of people who make a lot of money that are broke. So what are the things that matter then about what I'm talking about today? These are the real stats. And don't buy into this. Someone so exited, they exited, they exited. That doesn't tell you anything. That's like preying on people's ignorance going, oh my gosh, they sold their company for$100 million or$300 million. You don't know anything beyond that. You don't know if it was a staged buyout, how much of it was cash, how much of it was in stock, when they get it, how much went to shareholders, investors, debt.

21:08You don't know any of that stuff. Right? And a lot of times not all that money's up front. Then there's taxes. So what am I saying? I'm saying get clear on what you want and I could tell you some of the fundamentals You have to live extremely below your means if you can So I think one of the reasons i've been able to generate a pretty good income in my life I don't say that to brag to you. I say that to get say that i'm qualified I say this to you because listen When I was making minimum wage working at an orphanage I still opened up a forced savings account in a mutual fund for$25 a month. No matter what I've ever made, I have paid myself first.

21:49I have tithed and I've paid myself first. Then I paid the other things. So if that meant I had to go without a cable TV back in the day, which would be equivalent to Netflix now, I went without it. If that meant I had to make my lunch to bring to work so I didn't blow$10 or$20 a day on lunch, I would do that and save that money. And because I started those habits young, or at some point I started them, As my income went up, I stayed the same way. One year, I made multiple six figures, and I was living in a$700 a month apartment, just saving the money. And so what I think most people underestimate is to the extent that you should live below your means.

22:28And I know it's very vogue on social media. Spend all your money. Invest all your money. These are typically people that have never been wealthy or are wealthy temporarily, like those people I just told you that are seven to 10 times more likely to file bankruptcy, even though they make a million dollars a year, even though they make a half a million dollars a year, because they have absolutely no money concepts. They do not understand the truth. So this idea of get all of your money out of the bank, invest all of it, go into debt, that works for a while until it doesn't. So should you invest your money?

23:01Yes. I think you should have some that you save, some that you invest. I think some of it should be very conservative. and I think for the vast majority of people, they're like, Ed, I'd just like to shave off 200 or 300 bucks a month if I could. And what I'm saying to you is, if you could shave off$50 a month now, if you're on minimum wage, or$25 a month, $10 a month, somehow start the habit of what a wealthy person does, that as your income grows and you keep that same habit, you cannot be one of these statistics and you can actually get wealthy. Because the truth of the matter is, go around your town, okay?

23:36Go around town. There are people retiring with some dignity. There are people retiring comfortably. And I know one of your dreams of your life is to someday be able to travel, someday be able to give more to your church, someday start your foundation, someday be able to retire your parents. And by the way, many of you listening to this are at an age where someday, maybe now, but certainly in the future, you may be caring for your children and parents at the same time. And right now you're having a hard time just caring for yourself. So it's important that you begin to develop these habits. Some of them is extremely living below your means.

24:12And as you make more money, do not change your lifestyle. Actually save some of your money in cash when you can. And if none of that's possible for you right now, then what are you going to do to start to generate new income? Are you going to be an Uber driver? Are you going to do DoorDash? Are you going to start a second business? Are you going to start a side hustle? Are you going to get a second or third job? You know, when I was a little boy, my dad worked three jobs and we were on welfare for a while and we got off of it. And the way that we got off it is my dad worked two and three jobs at a time.

24:47And I just see, if I can be really candid with you, I just see a lot of people who say they're broke that seem to have a lot of free time on the weekends. I don't understand that unless it's just like you're hoping something's going to change. And so there's a season of life where we've got to sacrifice for our future, sacrifice for our children, sacrifice for our parents. And I just believe in you. So I'm talking to you like a friend today. This economy that we're in, I don't know if it's rigged or not, but I just gave you the stats, right? So could you get to another$20 ,000 a year part-time doing something?

25:27$50 ,000 a year part-time, right? Could you start something part-time that generates no income for three or four or five years that turns into a full-time beautiful career? If you're already an entrepreneur, maybe you should have a job to supplement your entrepreneurial journey. You know, it's not a secret that when I started out as an entrepreneur, I had so many ups and downs. I had to go back and get jobs at night. I stock shelves in a grocery store three years after starting my business because we went backwards and I was going to go broke, but I wasn't going to give the business up. So I'd work in the day in my business and then I would get dressed and I would go to work and stock shelves in a grocery store at night.