Real estate has created thousands of millionaires in the United States.
The great robber baron and millionaire prototype Andrew Carnegie once said, “Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined. The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.”
Looking back over my career in finance and markets, that statement holds true. I know a lot of millionaires, but I do not know any who don’t own real estate-related investments.
This is especially true of what I like to call the working-class millionaire. These folks made their money owning contracting companies, tire shops, school bus companies, and other businesses that require sweat and brain power. They then pile the excess cash flow produced by their businesses back into local real estate, and over time it creates a fortune.
The story of people who made their initial millions in real estate and then went on to turn the original profits into billions, like Andy Beal and Sam Zell, are the epitome of the upside of the American Dream.
While I have never been much of a fan of the idea of owning actual properties (I don’t want to receive a call about a pipe leak at two in the morning), I have owned a lot of…
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