How a Janitor Became a Multi-Millionaire

How a Janitor Became a Multi-

Millionaire

You, too, could follow these simple steps!

Who was Ronald Read?

• Lived in Vermont.• Professions:

• World War II solider• Car mechanic• Janitor at J.C. Penney

• Died in 2014 at age of 92.

• Had amassed fortune of $8 million upon death. Photo: Ghenady, via Wikimedia Commons

How in the world did he do that?

Photo: Sebastiaan ter Burg, via Flick

It all boils down to 3 very simple steps.

1) Live Beneath Your Means

Photo: Hooge, via Wikimedia Commons

This is the simplest, most profound way to become wealthy.

And yet…

In today’s society, it is by far the most difficult to implement.

How was Read frugal? His clothes were so tattered that used safety pins to

hold them together.

His major indulgence was breakfast at a local coffee shop.

At one point, a patron paid for his breakfast because they assumed he couldn’t afford it!

He drove a second-hand Yaris.

He spent much of his free time looking for wood for his stove.

2) Never Stop Learning

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read

all the time—none, zero.”-Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

Examples from Read’s Life

He read The Wall Street Journal every day, and Barron’s every week.

Read reportedly visited the library often to brush up on topics that interested him. This might explain why he left $1.2 million to his local library.

The ex-janitor would regularly discuss investments with his neighbor, who was also his financial advisor at Wells Fargo.

3) Invest Your Savings

Photo: Chris Potter, via Flickr

Read Practiced3 Key Behaviors

He was a long-term investor

Read was so old-school that he still collected the physical stock certificates of his holdings and kept them in a safe-deposit box.

He bought what he knew

Read stayed away from technology stock entirely.

Here were his top 5 stocks:1. Wells Fargo—The bank

he used.

2. Proctor & Gamble—Products are found in most American bathrooms.

3. Colgate-Palmolive—Toothpaste, anyone?

4. American Express—Maybe Read didn’t use this one as much.

5. J.M. Smucker—Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the definition of frugality!

He stuck to dividend stocks

All 10 of his top holdings were regular dividend payers.

Read would take the dividends and reinvest them in his stocks.

Over time, that only added to his compounding power.

Photo: Simon Cunningham, via Flickr

And that’s it!

1) He lived beneath his means.

2. He never stopped learning.

3. He invested for the long-term, in dividend-paying companies he was familiar with.

But what if you’re already on the cusp of retirement, and

don’t have time to benefit from this simple strategy?

Check out:

The $60K Social Security Bonus Most Retirees Completely Overlook