Memories of the 28th Century

Get Rich Quick schemes are always popular, and some of them actually work, but the “Rich” and “quick” parts make them doubtful. If someone approached me with a scheme to become reasonably well-off in not too long a time, then I would be more receptive to the idea, whatever it might be. But right now I would find it very convenient to become rich immediately or earlier, and it doesn’t look like the people who owe me money are inclined to become honest.

Forbes suggests the stock market, but that’s what one might expect from Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensundh...s-it-possible/

The wikihow article is interesting but dangerous. The first two methods are cut expense and save money (which are the same thing), and the third is invest, starting with stocks then real estate, and those are the two best ways to lose one’s shirt and pants. http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rich

10 Proven Ways On How To Get Rich Quick (see link below) is another interesting article, but it includes things like publish a book. That’s dandy, but do you know what percent of books make any money? The answer to that varies, but it is less than five percent. Publishing a book is a great idea, but don’t expect to get anything from it beyond the satisfaction of being published. And this one also suggests investing in real estate. Don’t they realize that real estate is a horrible way to make money, unless you are a listing agent? Maybe I should write the guide to making money in real estate; most of that would be devoted to things to avoid doing, so you wouldn’t be spinning your wheels or losing money. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/...ck-fast-money/

The article in Businessweek seems to concentrate on luck, but I had trouble reading it, because the links are screwy. I strongly agree that luck is important. I have seen luck operate in ways that make it seem like it is supposed to be, random. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10...get_rich/1.htm


Then some people get lucky, while others are flirting with legal action. There are people who become absurdly rich quite quickly, and it is usually a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Paul Allen and Bill Gates are excellent examples of that. They put together a deal, and it made their little company big. But Zuckerberg of Facebook fame did quite nicely also; although his legal battles are not over. He got rich pretty much by mistake. See my post on Luck.

To summarize the articles, there is no reliable way to become wealthy quickly, but it is not all that unusual for people to become rich quickly by accident. My experience and observations indicate that wealth does not come from hard work or even from having a good idea. That might be because I have not yet been in the right place at the right time, but there also are people who became rich by working hard for a long time. Warren Buffet comes to mind as an example of someone doing well from hard work.

I find it interesting that anyone would suggest publishing a book as a way to get rich quickly. Writing a book takes time, and getting it published is a crap shoot. Even after it has been published whether it makes money is a gamble. No, if you want to make money, then you’d be better off printing your own, rather than expecting to get money from someone printing your book.

One way to get rich quick that works, unless one gets caught is printing your own money or other negotiable paper goods. The government doesn't like that, but it has been used for a long time, and some people get away with It. I won't be trying that myself, but I suggest it to some people. Then there is just print . . . well, that might work, so I won't tell.

A much more interesting sort of counterfeiting is doing works of arts. There have been a few who did excellent work and passed it off as the work of some great master. They were good enough to do that, but it takes hundreds of years for someone's art to become so valuable that one could get rich from it, so they just swapped names to cut out the waiting. As longevity increases I wonder whether it will take longer for art to become extremely valuable or if artists will get a chance to really cash in on what they do.

Then there's the Voynich Manuscript http://www.voynich.nu/ . Something like that would still make money, but one would have to find or fake old paper and inks, which might be possible. Some "experts" believe that the Vinland Map is authentic. If that's authentic, then almost anything could be faked. Someone put a lot of work into the Voynich Manuscript, and it is rather beautiful in its peculiar way.

Then there's the other way; the way that Washington Irving hinted at in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Old Rip had left money at interest before he fell asleep, and that was what the van Winkles got in the habit of doing. You haven't every met a poor van Winkle, have you? I sure haven't, but I have met a few who were rolling in dough. Remember, all you have to do is fall asleep when you have lent money at interest. The higher the interest rate and the longer the nap the better you will do. If you want to buy Southern California in two hundred years, then lend a few million at ten percent for a period of a couple hundred years, and voila! You just have to hope that there wasn't a period of hyperinflation.

Links
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensundh...s-it-possible/
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/...ck-fast-money/
9 Ways to Get Rich Quicker
http://www.debtroundup.com/how-to-get-rich-quick/
August 19, 2010 Businessweek 20 easiest ways to get rich
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10...get_rich/1.htm
6 People Who Accidentally Found a Fortune
http://mentalfloss.com/article/22449...-found-fortune
http://www.cracked.com/article_16648...-fall-for.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland_map