If you’d like to know how some people went from rags (more or less) to riches, read the 2000 book, Rags to Riches: Motivating Stories of How Ordinary People Achieved Extraordinary Wealth. Among the 15 individuals and two couples profiled are poet and novelist Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson), illusionist David Copperfield (nee David Kotkin), entertainment mogul David Geffen, golfer Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, financial columnist Humberto Cruz, and business owner Jay Thiessens (who was illiterate until age 56). Here are some tidbits and quotes from one of the chapters...
A real estate millionaire by age 34, Del Hedgepath began investing early. On graduating from high school, he bought his first house in his tiny (pop.: 700) hometown for $12,500, painted it, made repairs, and rented it out for $275 a month. (Eight years later he sold it for $32,000.).... Next he purchased a duplex and rented it out....Then he bought a seven-unit building for $69,000. Five years later it was appraised for $180,000. Rather than sell it, he used the property to borrow against. Soon he owned 240 rental units: apartments and houses.
Hedgepath only deals with motivated sellers and “does them a favor” by buying at a reduced price. “Never be the person to mention the first price. Instead, always get the other person to say what he or she needs—not what they want. I never give anything more than what they need.” He’s a firm believer in periodically writing down his goals. “It helps me to know where I’m at and where I want to be.”
