How To Get Rich

Summary

In this episode of Gary's Economics, Gary addresses the common query of how to get rich, highlighting the difficulty of achieving wealth without a rich background in today's society. He shares his experience as a successful trader but warns against the inaccessibility of such a career path for most. Gary also discusses the pitfalls of personal trading, emphasizing its high-risk nature. He critiques the societal pressure on young people to amass wealth and the lack of viable opportunities for upward mobility, advocating for systemic change to create a fairer economy where hard work can lead to financial security.

Takeaways

• 💡 The speaker emphasizes the difficulty of becoming rich in today's society, especially without a rich background.
• 🤔 He highlights the common question of how to get rich and the trickiness of providing a universally applicable answer.
• 🎓 The speaker's personal success as a trader was partly due to his strong academic background and exceptional mathematical skills.
• 🚀 Becoming a professional trader is almost impossible for those without a rich background or extraordinary talent in mathematics.
• 🏠 The speaker suggests that inheriting wealth or parental gifts are often the only ways for the younger generation to become rich, as legitimate paths are blocked.
• 📈 He shares his experience of advising friends on trading and how they ended up losing money due to poor decision-making and lack of discipline.
• 💼 The speaker criticizes the societal pressure on young people to accumulate wealth as a measure of success, which is not only unrealistic but also harmful to mental health.
• 🌐 He points out the rigged nature of the economic system, where the rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor and middle class.
• 🤝 The speaker calls for unity and collective action to change the system, rather than focusing on individual wealth accumulation.
• 💰 The message is that financial outcomes are increasingly disconnected from personal merit or effort, and it's crucial to recognize the systemic issues at play.
• 🌟 The speaker encourages viewers to maintain dignity and self-respect despite the challenges of living in a rigged economic system.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is discussing the challenges and methods of becoming wealthy in today's society.

What is the author's view on the commonality of becoming rich through trading?

The author believes that becoming rich through trading is almost impossible for ordinary people without a rich background, as it requires exceptional talent and opportunities that are not widely accessible.

What is the author's profession and how did it contribute to his wealth?

The author is a successful trader, and his profession as a trader from 2008 to 2014 significantly contributed to his wealth.

Why does the author suggest that having a rich father is the most foolproof method to get rich in today's society?

The author suggests this because inheriting wealth is a direct and almost guaranteed way to become rich, which is more accessible than other methods that require exceptional skills or opportunities.

What does the author imply about the role of education in becoming a successful trader?

The author implies that education, particularly in mathematics and economics, plays a crucial role in becoming a successful trader, but even with a strong educational background, one must still overcome significant barriers to enter the trading profession.

What is the author's opinion on the advice he gave to his friends regarding gold investment during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic?

The author believes that his advice to invest in gold was sound and profitable initially, but his friends lost money due to poor decision-making and lack of discipline in following his recommendations.

Why does the author discourage teaching people to trade based on his experiences?

The author discourages teaching people to trade because trading is difficult and requires years of experience and understanding of the market. His friends' experiences show that even with good advice, they lost money due to their own actions.

What does the author consider as the current state of wealth accumulation for the younger generation?

The author considers the current state of wealth accumulation for the younger generation to be nearly impossible through work alone, suggesting that inheriting wealth is the primary method for becoming rich.

What message does the author want to convey about the societal pressure on young people to become rich?

The author wants to convey that the societal pressure on young people to become rich is unfair and unrealistic, as the system is rigged in favor of the rich, and financial outcomes are increasingly disconnected from individual effort or intelligence.

What is the author's proposed solution to the systemic issues discussed in the script?

The author's proposed solution is to work together to change the system by taxing the rich more and creating an economy where ordinary people can achieve financial security and wealth through hard work.

How does the author suggest individuals should view themselves in relation to the current economic system?

The author suggests that individuals should recognize that they are not at fault for the economic challenges they face and should not judge themselves or others harshly based on financial outcomes that are largely determined by a broken system.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 The Challenge of Getting Rich

In this paragraph, the speaker reflects on the frequent question of how to get rich, which he often encounters both online and in person. He shares anecdotes of being asked this question at a friend's 50th birthday party and by a Japanese friend. The speaker admits the complexity of the question, noting that having a rich dad is the most foolproof method in today's society. He also discusses his own success as a trader, highlighting the difficulty for those without a rich background to break into the profession, and suggests that the only realistic path for wealth accumulation for the younger generation is through inheritance, which is often invisible to those from less fortunate backgrounds.

05:02

📉 The Perils of Personal Trading

The speaker recounts his experiences advising friends on trading, particularly during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. He recommended buying gold as a hedge against rising house prices, which initially proved successful with a 20% increase. However, when the price dipped by 5%, his friends panicked and sold their investments, losing money. They had failed to follow his advice to hold and instead made impulsive decisions, leading to significant losses. This narrative illustrates the difficulty and risk of trading, even when following expert advice, and the speaker's reluctance to teach others to trade due to its complexity and the potential for significant financial loss.

10:02

💰 The Illusion of Social Mobility and Wealth Inheritance

This paragraph delves into the harsh realities of social mobility and wealth inheritance. The speaker argues that the only legitimate way to become rich in modern society is through inheritance, as other paths are effectively blocked. He describes how parents from wealthier backgrounds often gift significant sums to their children to purchase property, creating an illusion of success that is invisible to those from less affluent families. The speaker criticizes the societal pressure on young people to amass wealth as a measure of success, while simultaneously blocking their paths to achieving it. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the rigged nature of the system and the need to stop judging oneself and others based on financial outcomes.

15:05

🔄 The Need for Collective Action to Change the System

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker calls for collective action to change the economic system that favors the rich and leaves the majority in poverty. He acknowledges the difficulty of individual efforts to combat wealth inequality and suggests that the only way to achieve financial security and wealth through hard work is by working together to change the rules. The speaker expresses his commitment to advocating for a more equitable economic system, including higher taxes on the rich and reduced taxes for ordinary people. He encourages viewers to join him in this endeavor, emphasizing the importance of unity and collective effort in creating a fairer society.

Keywords

💡Financial Inequality

Financial inequality refers to the unequal distribution of wealth and income within society. In the video, the speaker emphasizes how the current economic system is heavily skewed in favor of those who are already wealthy, making it nearly impossible for people from poorer backgrounds to become rich. The concept is central to the video's theme, highlighting the systemic barriers that prevent social mobility and exacerbate economic disparities.

💡Rich Parents

The term 'rich parents' is used to illustrate the advantage of being born into wealth. The speaker argues that having wealthy parents is one of the few reliable ways to become rich in today's society. This concept is crucial in the video as it underscores the idea that financial success is often inherited rather than earned, further reinforcing the theme of systemic inequality.

💡Trading

Trading refers to the buying and selling of financial assets like stocks, bonds, or commodities. The speaker mentions his background as a professional trader and explains that while trading can be lucrative, it is not a viable path to wealth for most people. The complexity and risks associated with trading make it a poor option for those without extensive experience or financial resources, aligning with the video's message about the limited avenues for wealth accumulation.

💡Systemic Barriers

Systemic barriers are obstacles that are embedded within the structures of society, making it difficult for certain groups to achieve success. In the video, these barriers are described as the rigged aspects of the economic system that prevent people from poorer backgrounds from becoming wealthy. The concept is essential to understanding the speaker's argument that the current system favors the rich and perpetuates poverty.

💡Social Mobility

Social mobility is the ability of individuals or families to move up or down the economic ladder within a society. The speaker highlights the lack of social mobility in today's world, where the rich stay rich, and the poor remain poor. This concept is critical to the video's overall message, as it explains why financial success is increasingly determined by birth rather than merit or hard work.

💡Mental Health

Mental health refers to a person's emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The speaker discusses how the pressure to achieve financial success in a rigged system can negatively impact the mental health of young people, particularly those from less affluent backgrounds. This concept is important in the video as it connects the stress and anxiety caused by financial struggles to broader social and economic issues.

💡Economic System

The economic system refers to the structured way in which a society organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The speaker critiques the current economic system as being rigged in favor of the wealthy, making it difficult for the majority of people to achieve financial security or wealth. This critique is central to the video's message about the need for systemic change.

💡Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility is the idea that individuals are accountable for their actions and their outcomes. In the video, the speaker challenges the notion that financial success or failure is purely a result of personal responsibility. He argues that the economic system plays a significant role in determining outcomes, making it unfair to blame individuals for their financial struggles. This concept is vital to the video's argument against the oversimplified view of wealth and poverty.

💡Inheritance

Inheritance refers to the assets and wealth passed down from one generation to another. The speaker points out that inheriting money or property from wealthy parents is one of the primary ways people become rich in today's society. This concept is used to highlight the lack of opportunities for those who do not come from affluent families, reinforcing the theme of systemic inequality.

💡Taxation

Taxation is the process by which a government collects money from individuals and businesses to fund public services and infrastructure. The speaker advocates for higher taxes on the rich as a way to address economic inequality and create a fairer society. This concept is connected to the broader message of the video, which calls for systemic change to redistribute wealth and provide more opportunities for financial security to the broader population.

Highlights

Gary discusses the common question of how to get rich and the difficulty of achieving it safely for young people today.

Having a rich dad is humorously suggested as the foolproof method to get rich in today's society.

Gary shares his personal journey to wealth through being a successful trader, highlighting the challenges of entering the trading profession.

The importance of education and a strong academic background in mathematics is emphasized for aspiring traders.

Gary's experience of advising friends on trading, leading to losses despite his successful track record, illustrates the risks of trading.

The recommendation to buy gold as a hedge against rising house prices during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An account of how Gary's friends lost money in trades, despite initial gains, due to poor decision-making and overconfidence.

Gary's perspective on trading as a form of gambling and the risks associated with it, especially for inexperienced individuals.

The societal pressure on young people to achieve wealth and the mental health implications of this expectation.

The concept of inheriting wealth being the primary way to get rich today, with the majority of property purchases involving parental financial support.

Gary's critique of the current economic system, where the rich are perceived as taking everything, leaving little opportunity for wealth creation for the rest.

The idea that financial outcomes are increasingly disconnected from personal merit or effort in the current economic climate.

A call to action for young people to accept the rigged nature of the economic game and to stop judging themselves and others based on financial success.

Gary's advocacy for systemic change, including taxing the rich more and moving towards an economy that allows for financial security through hard work.

The message that the only way to achieve wealth in the current system is either by birth or by collective action to change the rules.

Gary's hope for a future where people work together to change the system and his invitation for viewers to join him in this effort.

Transcripts

okay welcome back to Gary's economics

today we're going to talk about how to

make

money all right so this is one of the

questions well not just one of the

question the question by million miles

which I get asked most on the channel

and I also get this asked this question

a lot in real life so I wanted to

address it and I got asked this question

twice recently uh in person which is I

went to a friend of mine's 50th birthday

party and his his nephew is there and uh

we were standing outside this Pub and he

said to me oh you know you're that guy

what's your channel you know what do I

do what do I do how do I how do I get

rich and um I had another friend of mine

a Japanese guy come around to my house

and were cooking dinner and he said I

want to ask you like you know you you've

got a lot of money can you tell me how

to get rich and um it's a tricky one

right cuz I was thinking when this

second guy asked me if you came to me

and said you know how do I get Hench I

would say go to the gym every day if you

said to me you know how do I get my

English better I would say you know

speak English every day if you say how

do I learn Japanese I'll tell you what

textbooks to buy um but the truth of the

matter is what I said to this guy he

said can I ask you one question I said

you're going on he said how do I get

rich I said to him ask another question

because the truth is this is the one

thing which it is almost in impossible

to safely do as a young person nowadays

there's there's basically one really

really good method for getting rich in

today's society it's almost foolproof

have a rich dad if you failed that

one try again

because okay so obviously people ask me

this question because I'm a rich person

I've been very open about that I talk

about this on the channel um I made my

money working as a

Trader um I was a very good Trader I was

a very successful Trader I wasn't a

professional Trader for a long time I

worked as a Trader from 2008 till 2014 I

made a lot of money especially in in

2011 but also a couple of years around

that um if you can get a job as a

professional

Trader it's an extremely well-paid job

and and you will become a relatively

rich

person basically nobody not from a rich

background becomes a Trader nowadays

it's it's almost impossible to get that

job and I got that job partially because

I was a very good student you know I was

a very talented math student I got very

good grades I got into a very good

University and I got very good grades at

that University but even on top of that

I needed to win like an like a national

card game to get that job and I think

that shows you you know this story is in

my book if you want you can read my book

and tells you about

this it's almost impossible for ordinary

people to get that job nowadays

so unless you are like a kind of like a

extremely unbelievably talented

mathematician in which case you know go

and study Master economics at Oxford

Cambridge LSC and try and get a job as a

Trader this is just not a route that is

open to you you know the trading floor

has almost nobody from a poor ordinary

background almost everybody is from a

rich background so if you if you come to

me from an ordinary background say how

do I get rich I can't really say to you

do what I did because it's almost

impossible for you to do that so then

you might say okay well you know maybe I

can't get a job as a Trader but you know

you still trade personally and I do

still trade personally and I've got a

very good track record trading

personally and I have made quite a lot

of money trading personally since I quit

trading um so you might say well teach

me how to

trade so for this I've mentioned this a

couple of times before on the channel I

have a couple of times tried to help

friends get involved in trading

and this happened particularly at the

beginning of covid so I sort of started

doing my public work at the beginning of

Co in 2020 and one of the big things

that I said when I came out publicly was

that house prices will go up a lot

because of because of covid because rich

people accumulate a lot of money during

covid um you can go and look at my early

videos um how the rich get rich from Co

covid-19 I talk about exactly

this and some of my friends who had were

trying to BU buy houses had maybe 50 60

Grand saved up came to me saying listen

I'm worried you said house prices will

go up uh I don't have a big enough

deposit yet I can't buy a house what can

I do and at that time at the beginning

of Co I was making some really big bets

in particular I had a really big bet

that the gold price would go up and um I

thought the gold price would go up it

has come up a lot I thought house price

would go up they have come up a lot and

actually like quite a good way to hedge

your exposure to Rising house prices is

to buy other assets like gold so I said

to my friends okay well you can't buy a

house yet but what you can do is you can

buy gold um I had a massive trade on

that the gold price would go up so I

felt quite comfortable recommending to

them to do the same thing that I was

doing

and yeah it was a good trade

recommendation gold price went up a lot

has gone up a lot since and the gold

price went up about

20% not long after that recommendation

and then it came down sort of

5% and sort of when happened about 9

months later both my friends called me

up and they said you know what what do

we do you they called me up individually

you know what do I do and I said well

you know it's gone up 20% it's down 5%

so you still up a lot of money like just

don't do anything just sit wait you know

if you want you can buy a little bit

more on this dip um and they both said

you know you know you don't understand

like I'm out like I'm wiped out like

I've lost all my money

and I was confused like how could you

have lost money it's up 15% since I told

you the buyer and they both did

basically the same thing which was they

didn't do anything when I said buy it

because at the time it looked terrible

because the price is really low it went

up 5% and they thought oh damn I should

have bought it it went up another 5% and

they thought oh man I really should have

bought I'm going to buy now so straight

away they missed the first 10% goes up

another 5% and they make a little bit

more and they're like okay great I made

some money they buy a little bit more

goes up another 5% and then they both

just basically went totally insane and

didn't say anything to me they they

bought a ton more gold they bought

silver they bought Platinum they bought

pum they bought Bitcoin they're buying

Tesla not telling me any of this stuff

basically they because they made a

little bit of money trading on my

recommendation they basically became

sort of convinced that they themselves

are really good Traders and they they

did a load of stuff which I didn't tell

them to do and they bought loads

basically and then it came down and they

lost a ton of money so this is why I

don't try and teach people to trade

basically you know the few times I've

given friends trading recommendations

most of the time they managed to lose a

ton of money because it's trading's hard

and you know I make money as a Trader

and I every now and again I I do say my

positions on the

channel um but I was a professional

Trader for six years and I've been

looking at the economy for 20 years and

you know I have an extremely good track

record as a professional Trader an

extremely good track record as a as a

personal Trader

um I don't think this is a thing which I

can teach you to do you know what I mean

you know it's a bit like going and

asking the same bat how how can I win

the Olympics you know like maybe trained

for 20 years yeah I just don't think

that it's um I don't think it' be

responsible I think it'd be super

dangerous you know I see I I know that

trading has become super popular for

young men on the internet and you see

them on Instagram showing off their

Lamborghinis um I've come out and you

know very aggressively said I think

crypto trading is dangerous and and day

trading is dangerous and FX trading is

dangerous and for that reason I get you

know young men emailing me all the time

telling me they've lost all their money

FX trading crypto trading and a lot of

the time when they send me those emails

they say but don't worry I've figured it

out now and from here I'm going to make

money and

um it's difficult to read those emails

listen trading is gambling trading is

gambling if if you go on I trade on IG

index which is a spread Bank platform it

says there on the front page like 75% of

accounts lose money I'm not losing money

and there's professionals on there like

me that are not losing money and there's

an old saying if you don't know who the

idiot is at the poker table you're the

idiot listen professional Traders like

me if you go out you're trading against

me you know and it's dangerous it's a

dangerous thing for ordinary people to

do and it's it's I think we've created

this situation now where

we have basically convinced young people

especially young men that

the only way to be of of value in

society is to make a lot of money and

we've created a situation where all of

the legitimate past to getting rich are

basically blocked and it's it's almost

impossible to become rich nowadays

um

realistically for the younger generation

if you're working you've already lost

basically it's almost impossible to get

rich to your work the only way to get

rich nowadays is is to inherit money

from your parents but often these

inheritances are invisible

so you know I I went to a grammar school

but I also went to a comprehensive

school and I've got friends from

different kinds of financial backgrounds

people from poor families it's basically

impossible to buy property people from

richer families what happens is the

parents will gift them 100,000 £2

200,000 maybe half a million pound to

buy property people from poor

backgrounds don't don't realize that

that's happened behind the scenes so

they see other people from different

families buying properties and they

people don't tend to and say you know

the reason I bought the property is cuz

my mom gave me half a million quid but

that is what is happening then people

from poor backgrounds see these guys

buying property and they think what are

they doing that I'm doing wrong and the

thing that you're doing wrong if you're

poor is you had the wrong parents you

shouldn't have done that you should have

had the right parents this is the world

that we live in nowadays we live in a

world in which the only way to get rich

is to have Rich parents and yet we tell

young people if you are poor you are a

failure you you are a loser it is your

fault and this is just absolutely

devastating for the mental health of

young people so what I want to say is

listen you live in a rigged game you and

I live in a rigged game it is almost

impossible to get rich if your parents

are not

rich so what I want you to

do is to accept that the game is rigged

and to stop judging yourself and other

people based on Financial outcom when

Financial outcomes are increasingly

nothing to do with how smart you are how

hard you work what job you do you know

this is the world that we live in but I

think what what obfuscates this a little

bit is the fact that there is social

Mobility on like the micro scale so like

the people who come from the same

Financial background as you if you work

harder than them and get a better job

you will be able to get slightly better

off than them but you will never be able

to jump up to the level of somebody

who's parents are richer so so that's

what is so at the same

time you know especially if you're poor

you do have to work really hard and you

do have to try and study the right

subjects you do have to try and get the

right job because increasingly poor

people put people are put in the

situation where otherwise you'll become

like homeless and completely

impoverished so you have this kind of

small

scale competitiveness but there's no

macro competitiveness so you're forced

to compete with other people who are

poor but you have no way of competing

with people who are who are born

richer and it's it's a horrible game

it's a horrible game it's a horrible

game so I think we need

to you need to understand that this is

this is the world that you've been put

in they want you to fight each other to

be rich but it's impossible to be rich

um because the rich are taking

everything so while you are sort of

being convinced to fight each other and

obsessed about being a failure and

obsessed about making

money the game is is being rigged such

that you and and the middle classes are

basically being Rob blind and the

government is being Rob blind

and my concerns are one devastating for

the mental health of young people but

two it's like really really deeply

depoliticizing I think if you can

convince ordinary young people to focus

only on their specific bank

balances whilst the game is rigged so

that it's very easy for the rich to rob

the poor then the poor will never unite

and stop that theft basically so um this

is the world we're living in and this is

the thing which I worry about a lot at

the moment which is how how do we stop

the systemized robbing of the poor when

the poor have been really trained to

play the game very individualistically

and to not work together

um and I think if I if I want to send

one message it is

that the game is set up in a way

that you are being robbed of your wealth

and there's very little you could do as

an individual to stop that but no matter

how much they rob you of your wealth

they can't rob you of your dignity

and it's not your fault that you live in

increasingly in poverty the game is

being set up such that the majority of

this country increasingly will live in

poverty but you can realize that that's

not failing on you as an individual that

is the result of a rotten system it is

the result of a rotten system and um

I think people can can deal with poverty

I know I know poverty is not easy but

you know I grew up in poverty and it was

hard but what affected me in many ways

more than the poverty was was the

Judgment so um don't judge yourself

harshly and don't judge other people

harshly because because it's the system

that's broken and you should be proud of

the work that you do and you should be

proud of what you do to support yourself

and to support your family and support

the people around you because I think

once we managed to shake off this

judgment and this idea that it's our

fault then we can start being proud of

ourselves and each other and seeing the

game for what it really is which is a

broken game that we have to fix together

so there's only two ways to be rich in

this world that we live in be born rich

or change the rules um and we can only

change the rules

together so I'm going to try to change

the rules tax the rich more tax you less

move us back into an economy where

ordinary people like my parents like

your parents can Achieve Financial

Security and even wealth by hard work um

but the only way to do that is to work

together to change the system so how do

you get rich you get rich by working

together I'm going to try and do that

and I hope you en join me Good Luck

thank you