Kachi Ogbonna

There are 6 ways to become rich in life. It is important to know that there is no just one way to being rich. Though there may be other ways to become rich but the 6 I am about giving you are probably the most popular ones you can relate with. But before we proceed let’s first establish what it means to be rich.

What does it mean to be rich?

Being rich is simply having a lot of money or income. It comes down to how much cash you have in your bank. So most times being rich refers to money and what it can afford. It is easy to spot the rich through their lifestyle. They buy the best of clothes, drive the best cars and live in very expensive part of the cities.

So basically a rich person has enough money to meet his needs. Though sometimes they also live rich off debts. But what you see is their display of expensive lifestyle.

There are some rich people that depend on their income to be rich. What I mean is that have a regular source of income and as long as they wake up and go to work each day, at the end of the month their salary will come. And as long as that salary comes such persons remains rich. Because they can afford all they need.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to be wealthy?

Being wealthy is not only having enough money to meet your needs. It goes beyond that. It means being able to afford not to work if you don’t have to. Being wealthy means amassing assets and making your money work for you. In other words, it’s having a significant net worth that can sustain you a lifetime.

Wealth measures the value of all the assets of worth owned by a person, community, company, or country. Wealth is determined by taking the total market value of all physical and intangible assets owned, then subtracting all debts. Essentially, wealth is the accumulation of scarce resources. So wealth goes beyond money.

Finally, wealth can be defined as the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into any form that can be used for transactions.

What is the difference between being rich and being wealthy?

Most people use the two words rich and wealthy interchangeably. But that is not exactly correct. There is actually a difference between being rich and being wealthy. Here are some of the differences I can immediately identify:

1. Sustainability

One key difference between being rich and being wealthy is in terms of sustainability. Most of the time being rich depends on flowing income and once the income stops flowing the person will no longer be able to afford all he or she needs. But on the contrary, wealth is built on assets that can be sustained for years if not for generations.

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2. Ability to Help Others

If someone earns $10,000 a month we can comfortably refer to such a person as being rich. And truly he is. The person should afford a good car and a good apartment in a descent part of any city. Such a person should also be able to send the children to good schools and attend to all other basic needs plus a budget for annual vacation. But if he need to set up 100 young persons from his village in business, with say $5,000 each do you think his account balance will feel it? Remember $5,000 int0 100 persons represents just $500,000. And I am talking about this fellow undertaking this gesture just once in his lifetime.

Contrast that with say Aliko Dangote a clear example of a wealthy man we know. If Dangote gives out One million dollars every year do you think it going to impact significantly on his net worth?

So one key difference between being rich and being wealthy is about the impact when you you give out.

3. Ability not to Work

Another key indicator of whether one is rich or wealthy is the amount of time one can stay without working if he or she needs to. To some persons they are rich as long as they work. But once they stop working they will go broke or into debt because the bills will immediately overtake their little savings. However the wealthy can retire at any time and still maintain the same lifestyle. Their asset has grown up to the point that with or without their inputs it continues to grow. The wealthy builds systems that can be sustained even without their inputs.

Mark Zuckerberg has long retired even though he is less than 40. Anything you see him doing today is for the fun of it. He is no longer working to earn a living. Same thing applies to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jim Ovia, Bill Gates etc. So any day you wake up and decides to go to work for the fun of it and not because you want to earn a living and you can do that consistently over time, you know you are getting close to wealth.

In conclusion, you must know that all wealthy men are rich, but not all rich men are wealthy.

6 ways of becoming rich

Here are 6 principal and popular ways to become rich:

1. Inheritance 

The first way of becoming rich that I want to discuss is through inheritance. So you may be asking – is it possible to become rich through inheritance? the answer is ‘YES’. It is true that someone can become rich through inheritance. Kevin David Lehmann the 18 year old world youngest billionaire with a net worth of $3.3B is that rich today not necessarily for his own efforts or brilliance but through inheritance.

A research by Ramsey Solutions has it that as much as 3% of the world millionaires inherited at least $1 million of all that they have.

Though there are about 97% of millionaires who made their money through other means other than inheritance, but it is important to understand that one can become rich through that means.

2. Grace and Favour 

The second way of becoming rich is through grace and favour. What is grace? In Christian terms, grace can be generally defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving. And what is favour?  Favour is something done in order to help someone. It is also a behaviour that gives someone an unfair advantage in a contest.

So is it possible to become rich through grace or favour? The answer is ‘YES’. Some persons prefer to address it as ‘luck’. But whatever name you give to it there are people that have become millionaires in life not because of their hard work nor efforts. Someone choose to locate them for some inexplicable reasons. Though there are many examples that abound and I am sure you will remember some yourself but I will give you one.

In 2016 a young lady woke up one regular morning and went about the streets of Lagos hawking bread as every other day. But she never knew something big was waiting for her that particular day. It was a day she never dreamt of neither did she contribute anything to what would later follow. Her name is Olajumoke Orisaguna. While hawking bread, she unknowingly walked into a photo shoot session of British rapper, Tinie Tempah, by Nigerian photographer, TY Bello, for This Day magazine. TY Bello, while making edits, found an image of Olajumoke and Tinie Tempah amongst the photos. Bello searched for Olajumoke and photographed her. And that was the beginning of her fame.

3. Gifts and Talents

Unlike those that got rich through inheritance and grace, you can’t accuse these particular set of people of not contributing to their own good fortune. Millions of people all over the world have been able to harness their God-given gifts and talents in such a way that it has make them to become rich beyond imagination.

Former Nigerian football star Austin Jay-Jay Okocha once said that he grew up enjoying playing football. He said that to him the talent is just there and that he never knew that one day he will play football and someone will pay him money for doing what he enjoys doing.

Jay-Jay is just one of the many examples of those that became rich through their talents. Celebrities and sports stars are typical examples of rich people that fall into this category. Think of people like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Sinach, Michael Jackson, Davido, Emmanuella, Serena Williams, Rihanna and many others. All these people made their money primarily by making use of their inert talents.

4. Exploitation and Unethical Means

Even though it is not something to be copied but the truth remains that many people have become millionaires by exploiting others and through some other unethical ways. Think of all the corrupt politicians in Africa. What about those that commit all manners of human rituals to make money? And the popular online scammers and fraudsters of today.  Some of them are displaying in major cities and sometimes people even know how they made their money but sometimes the society pretends not to care.

But the truth remains that they because rich through these unethical practices.

5. Acquire Higher Degrees

For those that are academically inclined and in paid employment the formula is simple and straightforward. Acquire a higher degree and you gain promotion. With promotion comes better pay. And the more money you are paid the higher the chances of being able to meet all your needs and become rich. It does not necessarily have to be a college degree. It can be a certification either obtained online or physically. But once it adds to your assumed knowledge your chances of getting a better job or promotion increases.

6. Ideas and Entrepreneurship

The last of the ways through which one can become rich is ‘idea and entrepreneurship’. I think this is self explanatory. There is a saying that ideas rule the world. The truth is that if you have an idea and you are able to turn it to a business through entrepreneurship you would have become a big time millionaire.

Today’s world is filled with people who made so much money through entrepreneurship. In fact the 10 richest people in the world are all entrepreneurs.

Conclusion on Ways to Become Rich

Whether you are educated or not there is are ways to become rich suited for you. There is no one singular formula for becoming rich in today’s world. You need to explore the opportunities that are available to you. Even if you are a teenage, there are myriads of opportunities to become rich as a teen or student today.

So How can One Become Wealthy?

I have given you 6 different ways of becoming rich in any economy. But guess what? None of these 6 ways outlined can make one wealthy. You heard me. I say that no one becomes wealthy by inheritance. No one ever becomes wealthy by relying on grace and favour. It is impossible to  built sustainable wealth just by exhibiting talents. Needless saying that there has never been anyone that made it to the list of the world wealthiest list by stealing from others. You may want to disagree with me, but neither higher degrees nor entrepreneurship can on their own built a generational wealth for anyone.

The question then is how can one become wealthy?

This will be the focus of my post tomorrow – join me for that eye-opening session that no one has ever told you about.