Here’s How a 92 Year Old Janitor Made $8 Million

A 92 year old janitor named Ronald Read was worth $8 million dollars when he died. As the video below explains, anyone could repeat his success given time and perseverance.

Read’s secret was nothing more than frugal living combined with a long life. He invested just $300 a month for 65 years. The total amount of money he put in during that time was $273,000. The money grew to over $8 million thanks to Read’s investments.

His attorney said most of Read’s investments were found in a safe deposit box and included stocks in AT&T, Bank of America, General Motors and other well known companies. Read only invested in companies he’d heard of and companies that paid dividends, mirroring Warren Buffett’s investing style of “Buy what you know.”

Read left a huge donation to a local library, though he’d never read a book about investing. He left another large sum to a local hospital.

Though he was worth millions, Read often breakfasted in a coffee shop and wore cheap flannel shirts, leading some to think him homeless.

Investment advisers often counsel their clients to set savings targets and stick to them, leaving their money invested no matter what happens to the markets. Read did just that. A long life and compound interest did the rest.

To start saving money yourself, see our article on how to start a budget.