Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out [Paperback]

Farrah Gray (Author), Fran Harris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 1, 2005

A remarkable teenager who went from public assistance to a million dollar net worth shares his story and offers 9 key principles to success.

Farrah Gray is no ordinary teenager. He wears a suit and tie; he has an office on Wall Street and another one in Los Angeles . . . and he sold his first business at the age of 14 for more than a million dollars. He invested that money in a partnership with Inner City Broadcasting, one of the most prominent African-American owned businesses in the country, and now is heading the relaunch of their signature magazine, InnerCity. According to People magazine, Farrah is the only African-American teenager to rise from public assistance to a business mogul without being in entertainment or having a family connection.

Reallionaire tells Farrah's extraordinary and touching story. When he was just six, Farrah's mother became seriously ill, prompting his decision to provide for this family, and he spent the first $50 he ever made taking them for a real sit-down dinner. At the age of eight, he founded his first business club. By fourteen, with a million dollars in his pocket, Farrah was well on his way to business success.

Each stage of Farrah's progress is marked by one of the principles of success he learned along the way, creating not just an extraordinary story but also a step-by-step primer for others to create success in their own lives with honor; charity and compassion.
In the tradition of great motivators and leaders, this is both an instructional book and a story to inspire others to live life to the fullest. And readers don't have to be interested in business to enjoy it. In fact, Farrah is a role model for everyone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Just 20 years old, Gray is a self-made millionaire, having founded ventures and made media appearances beginning at ages six and nine respectively. He chronicles and draws lessons from his successes and failures, from his first job selling handmade body lotion to his Los Angeles neighbors to his founding of Farr-Out Foods at 13, his sale of it two years later for over a million dollars and his current philanthropic and developmental projects like running INNERCITY magazine. With the help of freelance writer Harris, Gray presents a persona that is straightforward and confident, if somewhat generic ("Now, I want you to take a real 'lemon' from your life and make lemonade with it"), but the tale of his ascent is compelling. Fueled by his desire to help his family, especially his single, workaholic mother, Gray is virtually unstoppable; faced with rejection, he tries something else. It's that resilience that comes through most clearly, reinforced with chapter-ending "Real Points" and "Reallionaire Exercises." Despite the familiar gimmicks, the real parts of Gray's experience come through, making this a sound book for anyone seriously interested in getting ahead on his or her own terms.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Nineteen-year-old Gray grew up in the projects in Chicago and formed his first business organization at age 7, inspired by his mother's will and determination. By age 15, he had developed his own food company for kids, Farr-Out Foods, which he sold for $1.5 million. He has lived in Japan, England, New York, and Las Vegas; hosted the celebrity TV show Backstage Live; and is in high demand as a public speaker. It may be hard to believe that sound business advice can come from a teenager, but Farrah Gray is no ordinary kid. Although the book is punctuated with what he calls "Real Points" for success and exercises for things like building a great team and seizing opportunities, the real inspiration is his personal story, which speaks strongly of the importance of mentoring to young people and sends the message that you should never underestimate anyone, especially yourself. Farrah is a young man of true character and integrity, and we surely haven't heard the last of him. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: HCI; Worn Condition edition (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757302246
• ISBN-13: 978-0757302244
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

176 of 187 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it more stars as an autobiography July 11, 2005

By JerseyTomato VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

OK. This kid is pretty amazing in that's he's extremely intelligent, charismatic, and persistent. A long-term goal of his is to be a talk-show host. I'm sure he'd excel at that or anything else that requires great skill in communication and persuasion, such as politics.

If this book were being sold as an autobiography or general motivational book, that would be one thing. But here it is in the books on finance, and he's been set up as a role model for getting out of poverty. He has some good general advice about following your dreams, not taking no for an answer, and working hard. But as advice on how other people can become wealthy, I just can't give this book much credibility.

For one thing, he might have made that million dollars, but already he's lost a chunk of his own and investors' money. He lost a "high six figure" investment in a Las Vegas project, plus his NE2W organization had to close down. (p. 256). As he says himself "If all my businesses dried up at age 17, why am I writing a book about success? And why are you reading it?" (p. 271) Because finally, after talking about making money for the entire book, he's decided success is not about money, it's about doing your work in the world, whatever it is.

And a lot of the attitudes and beliefs he leaves you with are just 180 degrees opposite of proven wealth-building behaviors discussed in books like The Millionaire Next Door (Stanley and Danko). For example, he's spent a lot of money on the trappings of looking successful (expensive suits, pens, shoes, etc.) because it's supposed to "open doors". (p. 237-238). Somewhere online I read he wears a $1600 watch. In The Millionaire Next Door, they are clear that most people who make and KEEP a million or more just don't spend money this way. They are apt to buy Timex watches and JC Penney suits. And no, they are not people who inherited their money, either.

An awful lot of his and his mother's business experiences seem to be about taking big risks (such as with the rent money), trying completely different types of businesses one after the other and hoping to hit the big jackpot with one of them. Again, in The Millionaire Next Door it's pretty clear that 99% of the time, businesses and wealth are built slowly and not from getting one big break. When you overextend yourself in business, taking orders for products you can't yet afford to manufacture, you probably won't be rescued in a 1.5 million buyout as Farrah was. (p. 190)

Finally, what about the photo with Michael Milken? Yup, Michael Milken, the Junk Bond King and white collar criminal. Why would someone talking about honesty and ethics throughout their book go out of his way to associate himself with Milken?

IMHO, read this book for general inspiration and because Farrah Gray's life is extremely interesting--just don't expect it to be a financial blueprint for becoming a millionaire yourself.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Reallionaire May 29, 2007

By Gregory Williams

Format:Paperback

OK, I'm not tryin' to hate but it seems that if you are not a cute, very ambitious 8-year old who happens upon a mentor with the desire and the resources to help you out, then this book is just a heart-warming, rags-to-riches story, period. This is more of a "how it happened to me" than a "how to" book. I am pleased to see what can happen when intense, focused desire is aimed in a positive direction...and glad that he is reaching back to help others.

43 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reallionaire Is A MUST Read!!!!! January 18, 2005

By Eileen Marcial

Format:Paperback

I was truly impressed with Mr. Gray's writing style. It blends the personal develoment tenets of Kiyosaki, John C. Maxwell, Napoleon Hill and Jim Rohn beautifully in a way that can be easily understood and duplicated by young and old readers. It is a very inspiring and thought provoking guide to living your life with passion, purpose and faith in God and your God-given abilities. I recommend this book to everyone who is serious about personal development.