The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy [Paperback]

Thomas J. Stanley (Author), William D. Danko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2010

The bestselling The Millionaire Next Door identifies seven common traits that show up again and again among those who have accumulated wealth. Most of the truly wealthy in this country don't live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue-they live next door. This new edition, the first since 1998, includes a new foreword for the twenty-first century by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

How can you join the ranks of America's wealthy (defined as people whose net worth is over one million dollars)? It's easy, say doctors Stanley and Danko, who have spent the last 20 years interviewing members of this elite club: you just have to follow seven simple rules. The first rule is, always live well below your means. The last rule is, choose your occupation wisely. You'll have to buy the book to find out the other five. It's only fair. The authors' conclusions are commonsensical. But, as they point out, their prescription often flies in the face of what we think wealthy people should do. There are no pop stars or athletes in this book, but plenty of wall-board manufacturers--particularly ones who take cheap, infrequent vacations! Stanley and Danko mercilessly show how wealth takes sacrifice, discipline, and hard work, qualities that are positively discouraged by our high-consumption society. "You aren't what you drive," admonish the authors. Somewhere, Benjamin Franklin is smiling. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In The Millionaire Next Door, read by Cotter Smith, Stanley (Marketing to the Affluent) and Danko (marketing, SUNY at Albany) summarize findings from their research into the key characteristics that explain how the elite club of millionaires have become "wealthy." Focusing on those with a net worth of at least $1 million, their surprising results reveal fundamental qualities of this group that are diametrically opposed to today's earn-and-consume culture, including living below their means, allocating funds efficiently in ways that build wealth, ignoring conspicuous consumption, being proficient in targeting marketing opportunities, and choosing the "right" occupation. It's evident that anyone can accumulate wealth, if they are disciplined enough, determined to persevere, and have the merest of luck. In The Millionaire Mind, an excellent follow-up to the highly successful first analysis of how ordinary folks can accumulate wealth, Stanley interviews many more participants in a much more comprehensive study of the characteristics of those in this economic situation. The author structures these deeper details into categories that include the key success factors that define this group, the relationship of education to their success, their approach to balancing risk, how they located themselves in their work, their choice of spouse, how they live their daily lives, and the significant differences in the truth about this group vs. the misplaced image of high spenders. Narrator Smith's solid, dead-on reading never fails to heighten the importance of these principles that most twentysomethings should be forced to listen to in toto. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Dale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; Reissue edition (November 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589795474
• ISBN-13: 978-1589795471
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,158 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Sociology > Class
  • #40 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Motivational
  • #41 in Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

596 of 637 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Whose Time Has Come--wisdom long OVERDUE! September 4, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I used to be one of those people who spent all or at least most of my money and thought I was doing okay with the little savings I had in the bank earning 2% (wow).I always bought brand new cars, new clothes, went on vacations 6-8 times per year and partied. I had a great time! One day my company shut down and I was forced to live on 50% OF MY INCOME. My savings dwindled to nothing and I had a hard time making car and credit card payments. I came to the realization that I was "renting" my "lifestyle" all of which was encumbered with debts and false belief in "job security" A friend loaned me a copy of "The Millionaire Next Door" and I had to painfully admit that I had been a fool. I met a really nice old couple in their '70's who never made much over minimum wage in salary, but were debt free and had 100's of thousands to retire on and were living better than the flamboyant fools like me who spent through their incomes. This book turned me around. I would also recommend "9 Steps to Financial Freedom" and 'More Wealth without Risk" to add to your library, or at least borrow from a library. I am now living better, earning 20-25% in mutuals, contribute to my new companies 401 (k), have a IRA and am DEBT FREE with the exception of my mortgage which will be paid off in five years (or less).

212 of 224 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is how the rich become rich January 29, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Creating wealth is sort of like dieting.Everybody wants the end result but the discipline to achieve that result is usually lacking.Oh, if only there were a magic pill that you could take to lose weight or to create wealth without changing your habits. We would all be rich.FRUGALITY...FRUGALITY...FRUGALITY. It takes discipline.Contrary to certain opinions i.e. revews posted here, you don't need "a wad" to do this.However, by following these concepts, you will soon have a wad.There is no level of income that you can't outspend and yet most of us feel that we have an unlimited supply of cash.You would think that considering the ever increasing number of bankruptcies and mortgage foreclosures not to mention company downsizings that people would have learned by now. Peer pressure...keeping up with the Jone's drives many people to live beyond their means. Remember this: when your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will become your downfall.DELAY GRATIFICATION. Pay yourself first. Invest and then buy toys with the profits.Another good book to read is Rich Dad Poor Dad and Cash Flow Quadrant. Robert . Kiyosaki has a different strategy than Stanley and Danko in certain areas but is in agreement in other areas. The authors work compliments each other and I highly recommend these books to all would be financial achievers.Another book that is popular right now and says some of the same things is The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach.Read and grow rich.

649 of 704 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and informative - but be careful! November 27, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Let us get one thing out of the way. This is NOT a bad book. In fact, it is a well-done, interesting, and much needed study that gives us all new insights about what millionaires are really like as opposed to people's misconceptions of them. If this was merely a study of what millionaires are like, I would give it five stars.

The problem begins when people see this book as a recommendation: "most millionaires are frugal, hard-working, well-educated, and diligent investors - so if I will act like that I will be a millionaire". This is simply not true - and for a very simple reason discussed below.

Indeed, most millionaires ARE like that. Indeed, it is good advice to be frugal, hard-working, and well-educated as opposed to the opposite. It is also gratifying to see that sometimes "doing the right thing", the protestant work ethic, and the "nose to the grindstone" attitude sometimes pay off not only in "being a better person", but in concrete monetary success. Apparently good guys DON'T finish last after all.

But the book suffers from a double survivorship bias. "Survivoship bias" is what happens when one only pays attention to those who survive a certain activity, peril, or risk, and makes ungounded conclusions about cause and effect from that. One famous example is Neitzsche's famous saying, "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger". It is based on the survivorship bias that those who survive terrible calamities tend to be stronger than other people. But it doesn't mean the calamity MADE them stronger - it might mean simply that only those who were strong to begin with survived the calamity.

What survivorship bias do we see here? First, it interviews ONLY millionaires. It doesn't interview ALL of those who are frugal, hard-working, and concerned about education - it only interviews those of them WHO BECAME MILLIONAIRES. It could very will be (it probably is) that 99% of those who are hard-working, frugal, and concerned about education still fail to become millionaires.

This, of course, doesn't mean that being hard-working and educated is "bad"; it just doesn't mean that it is the CAUSE of becoming a millionaire. If anything, only the opposite that is true: that if you are lazy, a big spender, and a cropout, you probably will NOT become a millionaire. But that is NOT that same thing!

A second survivorship bias is the time of the survey. The people interviewed were, almost to a man, "dilligent investors" - especially in the stock market - who started investing at least 20 years before. They were interviewed in the late 1990. This means that, by sheer coincidence, they started investing in what turned out to be the largest bull market in US history. On the average, $1 invested in the stock market in 1980 would be worth about $20 when the Dow hit its high in 1999. Naturally, this significantly increased the net worth of many of these people. But was this due to any foresight on their part, or sheer luck? If the stock market had gone the other way, how many of them would still be millionaires?

Furthermore, what about all the hard-working, diligent investors who started investing at the same time (early 1980s)... but unluckily invested in the wrong companies or industries, such as the "safe" oil or car industry which tanked, ruining many people? How could you tell - BEFORE it happened - that one investing method was better than the other, that one will make you a millionaire and the other leave you broke? You coudln't.

Once again, this doesn't mean that investing is "bad". It is NECESSARY to invest well and succeed in your investments in order to become a millionaire - if you don't invest, you won't become a millionaire. But again, this isn't the same thing: you might very well invest with all due dilligence, safety, and careful planning - and still lose everything.

In summary, good book? Yes. Interesting book? Yes. Teaches you things you didn't know? Yes. Shows that the old protestant work ethics is good after all? Yes. But does it show you how to become a millioniare? NO! Buy it, by all means... follow its advice... but do so because it is generally good advice on how to live, NOT because it will make you rich. That is just an illusion based on survivorship bias.