Becoming “business rich” is the fastest way to build your wealth
The richest people in America didn’t become rich because they saved a lot of money.
Even if that were true for a small slice of high earners, trying to save your way to multimillionaire status is a slow, grueling process that’s simply not realistic for most people in their lifetime.
That’s why the conventional advice –
Control your spending
Limit your borrowings
Invest your money
Save regularly
– while useful for financial stability, rarely leads to extraordinary wealth.
The richest people in America took a different route.
They got “business rich.”
But what does getting “business rich” look like? And why is it the fastest path to building real wealth?
The two-fisted approach to getting business rich
Think of becoming business rich as a two-fisted strategy.
First Fist: Traditional saving & investing
This is what most people are taught: contribute to your 401k, take advantage of employer matching, invest in index funds, and over time (decades), this steady accumulation of savings will build a solid foundation.
For example, if you invest $500/month at an average 7% annual return, you’ll end up with about $600,000 after 30 years.
Respectable. But not life-changing wealth.
Second Fist: Ownership & equity
This is where fortunes are made.
When you work at a company that offers stock options or equity stakes, or when you start your own business, your wealth potential multiplies.
Unlike salary (which caps your earnings), equity ties your net worth to the growth of the business. If that company doubles, triples, or goes public, your wealth can skyrocket.
Case in point: An early Amazon employee who received stock options in the 1990s saw their modest salaries transformed into tens of millions of dollars as the company grew.
Most people stop with the first fist.
It’s the second fist that separates the wealthy from the ultra-wealthy.
What the ultra-wealthy do differently
The ultra-wealthy don’t just save; they own.
- They start companies and hold significant equity.
- They climb to senior roles that come with generous stock packages.
- They invest in early-stage startups or private businesses with high upside potential.
Ownership is the common denominator among billionaires.
Take Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, for example. He built Starbucks with more than “collecting a salary” in mind. He built it with the intention of creating a globally dominant coffee chain.
Or Oprah Winfrey, who shifted from being a talk show host to building a media empire by retaining ownership of her brand.
This difference explains why 88% of millionaires are business owners or senior leaders who hold equity stakes, according to research from Forbes.
Of course, equity isn’t risk-free. Most startups fail, stock options can become worthless, and even public companies can falter.
But the asymmetrical upside of equity can lead to real wealth.
That’s why the ultra-wealthy are willing to take calculated risks again and again.
How to position yourself to get business rich
All of this sounds great in theory, but how do you position yourself to become business rich?
1. Evaluate your current job
Look into stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), or profit-sharing offered by your employer. If none of those are available to you, consider seeking other opportunities.
2. Acquire equity-oriented skills
Roles in sales, engineering, or product often open doors to startups that reward talent with equity.
3. Start your own business
Even a small business builds ownership muscle, and you don’t have to start with a brilliant business model to create business wealth (more on that later).
You can also scale or reinvest profits into bigger opportunities over time.
4. Invest in other businesses
If you’re not ready to found a company, you can invest in startups (via angel investing, crowdfunding platforms, or joining syndicates).
5. Network where equity lives
Surround yourself with entrepreneurs, business leaders, business builders, and investors. Opportunities flow in ecosystems where ownership is the norm.
The three companies I took public created billions of dollars of wealth for our investors from major institutions like Berkshire Hathaway to individual investors just like you.
That’s the power of being business rich.
It takes you from pinching pennies and going into saving overload (first first) and puts you in positions where you own a piece of the upside (second fist).
So how do you know if the business you’re in – or the one you want to start – has the potential to make you rich?
We’re taking off the tie, rolling up your sleeves, and diving into exactly that on my blog and my YouTube channel because The Value Equation is designed to teach you the essentials for becoming business rich.
