The Millionaire Next Door - A Review

I’ve just finished listening to the audio book version of “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. I’ve heard good things about it, so I thought I’d check it out for myself.

The premise of the book is simple: the authors conducted a survey of self-made millionaires in the US, to see what characteristics they share and how they got to be millionaires.

In the first part, the authors share their discovery of a surprising fact: millionaires often did not look the part. They did not dress like millionaires, they don’t come from wealthy families, and most of them don’t even have an MBA or high levels of tertiary education.

Here’s an excerpt from the book (emphasis mine):

“In time we discovered something odd: many people who live in expensive homes and drive luxury cars do not actually have much wealth…. Many people who have a great deal of wealth do not even live in upscale neighborhoods.”

Then the authors move on to discuss the common characteristics of millionaires and how they acquired their wealth. Not surprisingly, it involves discipline and planning.

Here’s a brief summary of the book’s main points:

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