No Pain, Lots of Gain
Most of us chase success by working hard, sacrificing our personal lives and even our health in an all-out pursuit of Mammon. But it doesn’t always have to be that way. For a fortunate few, it doesn’t mean a Harvard MBA or years spent perfecting a new drug. It just means doing as little as possible and still making more money than you ever dreamed of.
As much as industrious overachievers hate to admit it, sometimes all you need to get rich is dumb luck. One Las Vegas woman has won the lotto four times since 1993. A man in the U.K. found buried gold worth millions with a metal detector. A family facing foreclosure found a valuable Superman comic book in their basement. Not all stories are so whimsical. Other shortcuts to wealth come with strings attached: Marrying rich, divorce, or lawsuits, for example. Still, the point is that while the average Americans toils for an average wage of $22.59 per hour, according to July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are the few who made fortunes without much labor. In other words, for the average wage earner to make a million dollars, he or she would have to work 40 hours a week for approximately 21 years. Doesn’t it sound so much easier just to buy a lottery ticket?
Easy Ways to Get Rich: Win the lottery
Most people dream of hitting the lottery just once, but Las Vegas resident Joan Ginther hit it an unbelievable four times. According to ABC News, Ginther won the Texas lottery four times over the past 17 years, winning $5.4 million in 1993, $2 million in 2006, and $3 million in 2008. Her biggest score came in 2010: a $50 scratch ticket that was worth $10 million. Lucky or just unfair?
Easy Ways to Get Rich: Inherit a fortune
Inheriting wealth can be emotionally difficult (and the feds will come for their share), but it is another way people have gotten rich without much work. Christy Walton—the widow of John Walton, a son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton—inherited her husband’s fortune after his death in a plane crash in 2005. Her estimated worth of $22.5 billion makes her one of the world’s richest people, according to Forbes.com.
Easy Ways to Get Rich: Bet on the right horse, with free money
Texas software entrepreneur Glen Fullerton won $900,000 in the Kentucky Derby this year. What’s even better: He didn’t bet his own money. Fullerton, a novice gambler, won a $100,000 sweepstakes sponsored by Churchill Downs and CNBC to bet the lot on any of the horses in the field. His pick, Super Saver, with 8-to-1 odds, earned him the prize, reported nationalpost.com.
