The Self-Made Don’t Fear the Recession
Posted By Randy Jones on March 4, 2009
“If I made it once, I can make it again,” is a common refrain I hear from the self-made wealthy. And I don’t think it’s classic success bravado, either. The self-made see the recession through a slightly more optimistic lens because no matter what the economy throws their way, they believe they can weather the storm. For one thing, as I found in my research for The Richest Man in Town, the self-made rich loathe leverage, so they don’t have creditors knocking at their doors. Perhaps more fundamental, though, is their self-assurance that they could so it all over again if they were so forced. In fact, most of my self-made multimillionaires have done just that. If graphed, their lives and careers would look more like an electrocardiogram than a straight-line ascendancy to the top of the wealth pyramid. They don’t fear failure, or what they view as temporary setbacks—they have faced it squarely before. Resilience is quite simply an integral part of their DNA. That is not to say that they are enjoying this recession, it is merely to point out that they feel more secure in turbulent times. PNC Wealth Management did a survey of the self-made a few months ago and came to the same conclusion. They found that 69 percent of those with at least $500,000 in investible assets created their wealth primarily through business ownership and investments, as compared with 6 percent who garnered their wealth through inheritance. The remaining 24 percent of respondents gained their wealth through a combination of both earnings and inheritance. Thirty-six percent of the self-made admitted the recession was certainly a concern, but fully 77 percent felt that they had control over their financial future. The self-made are critical to America’s recovery from this recession because they will take more risk, they will keep their employees employed, and they will raise the collective optimism of the country. We need them now more than ever.
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