Who is the richest person in your family and why?

My aunt.

Widow of my uncle who started in an ordinary job in retail and then working for a company developing and distributing the product in a new way. He and his business partner (who arrived as a refugee) built a huge successful company. Which then bought several international similar companies, and so on. They also founded a big charitable foundation, They sold the company for a huge sum, and continued to work, Directors of Boards etc.

Lives fairly normally in an expensive but not blingy house. Not flashy. Has tasteful nice clothes. Art works.

In my immediate family: my sibling who went into sensible employment , married a woman who was clever and capable and very numerate and had big well paid jobs in senior leadership in corporates and the local authorities. Got a couple of big redundancy pay offs, big lump sum, very good pension. Retired this year and have done adventurous bespoke travels at massive cost. But otherwise, live in a nice house (all refurb done physically by Db) don’t have a cleaner, grow food in the garden

Name changed for this as I know people hate property speculators generally.

I am the richest person in my family. We made approx £800k in 9 years, buying and selling houses (no renos or renting out, literally just living in them for a few years before selling) in an area with huge growth. We've been able to buy our current home for £700k outright in what we hope will be the next big growth area in our region. Property speculation is a lot of luck but also a lot of risk and hard work to pay massive mortgages we could barely afford. But it's all paid off for us. I know comparatively to a lot of society there are people so much richer, but we are comfortable and don't have to worry at all, and that's always felt like the goal to me. It's more than enough and more than I could ever have dreamed of 10 years ago when we didn't even own our first house.

In terms of lifestyle we don't have DC which has definitely been a huge factor (as in, we haven't always had to look for the perfect family home and could afford to take something less than perfect for us purely for the capital gains). We don't really go out, maybe dinner or lunch out once a month but that's it. We don't drink, we don't spend money on material stuff much. All our money now goes to holidays, we have 2 a year so not outrageous I don't think.

Editted to be fully transparent - we don't live in the UK, the country we live in has no capital gains tax or stamp duty which has also massively helped

BIL was . His Mum died at around 60 from cancer and she had a lot of death in service etc after a good career. His Dad completely neglected himself after she died and followed a couple of years later and he had a paid for house in an expensive area as well as good life insurance and some other investments. BIL was an only one.
I say WAS not IS because SIL (his wife) hasn't worked since graduating uni 30 years ago and he hasn't got a very well paid job, plus they bought outright an absolute money pit of a house.
My brother always seems to have lots of money, flash cars and holidays etc but knowing him its on credit

My dad, through shewd investments and then my mum for marrying him

My dad’s youngest brother (of 8). He made it big himself, calls himself a financial adviser but really is an insurance salesman. He had a lot of support from family when he started. His net worth is 7 figure.

He is also the biggest miser I know.

My BIL. Very hard working, senior partner in Accountancy firm.

Inherited nothing, in fact often called on to support his parents. Hard childhood.

Was blessed with a good business brain, and a wife who supports herself financially , and takes a big load at home. Lovely teenage DC.

He’s a good man, very driven, but understated.

Us.

Why? The vast majority has come from :

1. very hard work from DH and I + high EQ, leading on to great careers (and now DH has its own business, netting off millions for himself every year). We have worked relentlessly to get there, don’t sleep much, weekdays spent on work and at least half a day on weekends spent on personal admin/investments… As time goes we can enjoy more and more quality time, leveraging help at home and at work. Most people around us (friends, family) keep questioning how we do it and admit they wouldn’t be able to do it even if they wanted. I think we are borderline hyperactive.

and

2. Being very careful with money (and still being today despite being very well off), prioritising investments over futile spend (no flashy cars, no flashy holidays travelling first class to the Maldives, no branded clothes…).
   We have a big family (5 children), live very comfortably with multiple properties, home help, nice holidays, expensive hobbies, but nothing flashy, preferring to invest in real estate and companies/start-ups instead of spending. In addition we have already gifted a significant amount of money to the children so they get a head start and can buy a house.

3. I guess luck has played a role to some extent. For me having a great boss/mentor at the start of my career, for DH being offered a once in a lifetime work opportunity 15 years ago through an acquaintance.

Our families (parents) are quite well off (particularly DH) but inheritance is peanuts relative to what we have built. Our siblings also have very different lifestyles compared to us.

Me. Worked my way here from nothing. We have a much bigger house and a nicer car but otherwise we're no different to the rest of the close family. TBH it's nearly all tied up in the house which I see as my retirement fund! But we do all the hosting for Christmas, Easter, birthdays etc and never expect anyone to bring anything.

Oooof @CouldBeOuting that is tough.

Stepdad’s niece, she is in a very famous girl band.

My in laws. Retired dentists!

But also my bil has a lot of wealth as he works on rigs and lives in Thailand so by Thai standards he is wealthy and has no money worries.

I don’t know everybody’s financial situation (and why would I?) but I assume it would be my cousin who won a very large amount on the lottery.

My uncle. Married a rich only child and is living off a navy pension. Horses, a boat, the lot.

I've just realised that you weren't using "...threw me under a bus" as an idiom.

I am so sorry this happened to you. I always wish for more money, but I also have the proviso that it comes with having my health in full as well. No amount of money is worth going through what you did, and I understand fully it's there to help make adaptations in your life to make life a little bit more bearable.

I know its totally off topic, but how does your life compare from before it happened to now, only if you want to share. Tell me to stop being nosey if you like, I am interested.

Not sure. DB has put two dcs through private school from nursery to masters, but that costs a lot of money. A fairly ordinary house and a modest way of life.

Dsis is a single mum but has put her ds through private school while living a very modest life in a very spacious house.

Neither discusses money. Each started with nothing and have worked in international roles, having their families late.

If you take into account property then it would be me which is quite amusing as I am considered the black sheep of the family and have no contact with my relatives...

My uncle.

Built up a catering business from just one van. He sold the business for millions.

My stepmother I'd guess. She and my Dad bought a maisonette near Hampstead Heath in the 80s, bought the downstairs in the 90s and converted the two back to being one ginormous house. They were never big spenders, and since he died, she just rattles around in there. I guess my half-sisters will inherit a good chunk of money when she dies.

My ex h. Left me with 3 young children for a wealthy woman when he realised my Parents left no money.

He's not rich. Just the richest in our sphere.

I suppose myself and DH.
We are mortgage free since early 40's.
DH recently inherited €200k, it's put away in Government savings bonds and we both max our pensions out.
We both work (hard), DH is older than me and will retire early in 2 years.

Siblings live off social welfare, get paid into the hand, prioritise disneyland, drinking, new kitchens,l and keeping up with the jones's.
We could keep up with the Jones, we choose not to.

My DSis. She worked her way to the top of a very competitive and lucrative profession. She’s semi retired at 55, just doing a bit of consultancy to keep her hand in. But I would say that her capacity for hard work and her resilience are higher than anyone I ever met and it still nearly killed her. I’m really proud of her and she deserves the spoils, but I couldn’t have done half of it.

Me, because I’ve moved across careers and 3 European capitals chasing opportunities. Most of my family of origin didn’t move across town even, still living at the same address they’ve been born at.

No one "rich" in my family. In my wider circle one family are wealthy due to investing in property 40 years ago, two for becoming 'famous', one from very unexpected inheritance.

My Bil, he worked hard and made good career choices fwiw wouldn't want his life
My side would be my sister she's a good career but their wealth is mainly through her dhs inheritance

Probably either DH or his uncle. The uncle has his own law practice and does high value work for wealthy clients. DH is highly skilled in a fairly niche and therefore lucrative tech field.

Both from very ordinary backgrounds and have just worked their way up.

The uncle and family have a very beautiful and large house in an expensive area. They are the least flashy people imaginable but just enjoy life in their own way rather than showing off.

We live in a fairly expensive area in a large house and our children attend private school but otherwise we are extremely ordinary - no fancy holidays or clothes etc. although granted we are very fortunate to be able to afford bills and food etc without any worries.