How did you become a millionaire

[sugaraddictwithapinchoffluff]

Go on, make me extremely jealous of how you became a millionaire, what it's really like and is it what it's cracked up to be? What sort of luxury do you indulge in that people like me can simple not afford ...

Take it away...

I suppose if they have that much it's a different matter. If I had 1m I wouldn't have just leave it sitting in the bank.

I was very lucky in the company I went to work for. It was a start up that no-one had heard of and I was given stock options to compensate for the a) not top of the range pay scale and b) the risk of moving there. I lucked out and the company became very successful so my options were worth over £1m.

Pretty much the same story for my dh, he was employee #6 in a company that was eventually sold to a huge banking conglomerate.

So, a combination of luck, stupid hours, ridiculous amounts of travelling.

We both still work now, albeit part time, because I couldn't NOT work, my brain just doesn't work that way. We don't really indulge in the lifestyle that we could, because neither of us grew up well off (although not poverty line) so we both struggle to spend money on stuff we don't need (except books in my case) even though we could afford it. We do travel well, but we have both built up such a stash of airmiles that doesn't actually cost that much!

My biggest luxury is not having to worry about money, if the kids need something we can get it, if the roof needs work, we can do it etc.

@SmellyLikeABlew

Bank heist.

No wait.. inheritance.

Actually, I worked 24/7 for 10 years. No sleep no slumber.

Okay, seriously, lottery!

No way? Did you actually win the lottery? What was it like when you realised you'd won? I've always wondered that!

Have a £1m house with no mortgage and similar in cash which is invested. Got it by having a high earning husband who died. Also have an inheritance from his parents invested for the kids so they have their own homes and I will get 2 other substantial inheritances in hopefully a very long time

I live off my salary which is reasonable and use the dividends from the investments for holidays etc. i haven’t touched any of the capital. Don’t wear designer, shop in Aldi and Tesco, have a nice car on a lease but have the reassurance I don’t need to worry,

Am just following the thread for Xenia's response

@Pumperthepumper

I found a lost Harrison watch and sold it at Sotheby’s for 6.2 million. It was in my garage.

I always knew you'd be a millionaire in the end, Del.

We are paper millionaires, in the sense that our assets add up to over a million, but little of that is cash. In our case we have both worked very long hours for the last 38 years since we graduated, I went back to work within weeks of our children being born, albeit part time, as we had business loans going out which were higher than our income. We still own our business and work about half the week in our 60s, now with about 15 employees. It’s successful but not massive profits, we have always chosen to reinvest in it. It is probably worth at least 500k were we to sell it. The premises would be worth another 200k and is owned by our pension. And our house is worth similar to the business and now mortgage free I’m pleased to say. We still take the same amount from the business that we did 15 years ago as we can manage on that.

But building up some savings over the years, helped by an inheritance from FiL a few years ago mean we can treat ourselves to home improvements, nicer holidays etc. We are now at the retirement planning stage. So I definitely don’t feel like a millionaire, but I’ve literally worked more or less constantly for the last 38 years (including weekends very often) with very few holidays or breaks so I think we do deserve it tbh.

My parents had nothing when they got married. Dad worked in industrial sales/marketing and had a generous commission package. He started investing in property. Then he set up his own business, sold part of it for profit and is still going.

I had a good private education and set up my first business quite young. I now have other business interests. I’m a good delegator. I treat my staff well. I invest in my own businesses rather than anywhere else as it maximises my return.

I am an on paper millionaire (single million, excluding our home which has a huge mortgage), I made it in the last 5 years working in fintech sales plus was awarded a few shares in a previous company that went public. If you're credible, knowledgable, and work harder and smarter than colleagues and competition, plus work for a company with good technology there is a chance to really make a lot in commission. I also always have had my money invested so it's always going up too. It's a competitive, stressful, and risky business to be in (you don't hit your number, you lose your job, the hours and travel are brutal too), not to mention it being male dominated and highly aggressive in general. Women are few and far between in these jobs, but often top performers as diligence, empathy and communication skills are better than a lot of the hot air you see from many unsuccessful men in these jobs.

We don't buy chanel bags by the dozen (or at all), and we save as much as we can. We are lucky to not worry about bills and can treat ourselves when we like, but I bet none of our friends realise what we have in the bank. My husband isn't a bad earner either. We are very lucky (and no kids, one on the way, so of course savings rates etc will go down).

I started at the bottom btw - not from the UK, arrived with £400 in 2007, lived in shared houses and rooms for a good few years.

Got elected as an MP then took on a couple of side-hustles

A distant relative of mine used fraud. I'm not entirely sure in which way. But with the money, he opened a number of cafes and built his own mansion. Went to jail and when he came out, they still had loads of money. They owned a villa in Spain, and probably avoided taxes too. Eventually they gave their home to their grown up son and moved elsewhere.

I met them twice. I'm not closely enough related to inherit anything though, so I'll remain on the poorer side of the family.

We both started out with good professions and no student debt. we had no other support from family but that alone was massive. Then dh made a change into an industry that pays very well including bonuses and also gives stock options/grants as part of the compensation. My own job wasn't badly paid and also included stock (not to the same extent though). We both had employers match pension contributions too.

We have a lovely house that we renovated a few years ago, have a second small place in our homeplace, put children through private school and they will graduate university without debt. We save/invest most of our money for retirement/future. we (dh and I only) have occasionally travelled business class but only using upgrades from dh's airmiles. I haven't one chanel bag still less 5 :) That wouldn't interest me though. We give a significant percent of our income to charity (one we volunteer with too) and have done for years. It was harder to do when we earned less.

Dh works with people who are way way wealthier than we are. mostly people who went into industry early on and made out like bandits on stock options. Finance is also a good one. dd was friends with a girl whose father was in one of the big venture capital firms - they were seriously seriously wealthy - 2 massive holiday homes, trust funds for their children. He came from a completely ordinary background but was super smart at math and then went to Harvard Business School. I think he retired from that around age 45 never needing to worry about money for him or his 4 children again.

there must be a large number who have it via crime tbf

@whoopsnomore

Got elected as an MP then took on a couple of side-hustles

🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈

Rather be a 'time millionaire' ;)

I’ve got a millionaire sibling. Worked in oil in the 90’s earning £500-£1000 a day on oil rigs. He worked flat out 3 week stints off shore for about 12 years, and invested in the housing market at the same time. He now lives in a country manor, has properties and hotels in popular destinations making him money. He’s also a narcissistic little shit and a dick head. And he always cheated at Monopoly when we were little too, so we weren’t surprised when he did well for himself.

@balonsz

there must be a large number who have it via crime tbf

Absolutely, I know this to be true.

DB works in a MC law firm, some of the partners earn 2m a yr & tend to come very wealthy backgrounds.

My dad became a millionaire by being a mercenary cunt but now he is a millionaire he and his ridiculous wife are v lonely :)

@AnneinNovaScotia

We both started out with good professions and no student debt. we had no other support from family but that alone was massive. Then dh made a change into an industry that pays very well including bonuses and also gives stock options/grants as part of the compensation. My own job wasn't badly paid and also included stock (not to the same extent though). We both had employers match pension contributions too.

We have a lovely house that we renovated a few years ago, have a second small place in our homeplace, put children through private school and they will graduate university without debt. We save/invest most of our money for retirement/future. we (dh and I only) have occasionally travelled business class but only using upgrades from dh's airmiles. I haven't one chanel bag still less 5 :) That wouldn't interest me though. We give a significant percent of our income to charity (one we volunteer with too) and have done for years. It was harder to do when we earned less.

Dh works with people who are way way wealthier than we are. mostly people who went into industry early on and made out like bandits on stock options. Finance is also a good one. dd was friends with a girl whose father was in one of the big venture capital firms - they were seriously seriously wealthy - 2 massive holiday homes, trust funds for their children. He came from a completely ordinary background but was super smart at math and then went to Harvard Business School. I think he retired from that around age 45 never needing to worry about money for him or his 4 children again.

I really really admire you for your charity work! That makes me smile when I hear stories like this! You deserve to live a nice life x

Buy 2 houses 10 years ago and have them triple in value.

I took in ironing

No one would have 1m in a bank account, it's not protected & your money isn't working for you.

Mmm, some people do….a relative in his 60s died with £1.3 million in his current account…I know as my DC were beneficiaries of his Will (2 of quite a few, plus lots of IHT to pay, so they didn’t get mega bucks) and the solicitor sent them a detailed breakdown of his assets. It was a massive surprise to most of family, he didn’t dress like a millionaire, often in threadbare clothes😂. Also quite sad as he had relatives abroad on his mums side who he was close to but never went to visit them.

He was a bachelor, always lived at home, his dad had a good job but we also think there may have been inheritance from his mums side.

@Mamlife

I took in ironing

Not quite a millionaire but a relative of ours left several hundred thousand plus value of his house simply by not spending any money. Bare minimum on food, house was always cold, no clothing beyond the basics. Everything else invested . Only earned average salary too.