To think that hard work alone does not make you wealthy

[ooohbetty]

I like watching Rich House Poor House and it has got me thinking, a lot of people work hard, hold down jobs, juggle childcare or caring for other relatives, some work long hours and can get help with child care, others don't have childcare but work hard when they can around school hours etc.
Both sets of families in the programme so far seemed to work hard and do their best but are still on the opposite ends of being rich and poor. So if someone says I'm here today with all this wealth because I work hard I think well from where I'm watching the other family seem to be working hard too, I do wonder, if a lot of folk work hard, surely the extra wealth has to come down to the actually vocations they have and possible other sets of circumstances that they have had presented to themselves at the right time in their lives where they can take these opportunities up.
There must be other factors to getting wealthy or am I being daft?

[RavingRoo]

You need to work hard, have drive, and vision to become rich.

[xhannahx]

Completely disagree with those that say wealth begins with capital and privilege, this simply isn't the case.

Wealth does come from hard work, but also alot of risk taking, a willingness to make a hell of a lot of sacrifices, a genuine talent for business, and of course luck. All of these things working together will SOMETIMES equal wealth.

Unfortunately if it were a simple as just working hard, there would be far more than 10% living like this.

[LambMadras]

Being well off isn’t just a result of privilege. It irks me to hear this. Hard work is definitely key, as is choosing the right industry. People on minimum wage jobs work hard, no doubt. But they will never be rich. You need to be willing to be in a job that is highly pressured, and will pay well as a result.

Hard working waitressing in a pub vs a senior manager in an Investment Bank. Both hard work but only one will make you rich.

And yes some of the senior managers in Banks had awful starts in life. The opportunities are open to everyone.

[LeCroissant]

I agree with a lot of what's been said. Of course if you start out wealthy you have an advantage but that doesn't mean you'll profit from that advantage - plenty of wealthy people have terrible lives and end up penniless because they make bad decisions/have addiction problems/end up in situations that many other non-wealthy people end up in that are life-changing (accidents, bad relationships etc). Wealth doesn't solve all your problems.

As well as talent, luck etc I think to do well, imagination is required - an ability to look at a situation, no matter how dire, and imagine how it can be better/different, rather than just sitting there and lamenting how hard things are for you. If you can't figure out a solution, you're stuck.

[AnnabelleLecter]

Yanbu.
People who are really wealthy do not have to work at all.
Thinking of the wealthy people I know education, income or age has very little to do with it.
Inheritance, taking opportunities, buying property and family help are all much bigger factors.

[sinceyouask]

Well no, of course it doesn't. I have no time whatsoever for people who refuse to recognise that there is a lot more to achieving wealth than hard work.

[PinkBuffalo]

If hard work makes you wealthy I should be much better off than I am. And no managers take responsibilities where I work so you still get the flak. I do have a developmental disability, but all that means is that I have work even harder than everyone else just to make ends meet and leaves me utterly exhausted. Been in my job 10 years and finally earning £21 a year. It's not easy

[MistressDeeCee]

I've never in my life met anyone who has become wealthy via working for someone else all their life. So yes - other circumstances come into it, either born into money or left a house and/or money by a wealthy relative is something I've come across from time to time

[hungryhippo90]

in the experiences that I have seen a vast amount of wealth, yes its possible to be rich from working very hard, BUT its not the rule.

I know people who earn 55-60k per year who dont work very hard at all.
i also know people who work minimum wage jobs, which are very hard, with no opportunity for luxuries.

i get sick of hearing the shit of "oh but ive worked hard" i often hear it from the better off parents at the school, "but we work hard to........."

When they are sat 20 foot from someone who has a harder job, works double the hours and still cannot afford the same.

its all down to the support you have, pretty easy to get along with a career when you have relatives there to take on the childcare.

its easy to save money when you have the time to actually figure out a budget and spend the time to pay the bills.

its completely circumstance dependant. completely. and i wish people would stop saying its a reflection of how hard they work.

infact, ill throw in our personal circumstances. 2-3 years ago, our family lived on less than 20k take home. My husband was working upwards of 12 hours a day, doing heavy manual work we really, really struggled.
Now his income is 3 times the amount. He admits himself that he now has it very easy. He may get cold if hes outside for a few minutes, but he has an easier job and better money.

the real hard work left us with very little.

[brasty]

Practically no one moves up from very poor to very wealthy. If people move up, it is usually 1 or 2 rungs on the ladder. And it takes very hard work to move up from absolute poverty to middle class.

[LushBlitzer]

I think to only work hard as an adult is sometimes too late. It has to start much earlier... work hard at school, get the right qualifications (and make smart decisions and which ones to go for) in order to get those high paying jobs. Let's say you didn't do your homework at school and left with 3 Es, you're not going to be able to get a job as an investment banker or something similar. So in that case, no matter how hard you work as say a waiter, it'll never built up to the wealth you could have had otherwise.

Obviously there's other factors, like your attitude, luck, knowing the right people can help etc...

[PoppyPopcorn]

I've never in my life met anyone who has become wealthy via working for someone else all their life.

Going back to the OP it was about Rich House Poor House which is a comparison of the top 10% and the bottom 10% in terms of earnings. it's not about the aristocracy or massive country estates. If you're earning over about 75k, that's top 10% in th UK. Most of the people who are on the £100k, £200k salaries are not flying by helicopter to their chateau in the south of France each weekend - that is a whole different level of wealth.

[Ifearthecold]

My DH works very hard and has a good income, but his income comes from working in a well paid field as well are working hard. I was at one point a social worker I would never have access to his income levels in that field no matter how hard I worked. But neither of us will become truly wealthy because we have salaries from others rather than having taken the risk of settling out on our own. Excluding inherited wealth I think hard work, the right field and successful risk taking are needed to gain the most wealth.

[megletthesecond]

Yanbu.

Good health, being in the right place at the right time and taking risks that don't go massively tits up are equally important.

[MuseumOfCurry]

I'd say it's more about being shrewd, having a tolerance for risk, living beneath your means and building capital.

It also helps a lot to defer parenthood.

[brasty]

Working hard at a school in a very poor area will improve your opportunities. But lets not pretend it is the same as working in an academically excellent school with parents and teachers who know how to help you get into the best universities. I know this from experience.

[JustHope]

Many of the more well off people I know run their own business. In order to be in a position to do this there is an element of risk involved plus a lot of drive and determination. Those I know that have done this had parents who funded the start up or who paid off their mortgage which reduced the risk and helped them to make the leap. So yes luck, hard work and a bit of help from the bank of Mum and Dad.

[PricillaQueenOfTheDesert]

Working hard at a minimum pay job will never make you wealthy. Luck has some play of course, you buy a grotty 2 bed in what becomes an up and coming area andyou can make a fast buck.
Having a degree that leads to fantastic job opportunities, learning a skill for life like becoming an electrician, plumber or car mechanic.

Life isn’t always fair and hardworking folk don’t always get the breaks.

[Anatidae]

No of course it doesn’t. Or carers would be loaded.

What makes you earn a higher salary is a mix of several factors.

1. How in demand that skill is
   
2. How much money that skill makes someone.
   

So you can be a world reknowned astrophysicist and still not be loaded because you aren’t making someone money. But a footballer with similarly rare skill is earning someone a fortune and is paid for it.

What makes you wealthy rather than just earning a good salary is accumulation of capital.

[MistressDeeCee]

I don't call earning £55-60K wealthy (mentioning as I've seen that figure on here). I'm self-employed and I earn that. I have no other income aside from that. If I did, I would perhaps consider myself comfortably well off. But wealthy? No. That's not wealthy. I do however think self-employment gives you more options to increase income if you didn't start off wealthy in the 1st place

[corythatwas]

dicalrooster Fri 03-Nov-17 14:10:03

"IQ is probably the single most reliable independent predictor of 'career' success

Socialist tend to hate such statements, as it cuts straight at the heart of the whole 'equality of outcomes' mantra. But as 15% of the population has an IQ of 85 or less, that's 15% of the population that won't be accruing much wealth, no matter how hard they work."

Low IQ = inability to do intellectually demanding work = poverty, is only a logical sequence in a certain type of society.

Not sure I am much of a socialist, but I would be quite happy to contemplate a more equal society, even if it did come with a few sacrifices on my part.

[ClaireBear15]

I think it's a combination of things all coming together at the right time. First and foremost, hard work. Next you have to be willing to take risks. And for the risks to pay off you need luck on your side.
Having money to start with makes it a LOT easier imo. But not essential. My husband and I started with nothing (and no one to fall back on) and we have done pretty well for ourselves. But I am aware that our risks may not have paid off and am very grateful they did!

[PoisonousSmurf]

In truth, the only thing that matters in this world is WHO you know and not WHAT you know. You could be very talented and intelligent, but if you don't have the backing of people who can 'pull the strings', then you are nothing.
Wish they would teach kids this as well as banging on about getting good grades.

[Anatidae]

IQ is probably the single most reliable independent predictor of 'career' success

It’s only correlated up to about 120. Thereafter it’s not any advantage

Also you can be thick as a brick and successful, or rich. Wayne Rooney seems to do ok.

[kathArtic]

We watched RHPH last night. It was interesting the wealthier woman actually came from the same estate she went back to.

I think it is important to work hard at school. Good grades mean choices. Choices to go to good Uni and get well paid job. Some people are happy to move around the country or the world to pursue a career.

You can't sit at home complaining if you aren't prepared to make an effort. AND I know this is unpopular but having kids can seriously damage your career - limiting how many hours you can work and where you can work, costing a fortune in childcare. Education is free. Contraception is free.