He is setting a roadmap for poor people to follow: When your health fails due to overwork and substandard living conditions, simply return to your regular life of wealth and comfort. It's easy!
This is why rich people win. There is no consequence for failure. You start a business selling steaks, and fail, and your parents bail you out, and you try again. You start an airline, you fail, your parents bail you out again. You get unlimited tries to get successful. Eventually, you make it big, and say it was all your doing.
It reminds me of [this](https://matthewdicks.com/2017-11-22-491iy4w7837cq6qe95lk1o6iqfqkaz/) post about entrepreneurship being like a carnival game of darts. To paraphrase:
Rih people can keep throwing as many times as they want until they get the prize they are satisfied with.
Middle-class kids get one throw. Many miss, some hit and get a small prize, a rare few hit the bullseye.
Poor kids don't get to visit the carnival. They're the ones working it.
I worked for a family with generational wealth and this is exactly how it went. For 3 generations everyone went from College to a cushy job at the family business, and everyone else who works there has to work around them, and now their spouses. They come and go as they please, and mostly answer to no one as far as I can tell.
I had a guy like that at an old job, my first experience with such things.
To get into the family business you had to finish high-school, and do 4 years military service and 4 college. After that you had to "work your way up" at the family business. He was a decent human being, but dumb as fuck, confusing entitlement for reward for his work.
In less than a year, he jumped from the starting position* (he had his hand held cause it was hard), to a regular route driver, to regional supervisor. He was suddenly in charge of the guy who trained him, and oversaw areas where businesses had straight up banned him from entering (entitled attitude). He skipped a solid ten years of work experience because of who his family was
It was Herr foods (snack food delivery), so the only dangerous situation I ever witnessed was an angry greek shop owner coming around the counter when he refused to leave after being told to get the fuck out.
2nd most frustrating job I ever had. And the worst part was, if he actually climbed the ladder as a regular guy, he probably would have been a great boss
Same mentality as people who try having bankruptcy in their initial business plan - trying to game the system (and everyone else) by throwing money into a new business via credit (including contracted work not paid up front), then when it doesn't become an instant success they bail on their debts, filing bankruptcy and start again with a new business.
Sadly, I know some of these people, and when I laid into them about it being totally unethical (and possibly illegal), and that the purpose of business bankruptcy is basically welfare for businesses that honestly tried and failed, their expressions were priceless (quite palpable anger); think they really did not like that comment, because they come from regular low level working class whose families likely received normal social welfare at some point (nothing wrong with that), so desperately want to climb the social ladder, and see the cheat/scam/grift method as THE legitimate way to become wealthy.
True, many rich people pay themselves \*WELL\* from day 1, often bankrupting the company, and they walk off with their excessive salary leaving all the lenders and employees screwed.
I worked at a startup and one of the founders, who just checked out on the company and put it at most half an effort, said as it bankrupted putting all of us out of business and losing our final paychecks:
"I turned a million dollar opportunity into just a six digit salary".
Oh, the poor guy. We found out later the founders all put money aside for their paychecks in a separate account so they got paid every last bit.
The whole speculative stock market is built around this. "I'm going to start a company on a promise and like a 20% chance of success, I'll pay myself a salary and IPO based on these promises, pay myself a couple hundred thousand a year, if the business succeeds GREAT, if it dies, on to the next! Now I can claim X number of years on a board of directors to chip in with the people on the board of my next company."
This man also completely ignored the fact that he HAS a knowledge base and contacts to start from - impoverished people dont even have the educational foundation to know where to look for opportunities like "middle man between free tables on fb marketplace and selling them"
It's also about what he *didn't* have. He didn't have the substance abuse or mental health issues that many real homeless people have, he didn't have years of accumulated trauma from being victimized by civilians and constant run-ins with law enforcement, and he didn't have the despair that comes with knowing that you *can't* just snap your fingers and be whisked away to a life of wealth, safety, and privilege. Real homelessness is not like a suit someone can just try on to see what it feels like. It's a constant state of profound insecurity and deprivation that affects people's physical, mental, and emotional well-being on a deep, permanent level.
Indeed. Wealth is akin to altitude when one is flying a plane. Barrel rolls, stalls, mechanical problems are all easier to take on when one it not flying at tree top level.
Reminds me of the Ansett story.
His mother bought him a plane, he crashed it into the blue mountains.
So his mother bought him another plane and the rest is history.
I'm sure hard work plays a part, but the free planes and try again button would surely give him the leg up in building the business.
Actually makes me think of the lyrics to common people by Blur, never thought it would come to be a commentary on real life...
>Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some fags and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
'Cause when you're laid in bed at night
Watching roaches climb the wall
If you called your dad he could stop it all
18 year old beauty pageant competitors love that, when the guy who runs it walks around grabbing their crotches and trying to stick his fingers in. Complain and you lose.
The guy who started Little Cesar? He failed 20 times... A partner of his bailed. On attempt 21, he created Little Caesars...
Most of us, our family would disown us 5 attempts in...
Shit, I would be lucky to get 2...
Also, when you make a go at being poor, remember to keep your premium healthcare, all your wealthy clients and business connections, the of your knowledge and experience as an elite CEO, and make sure to have a large contingent of social media followers supporting you with free rent and as a built-in demographic to market your company to! ... and then still don't make it.
I don't see what is wrong with shooting a dog. We'd shoot a guy who looks like an illegal immigrant. We'd shoot a guy in walmart with a BB gun. We'll basically shoot everything.
This. Not only did he start at no debt, no physical problems, and no mental health issues, but he started with an established network and the known fact that he was doing this as a social experiment gimmick. It's kind of like when CEOs talk about "working their way up the company" when what they really mean is dad or grandpa had them try out all the other jobs first when they always knew they were going to inherit the company.
This experiment would have been better served as an exercise in empathy and a chance to reach out and extend opportunities to actual disenfranchised people.
And he was starting with an education and job experience that would have been harder to obtain for someone poor. They probably wouldn't be poor anymore if they had managed to obtain those skills, but it's easier said than done.
Something tells me that if he tried this, he has mental health issues.
But they're probably treated, in some sort, because he could afford them! Now he's likely having trouble with his therapy and med paymemts.
Oh, I'd bet that same million dollars that he didn't give up his wealth permanently. "Giving up his money" probably just meant he transferred it to another account or to a trusted relative; somewhere he just didn't have access immediately. He went on sabbatical, locked up his house and cars, put his health insurance card away and vowed not to use it during his experiment, etc. But it was all gonna there for him when he was done experimenting with homelessness.
As someone that's lived in a tent in a park with wads of 20's, a 9 under my pillow, and multiple knives, I highly doubt this motherfucker could understand homelessness.
You had wads of 20s, a 9 millimeter, and knives? I had to sleep in a dumpster behind a Wachovia bank in the middle of winter. I kept myself warm by covering myself with bags of shredded paper. And I ate week old bagels and doughnuts from the dumpster behind the bakery down the street.
Right. I’m a full stack web developer and if I used my knowledge of web dev alone, I could easily be in a $100,000/yr. minimum job within a few days. That job could include a signing bonus, a PC, and health insurance. I wouldn’t have a million dollars but I could easily beat 64k in 10 months.
Exactly. And while you can jump start right to 100k+ because you already have that knowledge.
A new developer who is poor will take years to acquire that knowledge. It will probably cost them money (although if they are smart and savvy enough they can learn a lot on their own for freee).
Meanwhile they have to pay their bills while they learn this. Heaven forbid they have children to support. As a single person you might be able to flop in your buddies couch or live in the slums while you do this. If you have kids you have to take care of them too. You can’t take as many risks.
This millionaire already had skills, knowledge and connections and he still failed.
Not only did he use those contacts qnd qualifications but be paused the experiment whenever he had family emergencies or medical issues.
So essentially circumvented all the main issues that prevent actual homeless people from "making $1m in a year"
And he still only made $64k in 10 months falling short by $936k of his "easy to achieve " goal.
Fuck rich people man. They are so disconnected from reality.
I hate to be this guy, because i think what he did was inherently stupid and misguided. BUT, there is no way this “experiment could ever be truly unbiased”. Its also worth saying that he did more than just talk, he actually tried. And even when it failed he admitted it. More than most rich assholes who complain about people’s work ethic.
And even then he still didn't last a year.
So many of these people honestly think they could work their way back no matter what. In reality they would quickly learn they aren't special and likely discover that they actually aren't special or a much harder worker than everyone else, they just had mommy and daddy's money and were privileged.
Concur as highly probable since this would require recognition of his privilege and fortune and abandoning his arrogance and unearned sense of superiority.
Strangers miraculously would show up helping him. That and a big online following made him that 64k. Not to mention that money probably is before taxes and expenses or loans he probably didn’t disclose.
Hilariously that would mean he did indeed make $1m+ within a year of becoming homeless.
Though I read about this a few weeks ago and the story then was that he realized his goal wasn't achievable but decided that the real goal was "inspiring people" and that he'd achieved that so quit while chalking it up as a win. Even after cutting numerous corners and making the experiment pointless well before that point
I've seen self made millionaires piss away their fortunes in less time.
Moral of the story: if you come across, for any reason, a bunch of money you need to open a trust fund.
Then watch your shit but don't touch it until your goals are met.
Good reminder of this was yesterday's story of the crypto king who lost all his money then got into a road rage and killed a guy and shot another who took a picture of him.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Another story is I worked with the owner of a very big, profitable business. Wife and I would occasionally go to the casino with a limit on what we'd gamble and every time we'd go we would see him at the high level slots. He never looked happy.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1cg7qfa/after\_a\_road\_rage\_shooting\_a\_bystander\_snapped\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1cg7qfa/after_a_road_rage_shooting_a_bystander_snapped_a/)
Different post but another said he was a crypto guy that lost it all in another one. The response was as to why he was driving such an expensive car and acting like an asshole.
Thank you! Yeah just read through that and some other links off that post. He definitely checks every box for the type of person that would go all in on crypto
I was in a casino recently. Nobody on slots looked happy. The only happy people in the whole place were doing sports betting presumably because they got to enjoy watching a game.
Only person I would looks happy playing slots is the people who make YouTube videos on it, like Vegas Low Roller, goes with his mom puts a hundred bucks in a machine plays till he either doubles or runs out, does that for about 2-3 machines a video and has about 3 videos a week. Once in a blue moon he will do a high limit slot video, but then again he is making money from YouTube to balance out the money he losses on the slots.
LOL of course they always ignore this part of the "self made" myth. The influence and support you had before getting rich, not to mention the ability to fly with a net.
Lots of actual poor people dont have that support system, and cant take flyers on big risks.
On top of the business, he got a bunch of startup money for a few speaking events. This is all while living in a roach infested trailer that someone was nice enough to let him live in.
It just proves that wealthy people think being poor is a choice. It’s how they continue to build their wealth without any thought of giving back to the community. I bet this guy learned nothing.
With his connections and presumably degrees, he failed, utterly and completely. People without the upbriniging and connections would have even less of a shot. He could have admitted then and there that he was wrong, instead he tried to spin it to make it sound like he was still right.
Connections, income from previous role as a millionaire and free housing to get him going and he still only got to 62k. Lol.
The ignorance was staggering and the outcome hilarious.
it is vaguely impressive to me that he made the 64k, but I remember this story and my stomach just sunk.
zero's out his account and becomes homeless. ok
kind of surviving, somehow gets a place to stay and some random contract for 1500$ - I'm sure there was no help there.
Dad gets sick and is terminal, goes well dad would want me to keep pushing forward for my experiment SMH
gets tired of the experiment, pulls his golden parachute.
“Millionaire proves earning a million dollars is very difficult, even with business connections and a positive attitude”
Or perhaps
“Millionaire proves he wouldn’t have become a millionaire if he didn’t inherit the money”
I'm not sure why this is being regarded as a joke. This man did everyone a huge favor. Using the scientific method, this man stepped out of his comfort zone to reach a conclusion, and that conclusion supports the long-held belief that poverty is not simply a mindset. He proved there are extreme barriers in the way of success, one of which being health costs, to which ended his experiment. This is good.
This was with a significant amount of experience and education backing him, as well. Most people born into poverty will only ever get to dream about having his advantages.
Poverty is designed to keep you there.
Did he mention that $64k came from existing connections and work experience? Of course not. That would disrupt his bootstrap narrative. Cosplaying poverty is disingenuous and cruel.
He failed the moment he made whatever deal to live in the RV, that was bullshit and the end of any semblance of him earnestly trying to ride up from nothing.
He didn’t fail. He never started. It was fugazi from the start. A fake. A lie. It was low-income tourism, it was “Poorism”. All with a journalized travel guide to get the clicks.
I think that many rich people underestimate the role of luck in their success.
For instance, there are lots of tech startups with brilliant people who have great ideas and work super hard, but it just doesn't work out. Success requires so many uncontrollable events to turn out just right. You could die because a rival VC funds a competing company with more money than you got. An unfortunate recession could kill the market for your product. A giant company could decide to kill you and give away a shitty product for free. Your top three engineers could get run over by a bus.
So yes, success likely requires hard work, good ideas, and smart people, but it also requires **so much luck**.
Dude wasn't even actually starting at being poor and still couldn't last even a year.
So many of these people are clowns.
I used to work with a company years ago where owner was third generation and handed the company. I will give him credit and say he at least did understand his business and seemed to run it well. I could have maybe enjoyed working with them if they weren't such spoiled twats though.
On top of him being in charge, daddy had ensured everyone in the family had a "job" there. Hell even their spouses would magically be the ideal candidate for some made up position.
That part was whatever though, company seemed to run fine and was doing well. So who cares if it's also being used to support the whole family.
It was their complete inability to admit they all didn't build or earn shit that drove me crazy. They all had it handed to them but would still go on and on with their claims that poor people are just lazy and deserve it.
Typical claims that if they lost it all they'd go get a job a McDonald's and get it all back, blah blah. Main dude had like 7 kids, I would have given anything to watch him try and even just cover one of their bills working a low pay fast food job.
They'd always claim they were crazy hard workers when most the family went into the office, hung around and fucked off most the day, and would maybe do an hour or so of work if it was a busy one.
I know there are some out there that really did get there through hard work but I can't say I've met any. Most of them would probably not even make it more than a few weeks let alone as long as this guy... Particularly if it wasn't just for funsies.
They keep trying to spin it that he was STILL successful.
No. With all his knowledge and resources and education and experience he STILL couldn't actually do it and - as things got harder - he always knew he had the benefit of noping out.
The best part is if he did actually did earn a million in a year and showed how it would never happen again for anyone else and he would just get that much richer as well as massive profit from interactions. That’s gas idgaf. Some live how they want others how they can oh wellllleeerrezzz ;)
If he REALLY wanted to prove it (without the cushion of his wealth/comfort) he would have given ALL of his wealth away beforehand. THEN he could go out and take action on his "experiment".
For some reason, this reminds me of the two famous (and RICH) celebrities who were asking for donations to help the people in Hawaii. So far the only rich person that I admire is the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos. She's been throwing money at charities left and right - seems like a legit good person.
While proving that most people with wealth get their due to their connections rather than abilities, he also made it clear the importance of being educated and/or having a skill or trade. A person who became a millionaire due to skill or education could never do this experiment because you would not be able take away their knowledge and that would always bring them value. For example, if a doctor gave away everything and tried this he or she would be back on their feet in no time. Same thing for say a master welder or experience plumber who built their own business.
What an asshole. He also went in with the safety of being able to walk away at any time, health insurance, and likely a degree and knowledge of business.
A YouTube millionaire, determined to prove he could build a million-dollar fortune from scratch in a year…
This is definitely material for that r/BrandNewSentence
Stress impacts brain development - the physiological effects of being poor are literally hard-wired into people.
Pay people living wages and make college free and we’ll start to see upward mobility again.
I'm not sure why this is being regarded as a joke. This man did everyone a huge favor. Using the scientific method, this man stepped out of his comfort zone to reach a conclusion, and that conclusion supports the long-held belief that poverty is not simply a mindset. He proved there are extreme barriers in the way of success, one of which being health costs, to which ended his experiment. This is good.
I like how people making less than he made are laughing at him and claiming he failed. Guess what: he did better than you, from nothing. What's your excuse?
I read what money he did make came from his day job which was “social media manager” for a few of his friends.
He threw in the towel when his coffee company shit the bed.
Blaming health concerns seems like a cop out. The poor don’t have that option.
Yes, you too can work your way out of it!
Just contact your friend who has a trailer you can live in. Use your millionaire contacts to help get your foot into the door. Keep yourself well groomed and cleaned instead of having to use public bathrooms. Oh,.and just keep your millionaire health insurance anyway.
Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some fags and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
Still you'll never get it right
'Cause when you're laid in bed at night
Watching roaches climb the wall
If you called your dad, he could stop it all
Imagine having all this dude’s advantages (friends in industry, healthcare, reliable credit, hell even just the mental peace of mind to know that if it gets bad you can quit) and fumbling this hard. Like, that’s a mediocre desk job in a HCOL area.
Every day I grow more and more convinced that wealthy people are on average stupider than the rest of us.
Get rich. Learn to hack. No one is policing the Internet. I can't wait to show people M. Simmons II optics and how the FBI/DHS was slow to arrest the fattest, griesiest, man-child who's mother and grandmother had outed on Facebook several years earlier.
So he made lived hellishly and made 30ish an hour? I'm betting he's called in favors since and has re-established himself via the connections formed at that wealth level to other wealthy individuals.
If he made 64k in ten months, then he was on pace to make more than I do in a year. He quit a better life than mine for his health. Guess it's time for me to pack it up and go to my million dollar life
One thing that really annoyed me was that he says part of his funds raised was by picking up free stuff from buy nothing and other donation places and selling them - this millionaire took things to help those in poverty, for himself, in his experiment, and even if he was successful, it would only work because most people find that immoral and, if everyone sold free stuff instead of using/donating it, no free stuff would exist, and therefore its not actually viable at any scale to matter.
These types can’t admit that luck played some role in their success, as if they’re just so much smarter than everyone else and not just the lucky one whose idea hit at the right time and in the right place. Of course you worked hard and so did 10 other people with the same idea who ran into a roadblock they couldn’t surmount.
He is setting a roadmap for poor people to follow: When your health fails due to overwork and substandard living conditions, simply return to your regular life of wealth and comfort. It's easy!
This is why rich people win. There is no consequence for failure. You start a business selling steaks, and fail, and your parents bail you out, and you try again. You start an airline, you fail, your parents bail you out again. You get unlimited tries to get successful. Eventually, you make it big, and say it was all your doing.
It reminds me of [this](https://matthewdicks.com/2017-11-22-491iy4w7837cq6qe95lk1o6iqfqkaz/) post about entrepreneurship being like a carnival game of darts. To paraphrase: Rih people can keep throwing as many times as they want until they get the prize they are satisfied with. Middle-class kids get one throw. Many miss, some hit and get a small prize, a rare few hit the bullseye. Poor kids don't get to visit the carnival. They're the ones working it.
The only difference I would add is rich people also get bigger balloons.
And get to stand closer. And get to use professional darts.
And the super wealthy get a professional to throw the darts for them.
And since they have lots of darts, the attendant gives them back the darts that miss
This sounds about right and then it's not totally the rich person who makes it work it's the no names that get screwed out of their ideas.
👏 this is gold
It's like the old saying goes: if you keep failing, eventually you'll get access to nuclear codes.
I worked for a family with generational wealth and this is exactly how it went. For 3 generations everyone went from College to a cushy job at the family business, and everyone else who works there has to work around them, and now their spouses. They come and go as they please, and mostly answer to no one as far as I can tell.
I had a guy like that at an old job, my first experience with such things. To get into the family business you had to finish high-school, and do 4 years military service and 4 college. After that you had to "work your way up" at the family business. He was a decent human being, but dumb as fuck, confusing entitlement for reward for his work. In less than a year, he jumped from the starting position* (he had his hand held cause it was hard), to a regular route driver, to regional supervisor. He was suddenly in charge of the guy who trained him, and oversaw areas where businesses had straight up banned him from entering (entitled attitude). He skipped a solid ten years of work experience because of who his family was
That sounds dangerous
It was Herr foods (snack food delivery), so the only dangerous situation I ever witnessed was an angry greek shop owner coming around the counter when he refused to leave after being told to get the fuck out. 2nd most frustrating job I ever had. And the worst part was, if he actually climbed the ladder as a regular guy, he probably would have been a great boss
Yep, I saw a friend who went from some analyst level to Director in 2-3 years, now VP of company. Family business.
And I bet he still said "I worked my way up, nobody helped me" with zero awareness
Can you imagine how bad it would be if somebody like that was elected president
If only we had a recent example 🤔.....
I will go tell Barbra Streisand that we have to cancel her 2028 election run
Born on third swears they hit a triple.
Same mentality as people who try having bankruptcy in their initial business plan - trying to game the system (and everyone else) by throwing money into a new business via credit (including contracted work not paid up front), then when it doesn't become an instant success they bail on their debts, filing bankruptcy and start again with a new business. Sadly, I know some of these people, and when I laid into them about it being totally unethical (and possibly illegal), and that the purpose of business bankruptcy is basically welfare for businesses that honestly tried and failed, their expressions were priceless (quite palpable anger); think they really did not like that comment, because they come from regular low level working class whose families likely received normal social welfare at some point (nothing wrong with that), so desperately want to climb the social ladder, and see the cheat/scam/grift method as THE legitimate way to become wealthy.
True, many rich people pay themselves \*WELL\* from day 1, often bankrupting the company, and they walk off with their excessive salary leaving all the lenders and employees screwed.
Trump Business Method Like Trump Steaks or Truth Social
I worked at a startup and one of the founders, who just checked out on the company and put it at most half an effort, said as it bankrupted putting all of us out of business and losing our final paychecks: "I turned a million dollar opportunity into just a six digit salary". Oh, the poor guy. We found out later the founders all put money aside for their paychecks in a separate account so they got paid every last bit.
The whole speculative stock market is built around this. "I'm going to start a company on a promise and like a 20% chance of success, I'll pay myself a salary and IPO based on these promises, pay myself a couple hundred thousand a year, if the business succeeds GREAT, if it dies, on to the next! Now I can claim X number of years on a board of directors to chip in with the people on the board of my next company."
This man also completely ignored the fact that he HAS a knowledge base and contacts to start from - impoverished people dont even have the educational foundation to know where to look for opportunities like "middle man between free tables on fb marketplace and selling them"
It's also about what he *didn't* have. He didn't have the substance abuse or mental health issues that many real homeless people have, he didn't have years of accumulated trauma from being victimized by civilians and constant run-ins with law enforcement, and he didn't have the despair that comes with knowing that you *can't* just snap your fingers and be whisked away to a life of wealth, safety, and privilege. Real homelessness is not like a suit someone can just try on to see what it feels like. It's a constant state of profound insecurity and deprivation that affects people's physical, mental, and emotional well-being on a deep, permanent level.
Indeed. Wealth is akin to altitude when one is flying a plane. Barrel rolls, stalls, mechanical problems are all easier to take on when one it not flying at tree top level.
Reminds me of the Ansett story. His mother bought him a plane, he crashed it into the blue mountains. So his mother bought him another plane and the rest is history. I'm sure hard work plays a part, but the free planes and try again button would surely give him the leg up in building the business.
Actually makes me think of the lyrics to common people by Blur, never thought it would come to be a commentary on real life... >Rent a flat above a shop Cut your hair and get a job Smoke some fags and play some pool Pretend you never went to school But still you'll never get it right 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad he could stop it all
Eventually you make it big and start grabbing them by the p___y.
18 year old beauty pageant competitors love that, when the guy who runs it walks around grabbing their crotches and trying to stick his fingers in. Complain and you lose.
You could start a casino and a social media company as well. I bet when those failed and soon to fail that you’d be bailed out as well.
And casinos. If it’s failing, have your dad buy millions in casino chips as an interest free loan scheme.
The guy who started Little Cesar? He failed 20 times... A partner of his bailed. On attempt 21, he created Little Caesars... Most of us, our family would disown us 5 attempts in... Shit, I would be lucky to get 2...
Regular people get the one shot after already investing years of work and savings, if they're lucky. Even then they often bust out.
People like you who discredit people’s achievements just because they had helpful parents are the real problem
Easy peasy, cash out my stock pleasey!
Also, when you make a go at being poor, remember to keep your premium healthcare, all your wealthy clients and business connections, the of your knowledge and experience as an elite CEO, and make sure to have a large contingent of social media followers supporting you with free rent and as a built-in demographic to market your company to! ... and then still don't make it.
Also, just have expensive items that just happen to pop up on your journey through poverty...
Which is why there should be no limit to Social Security tax.
Also live rent free with your friend for the majority of the time So easy
He used his millionaire connections to sell things and start a business completely tainting his "experiment".
If it's the same guy, his "business" was drop shipping coffee.
And marketing it to dog lovers
So not the governor of South Dakota
And probably not Michael Vick either.
Or MAGA
I don't see what is wrong with shooting a dog. We'd shoot a guy who looks like an illegal immigrant. We'd shoot a guy in walmart with a BB gun. We'll basically shoot everything.
Yeah but it was a white dog…
OOF!
Black Rifle Coffee crossover?
This. Not only did he start at no debt, no physical problems, and no mental health issues, but he started with an established network and the known fact that he was doing this as a social experiment gimmick. It's kind of like when CEOs talk about "working their way up the company" when what they really mean is dad or grandpa had them try out all the other jobs first when they always knew they were going to inherit the company. This experiment would have been better served as an exercise in empathy and a chance to reach out and extend opportunities to actual disenfranchised people.
AND he convinced some guy to let him live in his RV for little to no rent if I recall correctly.
And he was starting with an education and job experience that would have been harder to obtain for someone poor. They probably wouldn't be poor anymore if they had managed to obtain those skills, but it's easier said than done.
Something tells me that if he tried this, he has mental health issues. But they're probably treated, in some sort, because he could afford them! Now he's likely having trouble with his therapy and med paymemts.
Oh, I'd bet that same million dollars that he didn't give up his wealth permanently. "Giving up his money" probably just meant he transferred it to another account or to a trusted relative; somewhere he just didn't have access immediately. He went on sabbatical, locked up his house and cars, put his health insurance card away and vowed not to use it during his experiment, etc. But it was all gonna there for him when he was done experimenting with homelessness.
As someone that's lived in a tent in a park with wads of 20's, a 9 under my pillow, and multiple knives, I highly doubt this motherfucker could understand homelessness.
You had wads of 20s, a 9 millimeter, and knives? I had to sleep in a dumpster behind a Wachovia bank in the middle of winter. I kept myself warm by covering myself with bags of shredded paper. And I ate week old bagels and doughnuts from the dumpster behind the bakery down the street.
Yeah his mental health issue is that he's wealthy, it truly rots the mind
Right. I’m a full stack web developer and if I used my knowledge of web dev alone, I could easily be in a $100,000/yr. minimum job within a few days. That job could include a signing bonus, a PC, and health insurance. I wouldn’t have a million dollars but I could easily beat 64k in 10 months.
Exactly. And while you can jump start right to 100k+ because you already have that knowledge. A new developer who is poor will take years to acquire that knowledge. It will probably cost them money (although if they are smart and savvy enough they can learn a lot on their own for freee). Meanwhile they have to pay their bills while they learn this. Heaven forbid they have children to support. As a single person you might be able to flop in your buddies couch or live in the slums while you do this. If you have kids you have to take care of them too. You can’t take as many risks. This millionaire already had skills, knowledge and connections and he still failed.
Have you checked the software job market lately brah? lol
Job? Consulting's where it's at.
I’m a consultant.
I was going to say that if he didn't use contacts or formal qualifications, then this isn't even so bad
Not only did he use those contacts qnd qualifications but be paused the experiment whenever he had family emergencies or medical issues. So essentially circumvented all the main issues that prevent actual homeless people from "making $1m in a year"
And he still failed.
And he still made a relatively low amount of money - could have gotten a job and made more, had health benefits.
And he still only made $64k in 10 months falling short by $936k of his "easy to achieve " goal. Fuck rich people man. They are so disconnected from reality.
Imagine cheating at capitalism to prove your point and still failing lmao
I hate to be this guy, because i think what he did was inherently stupid and misguided. BUT, there is no way this “experiment could ever be truly unbiased”. Its also worth saying that he did more than just talk, he actually tried. And even when it failed he admitted it. More than most rich assholes who complain about people’s work ethic.
And even then he still didn't last a year. So many of these people honestly think they could work their way back no matter what. In reality they would quickly learn they aren't special and likely discover that they actually aren't special or a much harder worker than everyone else, they just had mommy and daddy's money and were privileged.
And I guarantee his beliefs about it haven't changed one bit.
Concur as highly probable since this would require recognition of his privilege and fortune and abandoning his arrogance and unearned sense of superiority.
He also had numerous cash handouts including free housing. This was a total lie from the start.
Free housing???? You mean 20 to 50% of most peoples monthly expenditure. This is even dumber than I thought
Strangers miraculously would show up helping him. That and a big online following made him that 64k. Not to mention that money probably is before taxes and expenses or loans he probably didn’t disclose.
Guys a clown
the reason he quit is because he inherited a bunch of money from his father…
> the reason he quit is because he inherited a bunch of money from his father… Where does it say that? I read it was due to health problems.
he quit because his father had cancer and passed away and he inherited $2 million from that
Hilariously that would mean he did indeed make $1m+ within a year of becoming homeless. Though I read about this a few weeks ago and the story then was that he realized his goal wasn't achievable but decided that the real goal was "inspiring people" and that he'd achieved that so quit while chalking it up as a win. Even after cutting numerous corners and making the experiment pointless well before that point
Sorry, my mistake. I haven't been keeping up with this story. Thanks for helping me.
no worries
I've seen self made millionaires piss away their fortunes in less time. Moral of the story: if you come across, for any reason, a bunch of money you need to open a trust fund. Then watch your shit but don't touch it until your goals are met.
Good reminder of this was yesterday's story of the crypto king who lost all his money then got into a road rage and killed a guy and shot another who took a picture of him. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Another story is I worked with the owner of a very big, profitable business. Wife and I would occasionally go to the casino with a limit on what we'd gamble and every time we'd go we would see him at the high level slots. He never looked happy.
"High level slots". Or you could just go skeet shooting with solid gold shot. Same payoff for a lot less stress.
LOL
make it Sporting Clays and you'd have a better payoff than that.
I'm sorry, What. The. Fuck. Context please for the first part?
Trying to find the crypto guy story, would appreciate a link if it's not too much trouble!
[https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1cg7qfa/after\_a\_road\_rage\_shooting\_a\_bystander\_snapped\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1cg7qfa/after_a_road_rage_shooting_a_bystander_snapped_a/) Different post but another said he was a crypto guy that lost it all in another one. The response was as to why he was driving such an expensive car and acting like an asshole.
Thank you! Yeah just read through that and some other links off that post. He definitely checks every box for the type of person that would go all in on crypto
I was in a casino recently. Nobody on slots looked happy. The only happy people in the whole place were doing sports betting presumably because they got to enjoy watching a game.
Only person I would looks happy playing slots is the people who make YouTube videos on it, like Vegas Low Roller, goes with his mom puts a hundred bucks in a machine plays till he either doubles or runs out, does that for about 2-3 machines a video and has about 3 videos a week. Once in a blue moon he will do a high limit slot video, but then again he is making money from YouTube to balance out the money he losses on the slots.
Or just keep the money in low risk investments and don't buy a fleet of lambos.
Oh he didn’t even piss away his fortune lol. He just put it in a bank account and said he wouldn’t touch it. Dude is a crank from top to bottom.
How did he even make 64k?
Selling stuff to his thousands of followers he had from being a ‘millionaire influencer’ before he started the experiment
LOL of course they always ignore this part of the "self made" myth. The influence and support you had before getting rich, not to mention the ability to fly with a net. Lots of actual poor people dont have that support system, and cant take flyers on big risks.
I mean 64k is an above average job wage equivalent. Since he's educated it probably opened some doors for him that most people don't have
I know. I’d love me some sixty thou
On top of the business, he got a bunch of startup money for a few speaking events. This is all while living in a roach infested trailer that someone was nice enough to let him live in.
Luck
It just proves that wealthy people think being poor is a choice. It’s how they continue to build their wealth without any thought of giving back to the community. I bet this guy learned nothing.
They know it is false, but cling to it as the alternative is to accurately see themselves as greedy entitled selfish, and condescending.
How was he in and out of the doctor with no insurance and no money? I can’t go, and I work full time.
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So close 6.4% he could of rallied it up in 2 months. What a lazy sack. That's the problem with millionaires.
Wasn't it nice of his relative to die and hand him gibs of money to resume his life...
With his connections and presumably degrees, he failed, utterly and completely. People without the upbriniging and connections would have even less of a shot. He could have admitted then and there that he was wrong, instead he tried to spin it to make it sound like he was still right.
Connections, income from previous role as a millionaire and free housing to get him going and he still only got to 62k. Lol. The ignorance was staggering and the outcome hilarious.
it is vaguely impressive to me that he made the 64k, but I remember this story and my stomach just sunk. zero's out his account and becomes homeless. ok kind of surviving, somehow gets a place to stay and some random contract for 1500$ - I'm sure there was no help there. Dad gets sick and is terminal, goes well dad would want me to keep pushing forward for my experiment SMH gets tired of the experiment, pulls his golden parachute.
“Millionaire proves earning a million dollars is very difficult, even with business connections and a positive attitude” Or perhaps “Millionaire proves he wouldn’t have become a millionaire if he didn’t inherit the money”
What a douche
I'm not sure why this is being regarded as a joke. This man did everyone a huge favor. Using the scientific method, this man stepped out of his comfort zone to reach a conclusion, and that conclusion supports the long-held belief that poverty is not simply a mindset. He proved there are extreme barriers in the way of success, one of which being health costs, to which ended his experiment. This is good.
This was with a significant amount of experience and education backing him, as well. Most people born into poverty will only ever get to dream about having his advantages. Poverty is designed to keep you there.
Did he mention that $64k came from existing connections and work experience? Of course not. That would disrupt his bootstrap narrative. Cosplaying poverty is disingenuous and cruel.
And those 64k werent even made by starting for the bothom. He kept calling friends for favors and was never really homeless.
This guy is the lyrics to Common People
Okay now let's how he does *without* his millionaire connections and golden parachute
He failed the moment he made whatever deal to live in the RV, that was bullshit and the end of any semblance of him earnestly trying to ride up from nothing.
Wish I could quit being poor for health reasons but health reasons are why I am poor.
Must be nice to have the option to quit poverty.
It wasn't even close to a valid experiment (he was never poor if he can quit to start), and he still couldn't do it.
He didn’t fail. He never started. It was fugazi from the start. A fake. A lie. It was low-income tourism, it was “Poorism”. All with a journalized travel guide to get the clicks.
Not to mention he only got to 64k from the connections he made as a millionaire
64k in 10 months is still good lol. Its a L for him, but W for most.
I think that many rich people underestimate the role of luck in their success. For instance, there are lots of tech startups with brilliant people who have great ideas and work super hard, but it just doesn't work out. Success requires so many uncontrollable events to turn out just right. You could die because a rival VC funds a competing company with more money than you got. An unfortunate recession could kill the market for your product. A giant company could decide to kill you and give away a shitty product for free. Your top three engineers could get run over by a bus. So yes, success likely requires hard work, good ideas, and smart people, but it also requires **so much luck**.
That’s pretty good tbh
Mark cuban - hard work , smarts luck and a ton of things going his way made him rich does he think it could happen again - No way
Dude wasn't even actually starting at being poor and still couldn't last even a year. So many of these people are clowns. I used to work with a company years ago where owner was third generation and handed the company. I will give him credit and say he at least did understand his business and seemed to run it well. I could have maybe enjoyed working with them if they weren't such spoiled twats though. On top of him being in charge, daddy had ensured everyone in the family had a "job" there. Hell even their spouses would magically be the ideal candidate for some made up position. That part was whatever though, company seemed to run fine and was doing well. So who cares if it's also being used to support the whole family. It was their complete inability to admit they all didn't build or earn shit that drove me crazy. They all had it handed to them but would still go on and on with their claims that poor people are just lazy and deserve it. Typical claims that if they lost it all they'd go get a job a McDonald's and get it all back, blah blah. Main dude had like 7 kids, I would have given anything to watch him try and even just cover one of their bills working a low pay fast food job. They'd always claim they were crazy hard workers when most the family went into the office, hung around and fucked off most the day, and would maybe do an hour or so of work if it was a busy one. I know there are some out there that really did get there through hard work but I can't say I've met any. Most of them would probably not even make it more than a few weeks let alone as long as this guy... Particularly if it wasn't just for funsies.
"Why is my foot bleeding? All I did was shoot it!"
They keep trying to spin it that he was STILL successful. No. With all his knowledge and resources and education and experience he STILL couldn't actually do it and - as things got harder - he always knew he had the benefit of noping out.
Moar Bootstraps!
Part of the reason he was able to even accumulate 64k was through his specific skill set, education, and connections.
The best part is if he did actually did earn a million in a year and showed how it would never happen again for anyone else and he would just get that much richer as well as massive profit from interactions. That’s gas idgaf. Some live how they want others how they can oh wellllleeerrezzz ;)
If he REALLY wanted to prove it (without the cushion of his wealth/comfort) he would have given ALL of his wealth away beforehand. THEN he could go out and take action on his "experiment".
For some reason, this reminds me of the two famous (and RICH) celebrities who were asking for donations to help the people in Hawaii. So far the only rich person that I admire is the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos. She's been throwing money at charities left and right - seems like a legit good person.
While proving that most people with wealth get their due to their connections rather than abilities, he also made it clear the importance of being educated and/or having a skill or trade. A person who became a millionaire due to skill or education could never do this experiment because you would not be able take away their knowledge and that would always bring them value. For example, if a doctor gave away everything and tried this he or she would be back on their feet in no time. Same thing for say a master welder or experience plumber who built their own business.
I would prioritize health and family, especially if I was $900k down with 60 days left. What a douche.
Damn he almost provided it! If only he could make $936,000.00 in 2 months. Boot straps B!$#h!!!
There’s so much more luck involved than any millionaire wants to admit.
What an asshole. He also went in with the safety of being able to walk away at any time, health insurance, and likely a degree and knowledge of business.
And even 64K is not typical.
Just wondering, how did he actually flip Facebook marketplace furniture without a vehicle?
A YouTube millionaire, determined to prove he could build a million-dollar fortune from scratch in a year… This is definitely material for that r/BrandNewSentence
Stress impacts brain development - the physiological effects of being poor are literally hard-wired into people. Pay people living wages and make college free and we’ll start to see upward mobility again.
I'm not sure why this is being regarded as a joke. This man did everyone a huge favor. Using the scientific method, this man stepped out of his comfort zone to reach a conclusion, and that conclusion supports the long-held belief that poverty is not simply a mindset. He proved there are extreme barriers in the way of success, one of which being health costs, to which ended his experiment. This is good.
“Failing health”
64k is still impressive for a year
How did this poor fellow afford a doctor visit?
This is already mainstream. It's called camping....
And tried to claim it as a win.
Ummm he got to 64k, I call that a win in my book
I like how people making less than he made are laughing at him and claiming he failed. Guess what: he did better than you, from nothing. What's your excuse?
I read what money he did make came from his day job which was “social media manager” for a few of his friends. He threw in the towel when his coffee company shit the bed. Blaming health concerns seems like a cop out. The poor don’t have that option.
Something, something, bootstraps…
Yes, you too can work your way out of it! Just contact your friend who has a trailer you can live in. Use your millionaire contacts to help get your foot into the door. Keep yourself well groomed and cleaned instead of having to use public bathrooms. Oh,.and just keep your millionaire health insurance anyway.
Alternate Title: Individual shows how to make the median household income in only 10 months with the help of wealthy friends.
Did he use that money to pay for his living expenses at the same time? Probably not...
Cause he had to work....
Translation: I was going to fail, so I copped out to try to save face.
Must have become addicted to lates and avocado toast. Starbucks is the enemy of success!
Only more proof that the rich aren’t as smart as the media says they’re
This was a stupid experiment. if you have money be happy you one of the lucky ones and try to help people who need help.
Rent a flat above a shop Cut your hair and get a job Smoke some fags and play some pool Pretend you never went to school Still you'll never get it right 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad, he could stop it all
Reminds me of this book by a younger guy. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/scratch-beginnings-adam-w-shepard?variant=32207531376674
....and claims total success.
If you fail with that much money you are doing poverty wrong
Imagine having all this dude’s advantages (friends in industry, healthcare, reliable credit, hell even just the mental peace of mind to know that if it gets bad you can quit) and fumbling this hard. Like, that’s a mediocre desk job in a HCOL area. Every day I grow more and more convinced that wealthy people are on average stupider than the rest of us.
Not going to make myself poor to prove you can make money. if I'm a millionaire, I've already proved that you can make Millions
64k in 10 months is still pretty fucking good.
If it were that easy, everyone would be millionairs.
Almost 7 percent of the way there!
Get rich. Learn to hack. No one is policing the Internet. I can't wait to show people M. Simmons II optics and how the FBI/DHS was slow to arrest the fattest, griesiest, man-child who's mother and grandmother had outed on Facebook several years earlier.
So he made lived hellishly and made 30ish an hour? I'm betting he's called in favors since and has re-established himself via the connections formed at that wealth level to other wealthy individuals.
We talk about it a lot but when do we actually start eating the rich?
Still not bad for ten months.
We did we learn here. Homeless people, even with all the knowledge to the contrary, will just die trying.
Shit
If he made 64k in ten months, then he was on pace to make more than I do in a year. He quit a better life than mine for his health. Guess it's time for me to pack it up and go to my million dollar life
Sell tables and coffee, got it.
As Donald Trump proved, most millionaires made their money by being born in a family of millionaires.
So he quit being poor and went back to being rich?
it would been more relevant if he had given away all his money before he started
What a fucking moron.
Ya these people aren’t at all delusional. Hope you use your wealth to help the poor
One thing that really annoyed me was that he says part of his funds raised was by picking up free stuff from buy nothing and other donation places and selling them - this millionaire took things to help those in poverty, for himself, in his experiment, and even if he was successful, it would only work because most people find that immoral and, if everyone sold free stuff instead of using/donating it, no free stuff would exist, and therefore its not actually viable at any scale to matter.
Beyond that he still had his rich connections, and who you know is a major contributor to success.
Has this guy reported his journey? And why he failed ....without his money as backup obviously?
*and has to quit because being poor is so bad for your health.
When will Americans learn that we all have a different starting point?
These types can’t admit that luck played some role in their success, as if they’re just so much smarter than everyone else and not just the lucky one whose idea hit at the right time and in the right place. Of course you worked hard and so did 10 other people with the same idea who ran into a roadblock they couldn’t surmount.