By Bruce Watson
Filed under: Stock Picks, CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Investing, Saving
When it comes to getting rich, the best textbook may be Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires. After all, who better to show the right steps to financial freedom than the men (and, increasingly, women) who have already gotten there? And, with a new list fresh off the presses, what better time could there be to reap their wisdom?
Looking at the list, one of the first lessons is that the shortest path to wealth goes through the delivery room. Whether you’re talking about the Waltons or the Kochs, the Bulgari brothers or the Mars mob, it’s clear that things go a lot easier if you can start off with a few million from mom and dad. Heck, even for famed self-made mogul Bill Gates and newcomer fashion maven Tory Burch, it didn’t hurt to come from a rich family.
Those looking for guidance from the Forbes list will quickly realize, however, that it generally shows where the most profitable places in the world were, not where they will be. With the benefit of a few decades of hindsight, it seems obvious that telecom, personal computers and low-cost retailing were smart places to put your money. But when Carlos Slim, Michael Dell and Sam Walton were starting out, their business plans may have seemed insane.
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But that doesn’t mean that you can’t pick up some valuable lessons from the list. If you’re looking for places to invest your savings, a good place to start is with the newest members of the billionaires club. After all, these are the people who have most recently latched onto a new economic opportunity, a new business model, or a new market segment. In other words, they’re the ones who have the best ideas at where the market may be heading.
Unless, of course, they’re the Bulgari brothers, in which case, they’re just damned lucky.
At any rate, here are some lessons you can glean from the latest list:
Fashion
There has always been a lot of money in fashion, but in the last year, improved distribution, smart marketing, and increased consolidation have mixed to put some of the biggest names in fashion onto the billionaires list. For example, Renzo Rosso, the creator of Diesel jeans, made the list this year after snapping up a passel of other brands, including Maison Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf. Other European brand names that managed to make the list include Paolo and Nicola Bulgari, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and French Cosmetics scion Bris Rocher.
A little closer to home, American designer Tory Burch also joined the list, making her America’s second-youngest self-made female billionaire. Spanx inventor Sara Blakely beat her by five years.
Mid-Level Retailers
It’s no secret that bargain retail companies like Walmart, Target and Dollar …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
