Wealth has been defined or said to be series of financial assets transformable into another form which can be used for business. In a nutshell, that means having a substantial amount of "money" to be able to own or acquire something of material. However, money is generally known to be a measure of wealth, and an item accepted as a means of payment for goods and services. Hence, a rich person is known as a person who has a huge "network of networks". Now we agree that net worth according to Wikipedia is the current value of assets less liabilities. Therefore, when we try to break it from what constitutes the enormous net worth of the individual, the first thing that occurs to me is "money" in the bank and then all the extravagant accessories, cars and houses he owns. Okay. You might also wonder if some persons have several streams which fetch them money. You are 100% correct. Investment is a valid pathway to create wealth, but not “True wealth”
Throughout the centuries, there have been many misconceptions about creating true wealth, and with that, there are a lot of people you might think are rich; maybe because of how you perceive their opulent way of living but in truth they’re really struggling to make ends meet like the rest of the middle class. It is then important to know what we speak about when true wealth is the subject of discussion. Modern day economist defines wealth as "anything of value" that captures the subjective nature of the idea that it is not a fixed or static element.
How do we create wealth? There are countless ways. It is also acclaimed that wealth is hereditary, that some people are born in rich families who have built all privileges to create wealth. But aren’t there also people that were born into poor families with little or zero privileges and still created wealth for themselves? Of course, yes. They know how to grasp the concept of real wealth which has evolved and still evolving exponentially, so also the system and its system of making wealth.
As Nigerians, we’re familiar with the normal economic circle of life laid down by the preceding generation, which is go to school, graduate with good grades, get a high paying job, marry, save, invest in the stock market or private business, give birth, retire, then train your children. Well, it was the only sure pathway to creating a life then, but now the evolution clock is ticking. The physiological hierarchy of needs of many people began to crumble due to sudden diversion by the information age and as a result many businesses and functions are now lacking intellectuals. And in this part of the world, entertainment businesses prove to be more lucrative than the corporate world – thanks to social media, which has led to the influx young people into the entertainment world and engaging inactive sectors and reducing the chances of Innovations and inventions is a subject for another day.
One of the clichés advice we all grew up with about creating wealth was saving. Yes, of course I know it’s well to save money for the rainy day, but not exactly for the future. Today, a lot of people still save money in the bank hoping to get an interest on it, depending on how long the money sits there. We live in a country where economic trends. The federal government can request for more money to be printed and circulated at any time which will lead to an increase in demand that allows the price of goods and services to increase, so the purchasing power of money decreases and inflation sets in. The currency will be devalued then the value of your saved money in the bank drops. Through my years of rigorous study of the income class, I have discovered that rich people are not bothered with saving their money, instead they but put their money to work by investing it. But investment is also a trap. There are all kinds of investments; many don't understand them, but if you understand the basic concept of creating "real wealth" you are made for life.
The Nigerian stock market between 2003 and 2004 witnessed a boom. The stock market became a haven for profit-taking as stocks were more than tripling in value in less than a year, igniting investor confidence and lifting the stock market. But unfortunately, in 2008, the stock market crashed, as investors lost about 6trillion within nine months. After this shocking news, some of the investors literally committed suicide. Well, I cannot go to detail about how they have had a lot of things to lose with the stock market accident. Many believe in investment schemes that pours out huge and quick return on investment but can't handle the depression and anxiety that comes with it, especially when investing fluctuates or freezes. Take digital currencies for example, bitcoin, cryptocurrency eth etc. these are the modern-day forex/stock market and the problem with these investment streams is that they’re too flexible. Today your money is rising, tomorrow your money is falling and that is not to be creation of a steady wealth simply because there’s no peace of mind to mind to it.
According to Chris Martsenson’s book, there are three levels of wealth: which is Primary wealth, secondary wealth, tertiary wealth. Individuals with high paying jobs, nice homes, and robust funds in the bank and the stock market have tertiary wealth. Also, people who buy corporate stock or digital currency are called "paper investors" and being a paper investor, means you are not covered because anything can happen to your investment stream, whether it's the stock market, company stocks, or digital currency.
Secondary wealth is productive wealth, or more precisely, wealth generated by the ability of a business or person to produce goods and services. Examples include dairy farms, mines, oil rigs, cars, production using technology and so on. In fact, most inventors and entrepreneurs belong to this category. They make the financial decisions of those who fall into the tertiary wealth category. Primary wealth is the direct property of physical resources. Typical examples include ownership of natural resources like gold and silver, owning a farmland, real estate. The main wealth is simply wealth. Imagine owning an oil rig or investing in a gold/silver mine. This is how the rich get financial security, simply by being a game player in any of these grassroot of production. Especially having an investment in a land or real estate, you can get cashflow from it throughout your life and still pass it on to your descendants. Likewise rich that invest into mineral resource or farm production, it doesn’t ever fluctuate like bitcoin or forex or stock markets or your high paying job, because the market for them are always appreciating and ever in need.
So, anybody can be in this category of wealth if you truly want to create a wealth with peace of mind, security, and transferability to your descendant. That’s true wealth. Wealth that can cover for generations.
