This book was a result of series of research carried out by two professors; Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. The book is primarily about the behavior of American Millionaires. But it’s lessons knows no bounds as it can be applied with success in other countries of the world.

  The authors set out to find:

1.     Who are the true millionaires in America?

2.     Where do they live?

3.     What kind of car do they own and for how long?

4.     What is their lifestyle?

5.     How does their children behave with money?

I was shocked the first time I read this book. Its findings were so out of place from the traditional belief about the wealthy. I asked myself, does it mean that not all the flashy cars I see on the roads and the luxury houses I see in high prized neighborhoods are owned by the truly wealthy.

This book gives us massive insight into the way the millionaire earn, the way they spend and the way they live their lives. The authors found about the wealthy that;

1.     They are avid savers

2.     They are avid investors.

3.     They don’t spend their money on luxury items i.e. they don’t display high social status;

·        They don’t wear expensive watch

·        They don’t wear expensive items of clothing

·        They don’t own luxury cars (in fact most use used cars)
·        They don’t live in high priced neighborhood

4.     They allocate their time, energy and money effectively in ways conducive to building wealth.

5.     They are proficient in targeting opportunities.

These findings above gives you an idea of how the wealthy live and how they built their fortune. It can simply be summed up; high spenders are not the wealthy. As the authors wrote in the introduction “wealth is not the same as income, if you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate not what you spend”.

          The book will not only benefit the poor, it will also benefit the wealthy.

                                                THE POOR

Of course, you would want to understand the millionaires if you want to be wealthy. It will teach you those traits that have helped the wealthy garner so much wealth.

                                                THE WEALTHY

Now you are rich, but how do you behave with your money especially with your kids. Your wealth has the capacity to tear your family apart when you are still around and even more when you are gone. Some of the wealthy have unconsciously through their actions gave their kids the impression that the money they have is theirs. The kids have as a result become lazy, relying on their parents’ wealth to survive. This book will help you avoid this trap. You will learn;

·        How to give to your kids and your grandkids without spoiling them with money.

·        How to plan your estate so that your children will not fight over it when you die

·        Teach you a lot about how to relate to your children when it comes to money.

These will benefit you and your children.

This is a personal finance classic that will surely teach you one or two things about money management.