10 Secrets of the Capitalist Class

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A High Income Isn't Enough to Truly Join the Capitalist Class

Before we begin, let's reiterate the example provided in Class in the United States to illustrate the difference between merely having a high income and truly being a member of the capitalist class.

Imagine two men, Greg, and John. Greg is a medical doctor and earns $300,000 per year. He has to show up to work regularly, using the rare skills he’s acquired through a very expensive medical school education and years of on-the-job training. If he dies or goes into a coma, his family will receive little or no income because he’s unable to work. John, on the other hand, owns a $3,000,000 limited service hotel that generates $300,000 per year for him. He doesn’t have to run it or be involved in any way because he pays a management firm to set rates, staff the property, and maintain the standards required by his franchise agreement. If John suddenly passes away or is incapacitated, his property will continue to generate income.

Make Money Work for You

The purpose of investing is to make your money work for you so that it generates cash regularly instead of (or in addition to) you having to sell your labor. In this case, John is truly a member of the capitalist class because he owns assets that generate cash for him as a result of providing needed services to the economy. In other words, John is not rich because he is important or respected; he is rich because what he has built fills a need in society and the money is evidence of that. Greg, however, is very well off and experiences a standard of living among the highest in history. But he is not a true member of the capitalist class. To be, he would need to take his earnings from practicing medicine and build a collection of cash generating assets that could work alongside him, pumping out money as he focuses on healing people at the hospital.