Notes: How People Get Rich Now
“…the main source of new fortunes now is starting companies...”
These are notes and highlights from How People Get Rich Now by Paul Graham.
“In 1982 the most common source of wealth was inheritance. Of the 100 richest people, 60 inherited from an ancestor. There were 10 du Pont heirs alone. By 2020 the number of heirs had been cut in half, accounting for only 27 of the biggest 100 fortunes.”
“You could get rich from starting your own company in 1890 and in 2020, but in 1960 it was not really a viable option. You couldn't break through the oligopolies to get at the markets. So the prestigious route in 1960 was not to start your own company, but to work your way up the corporate ladder at an existing one.”
Note: This was the time that many of our parents were being taught what work “looked like” by their parents. You get a job, you keep it for 40 years… earning more as you work your way up, and then you retire. This is not the case for Millennials and Gen Xers.
“The big companies that seemed models of scale and efficiency in 1930 had by 1970 become slack and bloated.”
Note: We’ll be shocked in 10 years which current tech juggernauts we’ll say the same about.
“If you only look back as far as the mid 20th century, it seems like people getting rich by starting their own companies is a recent phenomenon. But if you look back further, you realize it's actually the default.”
Note: Humans are, by nature, entrepreneurs. The shift of young professionals to startups over the past 2+ decades feels like such a sudden shift because there was a drought for so long. People were raised to pursue college, and then pursue a steady paycheck to pay student loans for that college experience.
“The decreasing cost of starting a startup has in turn changed the balance of power between founders and investors. Back when starting a startup meant building a factory, you needed investors' permission to do it at all. But now investors need founders more than founders need investors, and that, combined with the increasing amount of venture capital available, has driven up valuations.”
“So the decreasing cost of starting a startup increases the number of rich people in two ways: it means that more people start them, and that those who do can raise money on better terms.”