Personal Finance

I'm 37 with invested $2 million in real estate and $8 million in investments - here's how I got ahead of my peers

Christy Bieber

Published: January 22, 2025 10:45 am

Not too many 37-year-olds have a $10 million net worth, but one Reddit poster has accomplished this amazing feat.

The Redditor owns $2 million of real estate, $1 million in retirement funds, and another $7 million in liquid investments. He didn’t inherit the money, either, as he said his mother was in credit card debt and worked most of her life so he received no trust fund or other leg-up. 

So, how did he save so much at such a young age? Here are his secrets to success. 

This was the path from $0 to $10 million

The original poster (OP) of the Reddit thread explained that a good amount of his money came from the sale of his business. However, there was obviously more to it than that. As he posted:

• He began working at the age of 15.
• He built multiple businesses from scratch, including the most recent company he sold, which helped him accelerate the growth of his net worth. 
• He did well investing the proceeds from his business operations during the course of his career. 

He’s now at the point where he really does not need any more money. So, although he thinks that he has a 50/50 chance of being able to build another business worth at least $10 million in the next five to 10 years, he’s decided that it is not necessarily something he wants to pursue. He sees no need, since he has the funds to live the way he wants and doesn’t see how more money would meaningful impact his life. 

How challenging is it to grow wealth this way?

While this Redditor obviously did very well for himself, his path to success is not one that many people will find they can replicate easily. The issue, of course, is that more businesses fail than produce millions. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2024 that:

• 20.4% of businesses failed within the year that they opened
• 49.4% failed within the first five years after opening their doors
• 65.3% failed in the 10 years after they began operations 

This isn’t to say that others cannot succeed as the OP did, but it is far from a sure thing that starting a business is going to be the path to millionaire status. For those who do want to go this route, though, it will be important to understand what makes companies succeed and to develop a detailed business plan to create a competitive advantage. 

The OP did, however, say that investing the proceeds from his companies also played a role in helping him to become a multi-millionaire. The good news is that investing is something within reach of most people. The more money you invest, and the sooner you start putting money into assets that produce gains for you, the greater the likelihood that you too can become rich.  A financial advisor can help you to figure out how much to invest to accomplish this goal, based on your specific financial situation. 

The OP has a good amount of money in taxable accounts here, which makes good sense for him since he’s considering quitting work at 37 now that he has his millions. That wouldn’t be possible if all his funds were tied up in a retirement account as retirement funds aren’t generally accessible until age 59 1/2. If you’re also thinking of retiring early, putting some funds into a taxable account could be wise — although investing in traditional retirement funds should be a top priority to make sure you have your nest egg funded before even considering early retirement. 

Your best path to success, though, is going to be to try to maximize your income — whether through a business of your own or by advancing your job skills — and then to invest, just as this Redditor did. Hopefully, if you can earn a generous amount through your hard work and have success as the OP did, you too can end up with a net worth that puts you ahead of your peers and allows you to live your dream life.