“The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.”
– Robert Kiyosaki (The Maxims of Wall Street, Page 21)
Of the thousands of subscribers who now read Wealthy Retirement or my new newsletter The Skousen Report, I suspect many of you are self-made millionaires, either as entrepreneurs or as investors. I congratulate you. You have lived the American Dream.
As the novelist Ayn Rand wrote, “Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision” (Maxims, Page 68).
It’s time we honored all of you who have made it to the Promised Land.
If you haven’t yet, perhaps you have a goal to get there someday. If you have, your goal should be to keep living the American Dream by investing wisely and avoiding bad choices. That’s our main purpose here at The Oxford Club, and I’m delighted to be a part of this great organization.
Three Principles of Success
How did you – or how can you – achieve this success in life? I believe it’s due to the three principles outlined by Benjamin Franklin: industry, thrift, and prudence. You work hard, you control your spending habits, and you don’t take foolish chances with your hard-earned money.
As Kevin O’Leary says, “Getting rich is easy if you follow three rules: Spend less, save more, and invest the rest” (see Page 24 of Maxims)… but do it wisely!
If you followed these rules, you are in a position to celebrate.
Forbes 250 Lists
As I mentioned last week, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, Forbes magazine has been creating a variety of new lists of successful Americans.
They are called the Forbes 250.
Last week, Forbes came out with two Forbes 250 lists of the greatest self-made Americans who started from nothing and lived the American Dream:
I went through the list and discovered that I’ve met 14 of the living self-made Americans, including Bill Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, and Mark Cuban, and nine of the historic figures, including George Foreman, whom I met at my FreedomFest conference.
I was also glad they finally added B.C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes magazine, to the list.
And, of course, I “knew” Ben Franklin (#19), as I am an eighth-generation direct descendant of “The Greatest American.”
America Is the Promised Land
America is indeed the land of opportunity for anyone to start from scratch and make their fortune. That’s why they call it “the American Dream.” No other country in the world offers so many of its citizens the chance to go from zero to hero in a lifetime.
President Ronald Reagan once said:
We have closed the border to illegal immigrants, but we must always have the door open to the best and the brightest foreigners who want to come to America and make a difference – Elon Musk (South Africa), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (India), and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (Taiwan), to give three examples.
It’s because we are open to the best entrepreneurs from around the world that American exceptionalism is alive and well. That is why the U.S. stock market has outperformed all other country funds in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Let’s Create Our Own Forbes 250 at FreedomFest!
I’m happy to report that Steve Forbes, the editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, will be at this year’s FreedomFest, which will be held July 8-11 at the Caesars Forum convention center in Las Vegas. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we are calling this year’s big show “The World’s Fair of Liberty.”
Steve will be there as our ambassador to FreedomFest and will be speaking and even appearing in costume as George Washington!
He is famous for saying, “FreedomFest is so good I changed my schedule to attend all four days. It’s where the best ideas are fleshed out.”
At the closing panel of FreedomFest, Steve often joins other speakers and attendees in a photo on the main stage, each holding a silver dollar.
Here’s my invitation: To celebrate the American Dream, I’d like to invite you to join Steve Forbes onstage at this year’s FreedomFest on July 11 (7/11 in Vegas!).
What a great memory to celebrate our nation’s founding and the Declaration of Independence!
M&M Boys at FreedomFest July 8-11 in Vegas!
I’m also happy to announce that Chief Income Strategist Marc Lichtenfeld will be joining me at FreedomFest.
Growing up, I was a big fan of the “M&M Boys,” Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, in their goal to catch Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1961.
Marc and I plan to do the same at this year’s FreedomFest, where we will show you how to hit some grand-slam “ten-baggers” in supergrowth and income stocks this year.
Special Session on the Terrifying New World of AI
FreedomFest includes a full four-day investment conference. We’ve planned a special session on the exciting – and, to some, terrifying – world of artificial intelligence (though I prefer to call it “advanced intelligence”) and how to profit from this new technological trend that Elon Musk and others are developing.
In addition to Marc Lichtenfeld, our experts include Steve Forbes, George Gilder, Adrian Day, Jim Woods, and Rob Arnott, who will be bringing his first edition of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. (We have just updated our website to include the full list of speakers. Check it out here.)
I’m also pleased to announce that Nobel laureate Vernon Smith is coming to FreedomFest and will celebrate his 100th birthday there on 7/11 in Vegas. I recently interviewed him, and at 99 years of age, he was sharp and insightful. Don’t miss this special event.
We are offering $100 off the registration fee for all Oxford Club readers for this year’s big show, but you must register before April 30. Use the code “OXFORD100” when you sign up here, or call Hayley at 1.855.850.3733, ext. 202.
I know there’s a lot going on this summer, but this year’s FreedomFest will be most memorable. Make your plans now to attend. Keynote speakers include Kennedy from Fox News as our emcee; John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market; actors/activists Rob Schneider and Dean Cain; and several political figures who will be announced soon.
