The TRUTH About Building Wealth vs Just Being Rich

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Michael Zuber (0:29)

All righty, folks, as you know, there is a big real estate guru who is now saying, he doesn't want you to be rich. Well, you know what? Pooh-pooh to that.

I want all of you to be wealthy. So what we're going to do today with Cody is we're going to first define rich versus wealthy because the nuance is important.

And then we're going to talk about how the heck can you get wealthy, can you get wealthy, and what you should do on your path to getting wealthy.

All righty, Cody, thank you for being here. Thank you for letting me riff on this topic because this particular creator really annoys me. His name will not be mentioned. It's kind of like Beetlejuice. But what do you think about rich versus wealthy? Kind of define it or give us some examples.

Cody Davis (1:14)

Yeah, I'd say the simplest way I could put it is if you're rich, you have the ability to buy a lot of things because of what you do. And if you're wealthy, you have the ability to buy a lot of things because of what you did.

Michael Zuber (1:28)

Oh, I like that. Say that again. That's good.

Cody Davis (1:32)

So, if you're rich, earn a bunch of money, the things that you're doing today allow you to buy the things you want to buy. If you're wealthy, you can buy what you want to buy because of the things you did prior. It's about the act of, I go build this big hamster wheel, I'm working, earning a ton of money, I'm rich, I can go buy whatever I want.

Versus the wealthy person, I did a lot in the past, so that now I don't have to, and now I can still buy the same things. And that's the separation there.

Michael Zuber (2:03)

Yeah, let me give an example that hit me. This is when Shaquille O'Neal, I think he was a rookie or no, I think it was when he signed his $100 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. So he came from Orlando to LA.

And he relayed this story in an interview I heard. And one of his kids said, Dad, we're wealthy. And Shaquille O'Neal is no slouch when it comes to money. He's a tremendous businessman, near as I can tell, certainly better than most athletes. And he said, no son, we're rich, not wealthy. And his son was perplexed. And he said, why? And he basically said, what you said is like, hey son, this is $100 million contract I have to work for, I have to play for, I have to quote, unquote, do.

The wealthy person is Mr. Buss, who was the owner of the Lakers, who signed the $100 million, who did all of these things for decades, and now could sign $100 million contract. So again, I think you're absolutely right. Wealth comes from what you did. Rich is what you do. I think that is a simple, but very powerful way to look at it. That's pretty good.

Cody Davis (3:18)

Well, and that's why flippers, I've made so many videos on this. The home flippers, the wholesalers, the ones that are actually making money, they are rich. In comparison to me, I can't go reasonably by the Lamborghinis and the Porsches and the nice house right now, but you fast forward five years, and I'm gonna be able to do that because of what I'm doing today. It's again, I'll be wealthy because of what I did.

I'm not gonna be rich by earning a bunch of money. And both are better than...

Michael Zuber (3:51)

Yeah, both are better than nothing, true.

Cody Davis (3:53)

Right. They're both better than nothing.

However, I would highly encourage people to swim towards the wealthy end rather than the rich end.

Michael Zuber (4:02)

It's a much better... Yeah, let me ask this little nuance, because I actually don't know how you're gonna answer it, but I believe pretty strongly not to lead the witness.

Can you get wealthy on, say, 50K a year? Again, you gotta remember, 50K is substantially below the median household income, which today sits at 87 grand. So can somebody get wealthy at 50 grand, or do they need 200 grand a year minimum to even start the journey? What say you?