Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods
    Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods
    Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods
    Audiobook7 hours

    Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods

    Written by Ryan D'Agostino

    Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

    3/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Ryan D'Agostino wanted to know how the extremely wealthy in America got that way. So he asked. Knocking on 500 doors in twenty neighborhoods in the most affluent ZIP codes in America, D'Agostino met with fifty regular (but very rich) men and women who welcomed him in and shared some of their most difficult financial decisions, toughest setbacks, greatest strategies, most triumphant moments, and deepest insights into what it means to have money. D'Agostino covers a range of businesses, from real estate, flower selling, and credit card processing to art dealing, advertising, and even bookselling, gleaning lessons from which everyone can benefit.

    In Rich Like Them, D'Agostino weaves together what he learned and organizes the text with maxims for achieving wealth, including "Never let pride get in the way of profit" and "When you fail miserably, rejoice." Filled with inspiring stories and straight-up advice, Rich Like Them is a lively and practical get-rich guide that any reader can follow.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 19, 2009
    ISBN9781400179947
    Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods

    Related to Rich Like Them

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Finance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      An Invitation to Corruption

      Mar 20, 2020

      An Invitation to Corruption
      3 min read

    • Article

      Why I Love My Whole Life Insurance Policy

      Aug 2, 2018

      At any given family or social event, once someone knows I am a financial planner I always get pulled to the side to answer some burning personal finance question. I can sympathize with doctors. I usually get asked about the market or some stock, but

      3 min read

    • Article

      How 2 Physicians Built Retirement Wealth in Real Estate Through a 1031 Exchange

      Sep 3, 2021

      Brother and sister Hassan and Shara (not their real names) came to America as children of immigrants. Their family settled in a suburb of Detroit. Their parents struggled to provide the necessities of life, with their mother staying at home, as was t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Legacy Planning: Create a Lasting Legacy

      Oct 30, 2020

      There will come a time when you realize that you have spent a lifetime building your wealth and you want to know how it can provide a lasting legacy to the next generation. You might be at that stage today or see it as a future event. Either way, you

      5 min read

    • Article

      Is Your 401(k) or IRA a Sleeping Tax Bear?

      May 7, 2019

      Plenty of retirements these days are built in large part by stashing away money week by week into tax-deferred accounts, such as traditional IRAs or 401(k)s, among other options. And certainly, such accounts can provide a wonderful feeling of confid

      4 min read

    • Article

      Where Millionaires Live in America

      Oct 22, 2020

      They say a million dollars isn't what it used to be, but it still earns you entry into an elite group of Americans. Only 6.7% of the nation's households, or about 8.4 million, qualify as bona fide millionaires. Before anyone gets hot and bothered, we

      1 min read

    • Article

      PODCAST: The Ins and Outs of IRAs with Ed Slott, CPA

      Aug 23, 2021

      Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | RSS David Muhlbaum: Individual retirement accounts. Lots of people have one, but are they getting the most from them? We talked to a master of strategy, Ed Slott, about the ins and outs of IRAs.

      22 min read

    • Article

      How to Choose a Financial Adviser

      Nov 25, 2019

      A good financial adviser can teach you how to manage household expenses, save for the future and how to plan for retirement. Not everyone has the same financial goals, and a good adviser can help you plan for your future. You don't need to be rich t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Use an HSA to Boost Your Retirement Savings

      Jul 31, 2019

      A health savings account offers a tax-saving trifecta: You put money in the account pretax, let it grow tax free and take it out tax free to pay for qualifying medical expenses. These accounts are growing in popularity, with participants contributing

      4 min read

    • Article

      7 Crash-Proof ETFs to Battle a Bear Market

      Oct 26, 2018

      Wall Street has started slipping into bear market fears thanks to a brutal, volatile October that has sapped away the year-to-date gains from the major indices. But investors starting to flee have the wrong idea. There are places to hide - including

      8 min read

    • Article

      How to Make a Million (or More!)

      Apr 4, 2019

      Christina Stembel didn't just bend the traditional business model for flower companies; she snipped it in half. Stembel grew up on a farm in Bremen, Ind. (population 4,500), so it's tempting to say that she founded Farmgirl Flowers to get back to her

      15 min read

    • Article

      We Humans Will Pick Ourselves Up, Dust Ourselves Off And Adapt

      Apr 29, 2020

      As I write this in early April, the All Ordinaries index has had a nice rally from its year low of 4564 to around 5400. Markets do tend to move as a predictor of the future, so right now they are obviously factoring in the falling infection and death

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Trials of Jared K.

      Apr 22, 2020

      The Trials of Jared K.
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Visit To The Border

      Nov 19, 2018

      A Visit To The Border
      7 min read

    • Article

      People Are Strange

      Oct 13, 2019

      People Are Strange
      5 min read

    • Article

      It’s Come to This

      Sep 1, 2021

      It’s Come to This
      16 min read

    • Article

      Speedboat

      Mar 24, 2022

      Nobody died that year. Nobody prospered. There were no births or marriages. Seventeen reverent satires were written – disrupting a cliché and, presumably, creating a genre. That was a dream, of course, but many of the most important things, I fi nd,

      14 min read

    • Article

      Coasting The Gulf

      May 17, 2021

      A PERFECT ROAD TRIP BEGINS AT HAPPY HOUR, at Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, for a dozen (or maybe two) oysters on the half shell and a frozen French 75. I know frozen drinks are for teenagers, and I am not one,

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Rich Like Them

    3/5

    33 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      My husband and I are reading this together. It's neat to hear how people find their way to wealth in various ways you'd never imagine. Although the author offers several maxims on how we can all pursue wealth, there is no magic formula! Oh, if only, right?
    • 4/5
      Easy read. Good storytelling to visualize the setting, interviewees, and journey without being distracting. Great "from the field" tips on making and keeping wealth from some of the richest people in America. Great concept. I'm glad D'Agostino came up with this novel approach and carried through. It is a must read.
    • 2/5
      Synopsis: A writer/reporter goes door-to-door through some of the country's richest zip codes trying to persuade local residents to share their secrets to wealth creation.Conclusion: Although the premise is interesting, this is just one more book that would have been better as a magazine article or a simple essay.As the book progressed, my impression was that the interviewees were, at the very best, only tolerating the author. D'Agostino himself comments on their toleration more than once. I would also like to point out that these were not "rags to riches" stories. These were more "somewhat rich to really rich" stories. It's not that it isn't interesting to hear how people better themselves. But, in general, poor to really rich is more impressive and interesting to read about. Character actors that become high-end booksellers just aren't as inspiring as shoe-shine men that become tycoons.Finally, these interviews, including a couple with property investors, were done between 2005-2007. So, even though the book was published in 2009, the information contained was gleaned during the height of the property and investment bubble. I would very much like to hear what these people have to say now about their investment strategies, their capital and their thoughts about the future.Overall, I felt that the writing in its styled glossiness was more appropriate to a magazine article and the content underwhelming and uninspiring. I tired very quickly of D'Agostino's continual references to his aching feet, his weariness and his less-than-stellar hotel accommodations.
    • 2/5
      I honestly didn't finish this book. The premise sounded good, but it uninteresting quickly. I gave to my mother who, after reading it, called it "sophmoric" and that it seemed like a high school journalism project. The writing was at a level lower than it seem it should be. No new ideas for becoming "rich like them are" apparent. Inherit it, marry it, fall into it, steal it, or work hard for it.
    • 4/5
      Very unique way to gather research for a book! I received this from the Early Reviewers group, but it accidentally got set aside without me adding my review.This book will not turn you into a Millionaire, but it does give you some good ideas about how to be more successful and productive. It could have been better written, as it sometimes seemed repetitive. Over all I enjoyed it.
    • 2/5
      I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey--I've used his advice to really get a handle on my family's finances. One of the things he recommends for people who want to build wealth is to talk to wealthy people and find out what their attitude toward money is. This seems to be good advice, and, according to Dave, it is advice that he followed when he went bankrupt years ago and was starting over again. I read D'Agostino's book with Ramsey's advice in the back of my mind. On the surface, it seems that was what D'Agostino was doing: finding rich people and pumping them for information about how they got rich.I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in his results. D'Agostino spent a great deal of time going from door-to-door in some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, hoping to be able to talk to the people who lived in these fabulous homes in these fabulous neighborhoods and ask ho they got there. Basically, what he got was a lot of personal stories that he tried to boil down to simple lessons for those of us who want to live in these neighborhoods. These lessons include basic advice such as "keep your eyes open", and "work hard to make your own luck." Things I already knew (o at least suspected).What D'Agostino doesn't stress, however, and this seems to be true of nearly every story, is that you have to start with some money. No one started out flat broke--they moved from a position where they were making a lot of money to where they were making a whole lot of money. For the average middle-class wage earner, there is no path to fabulous wealth that doesn't include winning the lotto or borrowing lots of money.It is interesting that this book came out just as the stock market and real estate markets were heading down the toilet. I would like to see a follow up on these wealthy people, and see how they are weathering the current economic downturn.D'Agostino's style makes Rich Like Them a riveting story--it truly is fascinating hearing his tale of traveling an knocking on doors, and the people he meets are worth reading about--I'm not sure I would recommend this book to someone wanting information how to get rich like them.
    • 3/5
      For someone who doesn’t work in a very lucrative field (I work as a librarian), I have a high interest in personal finance. I read Money magazine, never miss an episode of the Suze Orman show, and budget to the penny. So I thought that this book, Rich Like Them, looked really interesting. The author, Ryan D’Agostino, decided to travel to some of the neighborhoods in the 100 richest zip codes in the U.S., knock on the doors of impressive homes, and ask how the owners managed to acquired such riches. Amazingly, people actually talked to him, among them an actor turned rare book store owner, a produce distributor who traded up his homes until he found himself in Beverly Hills, and a hefty spattering of CEO’s and entrepreneurs. The advice the home owners gave was not very earth shattering, but still good advice. As I was reading it, I started to feel inspired – but I also started to feel dissatisfied. Suddenly my pretty, safe neighborhood seemed shabby and pedestrian; my career non-impressive and its salary slightly pathetic. Dissatisfaction can be a great motivator, and if it works for you, then buy this book. Maybe you’ll become rich like them. But I’m going to keep budgeting and watching Suze.Interesting tidbit - the house on the cover is the same house on the cover of another book in my library - Present Value by Sabin Willett
    • 4/5
      Rich Like Them is a very practical book about everyday things anyone could do to build wealth. It is not about getting rich quick. This book brings to light habits and personality characteristics common in wealthy people. It is not about celebrities, but about normal people who have worked for all they have.I appreciated that the book was so practical. Reading it, you start to believe you really can become a millionaire. Not everyone can, of course. But you can. Innovative or hard working people will enjoy this book more than others because the tips apply best to people with a little drive.
    • 4/5
      I had to wait a bit after I finished "Rich Like Them" by Ryan D'Agostino to get my thoughts together. I was surprised by how different the book was from the ideas I got after after reading the cover blurbs. One of my pet peeves is a book that is very different from the information provided to pique my interest in reading. This book is NOT a how-to guide. When the front cover says "...the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods", I had no idea I was going to get a series of advice articles. But that's how I think of the book now. The author's idea was to isolate the wealthiest zip codes and then just go door-to-door asking to speak to the owners. Now that takes some cojones! But amazingly enough, he was successful about ten percent of the time and this book is his recounting of the advice he was given by those living the 'high life'. These aren't movie stars...they are (mostly) normal folks who earned their money (although a few did inherit). They view opportunity a bit differently and aren't afraid of risk or hard work. They were also (mostly) quite down to earth in terms of day-to-day living and seemed surprisingly willing to talk to a stranger who showed up on their doorstep...who knew?So if you're looking for a book that will give you a step-by-step primer on how to get rich...don't look here. But if you're looking for a book that will help you adjust your thinking and learn the work habits and ethics of the uber-wealthy...then this might be the book for you.
    • 4/5
      D'Agostino's premise is solid and instantly relatable - to visit those that actually live in the houses we pass in wealthy neighborhoods and to simply ask them how they got there. So he looked up neighborhoods in the 100 wealthiest zip codes, threw in three neighborhoods for good measure and went knocking on doors.From there, the book is probably woefully mis-titled. This is actually not a book on getting wealthy per se. If anything, this is a book on the mindset and characteristics most of these individuals shared. It is a fast read, and if you approach it asking yourself, "how should I be thinking?" this is a decent start.Notably, D'Agostino heavily quotes and goes back to Carol Dweck and Jason Zweig's works to bolster the nuggets he was able to gather from interviews. At times, this can feel as if he read Dweck's work on having an open-mindset mentality and Zweig's on how your brain and money interact and he merely looked to connect the dots. Then again, this was how a number of the individuals managed to make their money - not by any earth-shattering revolutionary invention or innovation - but by merely connecting dots.The other frustration that can easily arise from this book is that there's nothing "ah-ha!" to be had in the advice you get. In fact, it's actually not at all about making money - the vast majority were never in this to make money. Most of them just wanted to be happy in what they did. Yes, these are folks that sometimes come from money, which can seem like a cheat until you realize that most are all to aware of the ease of losing easy money. The number of individuals that made money from real estate is almost unnerving with the current state of the market, but one can't help but wonder if his interviewees are the types that knew which way to head when everything started to turn. Then there's the obsession and seemingly singular-focus that can seem like a "lack of fun" until you realize that this is fun for them. Yes, ophthalmology can seem like an odd thing to obsess over, but if your passion can net you a successful career, why not? (Everyone who is a book lover should note one of his 90210 interviews involved a used book dealer who found a way to combine his love of books and movies, so it's not all medical school.) In all of this, it can seem like you're being told, "go, obsess on something and come from money you don't have to get wealthy" if you're not interested in much of what these folks do for a living. But what they do isn't the point...it's all in the attitude and caring about what drives you.For those not looking to strike out on their own, there's still plenty to take for application in general day-to-day business. This is perhaps where D'Agostino missed out - in concentrating so much on the entrepreneurial aspect of his subjects and their success, the fact that so much of this could be applied to improving your existing career is harder to unearth (but it's there).
    • 3/5
      Rich Like Them is not a self-help book, unless you're securely placed in upper-middle class or higher, and are financially secure. In the author's door-to-door search to find the secrets of wealth is America (paraphrase of the subtitle), the true secret is "already be wealthy."Of 500 houses in several cities across the top 100 richest zip codes, D'Agostino went door to door knocking/ringing doorbells to find out the secrets to everybody's wealth. He managed to snag 50 interviews.While I respect the goal of the book, the execution of it was flawed. About a third of the advice on making it big would appeal to many of the readers of the book.The people who made it big in this book were either already wealthy, married into wealth, started a business appealing to the wealthy, were from wealthy families, or made continual sacrifices to their families to get wealthy, by either burning the midnight oil ("Hey, it's Uncle Dad!"), or by continually relocating a family to keep getting better and better homes and by making a killing off the previous one. Oh, or you could work hard your entire life, scrimping and saving so that you could live luxuriously in your golden years (and by then, could you really enjoy it? What's the point of having an Olympic-sized swimming pool if all you can do is wade in the shallow end because of your arthritis?).Sure, there were some innovators, like the author's friend who revolutionized the credit card/shop interface, but it seemed everybody else put everything in their lives to the side except for success (granted, a better goal than money), and all we see is the good: their giant house with a wonderful view of some body of water, but we don't see their neglected families (well, one of the guys, we see, doesn't have any furniture in his multi-million dollar home).An interesting book if you liked the show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, or Cribs, but not really any more helpful than listening to the financial talk radio shows on the AM ("act your wage" and so forth). About the only thing it brings to the table is to be a risk taker. Here, though, "risk" is a carefully calculated thing that would put you in the poor house if it fails.Additionally, the author spends as much time interpolating his own agenda on getting rich as he does listening to the rich talk about their methods of getting rich. Oh, and he sickeningly describes every single overpriced meal he has and every lush hotel he visits as he does this project.All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have loads of money lying around and would like some tips on how to invest it. Unless you're prepared to sacrifice and work really hard, this book will give you nothing more than a little warmth on the inside. That warmth is called "heartburn."