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

The average rating for Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-02-08 00:00:00 Bruce Dodds 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.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-12-26 00:00:00 Damon Wooley How do you give zero stars! This book is bullshit. Proof one can still make a buck perpetuating the old Horatio Alger myth. Million dollar oceanside mansion? Those folks had the foresight to buy it 40 years ago for a mere $400k. That's right, 40 years ago when your folks and everyone they knew had hundreds of thousands of dollars but were foolishly pitching bundles of cash into the fire, these clever folks invested in luxury real estate! The Wall Street broker who figured out an angle on selling stocks that netted him big bucks? Are the other white, college educated men selling stocks with that gent in the poor house now? The immigrant story you were waiting for is here also, a story of a fellow who came to American with just $50 in his pocket... and a spot in MIT's freshmen class who defied odds and made it big. When compared with all other freshman at MIT, were the odds defied? Also, his sample is self selected; a group of rich people who wanted to point out to a stranger how their unique qualities gained them that wealth. Crap!