The janitor who left $8 million

Ronald Read from Vermont worked for decades at a petrol station, and later as a janitor. He drove an old car, chopped his own firewood and lived modestly. When he died in 2014 at the age of 92, his town learned that he had left a fortune of around eight million dollars. Most of it went to the local library and hospital.

What he actually did

• He spent less than he earned, every month, for decades.
• He bought shares in large, solid companies.
• He held them, often for decades, and reinvested the dividends.

Why it worked

Not because of a high salary and not because of luck. Because of time. Every dividend he put back bought more shares, which paid more dividends. Growth on top of growth, for more than half a century.

You do not need a high income. You need a system and patience.

What you can take from it

Today you do not even have to pick individual companies. One broad world ETF holds around 1,300 of them. A fixed amount on payday, never touched, does exactly what Ronald Read did, only simpler.