The Millionaire Next Door

Publisher's Summary

Who are the rich in this country? What do they do? How do they invest? How did they get rich? Can you ever become one of them? Get the answers in The Millionaire Next Door, the never-before-told story about wealth in America. You'll be surprised by what you find out.

©2000 Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D. (P)2000 Simon & Schuster, Inc., All Rights Reserved, SOUND IDEAS is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The implication of The Millionaire Next Door is that nearly anybody with a steady job can amass a tidy fortune." (Forbes)

Skip the abridged version

This abridged version is very disappointing. There are some valuable insights, but the details seem missing. When I bought this from Audible the unabridged version was not available – it is available now. Skip the abridgment and read the whole thing. It will definitely be more valuable than this abridgment.

15 of 15 people found this review helpful

Money well spent. A good investment.

A first class book, which is quite different in style from any of the top selling self help titles of the last decade. An absolute must for anyone who is serious about becoming wealthy, who suffers from status anxiety, or who simply wants to improve their financial position. A series of well presented observations based solidly on extensive research. Its not what you earn, but how you spend it. Some of the facts presented are quite startling and should shatter any common misconceptions about wealthy people that you may have. The evidence is backed up quite extensively with facts and figures and statistics, which could easily become boring, especially in audio format. However, somehow the truly excellent reading style of Cotter Smith kept my attention throughout. Why don?t more authors and publishers insist on this level of quality when choosing a narrator for audio books? At times we English have been known to take exception to American accents, but this guy is pure class. A delight to listen to. Worth every penny.

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

A rather sad outlook on life and money

Speaking as a 'millionaire' myself, I'm afraid the advice touted in this book is the virtually the polar opposite of any I have lived by, and in turn would give to others. Simply put, if you believe that money is an end in and of itself, and desire to be a 'millionaire' for no other reason that to BE a millionaire, then you may enjoy this book, as it clearly lays out the path you should follow.

However... if, like me, you believe that money and/or wealth is merely a means to an end, i.e. further enjoyment of one's life, increased independence and freedom, and additional influence and power (call me Nietzschean), there is little doubt in my mind that you will find this book to be bordering on the ludicrous.

The philosophy this book outlines is a simplistic one: never, ever spend so much as a penny on anything you do not absolutely need for survival. If you can manage this for some forty or fifty years, you too can go to your grave with nearly seven-figures. Those who spend any significant portion of what they earn on things they may enjoy are selfish, ignorant, and fairly stupid individuals, who's only goal is to fill a void in their lives no doubt created by their unbalanced and psychologically diseased outlook on life. Pardon my slight exaggeration, but I truly believe these authors have an intense dislike of those who dare to enjoy the fruits of their labor, which strikes me as silly (to put it mildly).

Moreover, the 'profile' of the average 'millionaire' they have laid out is nearly as odd as the philosophy itself. They seem to place emphasis only on those individuals who have worked incredibly hard at low paying jobs for some 40-50 years, spent virtually nothing, and at retirement have just a tad over a million in total 'value'. I'm willing to bet that the average reader does not want to be counted amongst their ranks, and instead wants to enjoy themselves, their money, and their lives to the fullest extent possible.

66 of 75 people found this review helpful

Required listen / read for financial success

This book changed my entire perspective on the rich, and the not so rich that act like they're rich. Not only does it give insight on what you must do, but it gives tremendous insight on how to properly teach your children about money and financial responsibility. Best of all, the findings are supported by research interviews.
In conclusion, this book should be required reading for high school students everywhere!

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

wannabe

Great principles. Unexpected but encouraging facts. Great advice about educating your children about money. I just found it difficult to listen to the statistical data that supports the research. Even with the statistics I would listen to this title again to reinforce the principal. It was extremely encouraging to learn that the seemingly rich probably aren't as rich as they seem and income doesn't necessarly equal wealth.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Superb!!

Teaches what it takes to become a millionaire and how attainable it is. Teaches some basic easy to use principles, ideas, attitudes relating to the creation of personal wealth. Real examples to illustrate why some people are doing well and others not so good. Although some of the numbers may be a little dated the principles are not.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great!

Everything about this book is awesome! I hope I can find more like it. Great narrator and great story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good book.

Good book. I think that this abridged version is very easy to follow.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

a great read

this book puts things in perspective on how people accumulate wealth. You will definitely learn something about your own self.

Quick, concise knowledge

Read at a good pace, I was able to absorb the information while cleaning my house on a Saturday morning.