Getting Rich In Thailand

[dumbnewbie]

OK, just now I was reading another thread where someone mentioned that the only grocery store where he could count on finding food that isn't expired/rotting was located in a hi-so area surrounded by 100 million baht homes. A quick calculation shows that those homes are worth around USD 3 million or GBP 2 million. I didn't even know homes could be so expensive in Thailand.

But it got me thinking... all over the world, quality of life really is better if you have more money. Better neighborhoods (safer, quieter, better air quality, more beauty), better food, better health care, better schools for your kids... you name it.

Also... life is short.

So at the risk of sounding silly, I will ask here what I've been trying to figure out all my life: how does one get rich?

Is it possible for a farang to get rich in Thailand? Does anyone know of such cases? If so, how did they do it?

I'm not talking about the upper middle class - doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. - that I understand. I'm talking about really rich, where you can afford a 100 million baht home, take frequent expensive vacations, send your kids to private schools, etc.

It really is largely a matter of fate, isn't it? To be seriously rich, you have to be born into that class, and thus go to the right schools, make the right friends, etc.?

Someone give me some hope, please?

[tb86]

theres a few guys that have made a killing here, industrial supply, acct. companies, sme's, pharm tech guys wouldnt suggest that route, if it was easy everyone would do it takes hard work, and well lots of luck. and yes there are plenty of 100++ mil homes here, hel_l there are a few cars here worth that

[Loz]

Those factors help. But life is what you make it. You are in charge.

Have you read the book or seen the movie, "The Secret" ?

if its hope you are looking for, that is as good a place to start as any...

It offers practical advice not just wishy washy sound bites.

Up to you if you follow the advice. But if you are REALLY looking to change some things in your life, start but changing some things in your life.*

*That statement changed my life for the better

[eTiMaGo]

land, nothing like it....

though, the higher the risk, the higher the rewards... investment, stock market... like anywhere really!

[Ruperts]

Three replies and still noone has provided us with an easy, risk free method that will allow us to become instant millionaires. It's almost like nobody knows. Very suprising.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Ruperts

[rainman]

It's not a matter of fate, but rather a matter of will. If you sit on the couch thinking about getting rich, you'll likely never get there. I personally found that the projects where I've made the most money weren't the ones where I was actually trying to make money, but the ones that I did because I liked doing them. Do what you enjoy and eventually the money will start pouring in faster than you can count it. If not, you're at least doing something you enjoy and don't need to worry about doing something you don't enjoy and are not making money from it either. Better happy with the chance of lucky than twice sad, right?

You don't need to be born into a rich family in order to get rich. That's a nonsense logic. If everyone is born into a rich family, where did the money come from initially? Exactly. Somebody poor made money and got rich. Some of the world's richest people started out poor or with barely any money.

I would say motivation is the key factor.

[rainman]

I think the best 'guides' to getting rich, and the least expensive ones (without even having to buy a book), is reading the Wikipedia entries of some of the world's richest people. There's how they did it. Take a look at some that I personally find interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingvar_Kamprad

"Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm, sell them individually at a low price, and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds, and later ballpoint pens and pencils. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him a cash reward for succeeding in his studies.[2] He used this money to establish what has grown into IKEA."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dell

While at the University of Texas at Austin, he started a computer company called PC's Limited in room 2713 of twenty-seven story residence hall Dobie Center.[7].[8] The company became successful enough that, with the help of an additional loan from his grandparents, Dell dropped out of the university at the age of 19 to run PC's Limited, which later became the famous Dell Computer Corporation, then ultimately Dell, Inc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin

As Larry Malseed wrote, "Soliciting funds from faculty members, family and friends, Sergey and Larry scraped together enough to buy some servers and rent that famous garage in Menlo Park. ... [soon after], Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a $100,000 check to “Google, Inc.” The only problem was, “Google, Inc.” did not yet exist—the company hadn’t yet been incorporated. For two weeks, as they handled the paperwork, the young men had nowhere to deposit the money."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_branson

Branson started his first record business after he traveled across the English Channel and purchased crates of "cut-out" records from a record discounter. He sold the records out of the boot of his car to retail outlets in London. He continued selling cut-outs through a record mail order business in 1970.

There you go, hope that's some inspiration to you

Edited January 19, 2010 by rainman

[eTiMaGo]

yes, in the end it all takes root in your state of mind... like rainman said, do what you love and the money will usually follow (might take a few tries though!)

[tb86]

yes, in the end it all takes root in your state of mind... like rainman said, do what you love and the money will usually follow (might take a few tries though!)

amen to the few tries, for sure and dont forget the few ulcers and a bit less hair as well

[Heng]

Buy or make something for a Baht and sell it for 2, 3, 4,etc. Baht. Then hire someone to make thousands of them for you while paying them 180 Baht a day. Hire more and more until you have dozens, hundreds, thousands, etc. working for you.

Sorted.

*You'll have to actually figure out what to make or trade by yourself though.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Heng

[gregb]

It really is largely a matter of fate, isn't it? To be seriously rich, you have to be born into that class, and thus go to the right schools, make the right friends, etc.?

Not necessarily, but it is highly likely that in the course of becoming rich you will have to adopt a beggar thy neighbour attitude. It is something that I simply could never do, and thus, I am not wealthy.

If you look at someone like Bill Gates, he was not born into wealth. He was never poor of course (nobody going to Harvard can be considered poor), but few of us living in Thailand would be classified as poor by Thai standards. What he did posses was a degree of ruthlessness in business, and he had no qualms about stepping on people or stealing from them to get to the top. I often ask myself if I could have done what he did to move Microsoft on top, and I have to admit I simply do not have the instinct to do that. So, you might be able to do what Bill Gates did and become wealthy, but could you live with yourself afterwards?

Most would say "yes" after the fact. Being wealthy allows us to buy extremely flattering mirrors. Sadly, I don't seem to be able to convince myself to beat up the baby next to me in order to steal his lollipop, so I guess I'll have to learn to be poor.

Three replies and still noone has provided us with an easy, risk free method that will allow us to become instant millionaires. It's almost like nobody knows. Very suprising.

You see, that is because these two factors are inversely correlated. It is quite possible to design a risk free way to wealth, but it isn't easy. All you have to do is invent a perpetual motion machine. Guaranteed to make billions. Unfortunately, it will be extremely difficult, given that physical laws prevent such a thing from existing.

There are also extremely easy ways to make money. Just buy a lottery ticket and you could walk away with millions. Unfortunately, the odds of winning are quite low. So what you actually get is a nice smooth hyperbolic wealth creation curve, with simplicity on the abscissa and risk on the ordinate.

You can't have both at the same time without changing the constant, and the only way to do that is to be a government minister.

[hawthorne]

If it was so easy we would all be rich.

Simply put most wealthy people do not become rich over night. It is through some sort of investment. Everyone has the ability to be rich if they live long enough and willing to invest over time and do your homework.

Rich people are not rich from a salary, but what is done with the left over salary.

Most British people on here already know this...my suggestion is to find work in a country that pays the highest salary possible. Some good places to start Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan places of danger or extreme hardships. It is not so bad I have done it and have many friends that do it and they all get hooked on the salaries. You just have to set your goals as to when to get out. FYI most of these assignments have liberal R&R policies so you can keep Thailand as your base as many guys do. I am sure some of our readers are included in this group. You can save Between $100,000 - $200,000 a year. Most of these places take care of all your expenses so you save most of your income.

[kjhbigv]

"Sadly, I don't seem to be able to convince myself to beat up the baby next to me in order to steal his lollipop, so I guess I'll have to learn to be poor."

Top man, why are people so hung up on making so much money?

I've known many people who have got plenty of serious cash and still are not happy.

Some people just strive to be successful (financially) and IMO sometimes because they lack something or feel insecure in themselves....others just like the 'buzz' of making money and to those....fair enough, others take a gamble and it pays off.

To be honest, as long as you are happy with your lot....why worry....we all end up the same way....pushing up the daisy's!

[kjhbigv]

"Sadly, I don't seem to be able to convince myself to beat up the baby next to me in order to steal his lollipop, so I guess I'll have to learn to be poor."

Top man, why are people so hung up on making so much money?

I've known many people who have got plenty of serious cash and still are not happy.

Some people just strive to be successful (financially) and IMO sometimes because they lack something or feel insecure in themselves....others just like the 'buzz' of making money and to those....fair enough, others take a gamble and it pays off.

To be honest, as long as you are happy with your lot....why worry....we all end up the same way....pushing up the daisy's!

[garyh]

Seems a lot of posts are focused on the super rich, you don't need billions to be very comfortable. One tip, find out what poor people do and don't do it. ie, poor people have a bit spare cash, they think great lets go get drunk or something similar, a smart choice would be to put that money aside and find a way to make it work for you. Getting rich is a mind set, people win lotteries and 18 months later it is all gone, someone who really wants to be rich would not blow the money.

[MAJIC]

land, nothing like it....

though, the higher the risk, the higher the rewards... investment, stock market... like anywhere really!

Anyone can make a small fortune in Thailand,the trick is to bring a large one from your own Country!

[Khun Jean]

'Fail sooner'.

Frees up your mind for working on new ideas and finding new markets.

Try many, better chance you have one that takes off.

[Heng]

There's no need to try to "fail sooner." It'll happen naturally. If it means get started sooner, then yes, the sooner the better so you take your licks when you still have the power of youth to get back up and come back for more.

[slapout]

Sooner is better to a degree but KFC Sanders would have probably disagreed. Rich/wealth is relative, most of us try for the comfort zone, with a few making it into the upper levels. Its kind of like a child learning to walk, some do so at 9 months some at 18 but most do get there eventually. From this mass of people you have a few world class sprinters.

The wealthy people I know or have known, throwing out the unsavory characters whose wealth came via questionable means, and inherited wealth, had several common traits. They had a plan, were not lazy, they were not afraid of failure, they had experience/knowledge of the business thru which they succeeded, and they seemed to surround themselves with like minded support people.

It may be difficult for a foreigner to accomplish in Thailand, but not impossible as others have shown. It does seem to me that the 2 groups I threw out of the equation initially are the ones who are most successful in developing/third world countries.

[monty]

Hmmm,

Also, the very few very rich people I've met were not exactly sane anymore. Most of them reach a point where getting even richer does not make sense anymore, so they start to go for power. That's when it starts to go wrong

Apart from that, the medium rich people I know, mostly created their wealth by building up a business, regardless what kind, until the point one of the very big conglomerates gets interested and buys the owners out for a healthy sum. Or listed on the stock exchange.

Mermaid offshore is one of them, first they got bought out (by Thoresen, if I remember correctly, a shipping company) and now listed on the Singaporean stock exchange.

[Heng]

Yeah, it could be done later, but it also means less time to enjoy it. I recall in school that "the Colonel" was in his 60's when he opened up his first branch?

Inheritance just means your ancestors didn't blow it all in one generation (and likely less). Funny how some folks try to spin it in a negative light.

[a2396]

Those factors help. But life is what you make it. You are in charge.

Have you read the book or seen the movie, "The Secret" ?

if its hope you are looking for, that is as good a place to start as any...

It offers practical advice not just wishy washy sound bites.

Up to you if you follow the advice. But if you are REALLY looking to change some things in your life, start but changing some things in your life.*

*That statement changed my life for the better

Yes, "The Secret" is to think positive that you are rich and you WILL be rich. Maybe a part of the answer. Secondary to luck, hard work, and doing the right thing at the right place and the right time.

[maccaroni man]

i remember a story about a wealthy man during the great depression being asked how he became rich, he said he bought an apple for 2c and sold it for 5c then he bought another and repeated the process until his father n law died and left him millions.

[Samuian]

If someone who considers him/herself as the "lucky owner" of a bentley, porsche, merc, harley a big yacht and a 300 mill. Condo, plus his country vacation home, a stately Chalet in the swiss alps .... can put all of it into his pockets and walk away with it and can take it to the "other side" if he/she has to give up the "keys", then I would consider them as the owners, other wise everyone is the temporary user benefactor of this assumed "luck or wealth"!

I feel sorry for these poor souls who need material goods to be happy and feel satisfied, but then are they?

Caviar or breadcrumbs, Champagne or soda pops...it's all only in the eyes of the beholder - if I walk through beautiful nature or visit the taj mahal, trek through the himalayas, hike through the rockies, surf at Bell's Beach, I can be pretty fulfilled with looking at it and enjoy it's beauty of it, I am not obsessed with owning it or possessing it...the dignity of contentment is a trasure no money can buy and all the assumed "wealth" of the world isn't able to produce it!

Wasting all this precious time to make money, which can't buy back the time wasted to make it!

[Loz]

Seems a lot of posts are focused on the super rich, you don't need billions to be very comfortable. One tip, find out what poor people do and don't do it. ie, poor people have a bit spare cash, they think great lets go get drunk or something similar, a smart choice would be to put that money aside and find a way to make it work for you. Getting rich is a mind set, people win lotteries and 18 months later it is all gone, someone who really wants to be rich would not blow the money.

Agreed!

If you want to change some things in your life, start by changing some things in your life!

Its so simple most people over look it.

put another way:

Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Wealth comes from change. (not the kind you keep in your purse!)

[Loz]

.....

Wasting all this precious time to make money, which can't buy back the time wasted to make it!

For a while now I have thought investing time now so you can have more time later is a smart play.

If you can condense your "working out of need" life to a minimum it frees you up to a longer "living out of abundance" life.

working 45 years to enjoy a pension when I am too old to really enjoy it never seemed the best plan for me. Thus I have been working on retiring since my mid late 20s. I put in crazy hours for a good few years. Now I put in less than 20 compulsory hours a week and all the other hours are because I enjoy what I do (hours that go into graduate study for example... which I can pay for thanks to the crazy hours I put in back in blighty).

Another way to look at it is:

Find a vocation you love and you'll never work again a day in your life!

[thaijasmine]

You asked

" So at the risk of sounding silly, I will ask here what I've been trying to figure out all my life: how does one get rich?

Is it possible for a farang to get rich in Thailand? Does anyone know of such cases? If so, how did they do it?"

If your were lucky enough to meet Bill Heinecke you would probably learn a lot from him.

He lives in Bangkok and is Founder, CEO and Chairman of Minor Group International

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam18/Expats_In_Asia.html

Edited January 20, 2010 by thaijasmine

[Heng]

Wasting all this precious time to make money, which can't buy back the time wasted to make it!

The key of course is to put a cap on how much time you put in, and then delegate the grunt work when you can.

[garyh]

You asked

" So at the risk of sounding silly, I will ask here what I've been trying to figure out all my life: how does one get rich?

Is it possible for a farang to get rich in Thailand? Does anyone know of such cases? If so, how did they do it?"

If your were lucky enough to meet Bill Heinecke you would probably learn a lot from him.

He lives in Bangkok and is Founder, CEO and Chairman of Minor Group International

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam18/Expats_In_Asia.html

The answer is so obvious to your question, who was the richest man in Thailand? He did write a book.

[bendejo]

I have the secret to getting rich, and I'll pass it on to you.

For US$ 500,000.