- “Most affluent people earned their money the old-fashioned way: through hard work and personal sacrifice. Studies show that seventy-five percent of all affluent people (defined as having a net worth over three million) made it themselves. No handouts, no winning lottery tickets, and no magic lamp with a genie inside.” Beating the Midas Curse, by Perry L. Cochell and Rodney C. Zeeb, Page 157