Becoming a Banker
$25,400,000,000,000
Do you know this number? Do you know how much it is? This was the Gross Domestic Product of the United States last year in 2022. The number is 25 Trillion 4 Hundred Billion Dollars. An enormous amount of money. Did you contribute to this amount? If you didn’t work last year, no you did not contribute. Think about this. We live in the wealthiest country on Earth and the majority of Black men did not participate in the avalanche of wealth rolling into the country. Should we laugh? Should we cry? Should we get angry? There is no need. What we should be doing is getting busy.
Welcome to the Banking section of this Blueprint. Look at that 25 with all those zeros behind it. What I see is an excellent opportunity to participate in all of those digits. We have established Income pays for living expenses and Investments build wealth. Banking is simple. Banking slides right in between Income and Investments. “Start a Bank” is the 2nd statement in your business plan. Let’s explain further how to start a bank. The best way to explain what a bank does is by thinking of it as a staging area for your money. A temporary parking garage. You are holding it there temporarily until you can find a job to put it to work.
Larry, our resident wealth builder, went out to find a part-time job to start a bank from disposable income. Larry did not leave his capital a long time in the parking garage because he put it directly to work in the stock market. Becoming an investor in stocks, mutual funds, and ETF’s is the easiest way to start a business. Larry studied well before he chose three stocks. He used a stock purchasing application from Fidelity Investments to invest his $150 a week from his part-time job. The application measures equal weighting to purchase stocks evenly. Each stock held a 33 1/3% position in his portfolio. The three stocks he chose was two tech companies, Apple and Microsoft and a restaurant company, Domino’s Pizza. He chose well because he compounded his investment at 35% annually.
How does your “start a bank” resemble a commercial bank? A bank receives people’s savings and then finds good uses to earn a profit with their money. He then pays the depositor interest on the savings account and keep the rest for his profit. The only difference is you cut the middleman (commercial bank) out of the process and manage your money yourself. Larry made a 35% compounded rate on his money compared to the bank paying him 2% if he left his money parked there.
You, as a banker, must be able to measure the risk of loss. Mismanagement will destroy your capital if you do not understand what you are investing in. Your real job as banker is being able to see the trouble that might happen to your money. Amateur investors get really excited when someone promises them very high returns. I will double your money in 3 months if you invest $5,000. Can this happen? Yes, it can if you are a stock trader or a real estate flipper. But traders and flippers take enormous risks. Do they have a track record they can prove with legal documentation? If not, do not even give it a second thought. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
Safety of investment is your number 1 job as banker, so choose investments wisely. Your number 2 job is to continue to make deposits. Consistency is the motto of any wise banker. When do you stop making deposits? When your businesses and investments can make deposits for you. Profits from investments is called dividends and capital gains.
Larry was able to stop making deposits when he quit his job as a parking lot attendant and purchase his first brownstone. It took him one year to fix the place up. He invested $200,000 for down payment. He invested another $75,000 in materials and repairs. He did most of the work himself because he learned how to take care of a building. He also knew many contractors who gave him great prices on plumbing, boiler, and electrical permit work. Being a janitor paid huge benefits with his experience. After the work, the building was worth $2.2 Million on an investment of $275,000.
Larry purchased the building for $800,000. How did he get such a great deal? Because he searched for a year and a half to find this building. He knocked on doors, talked with realtors, and talked with neighbors and tenants. He found an elderly woman whose husband had died leaving her to manage her building alone. She was 6 months behind on the mortgage. She owed only $300,000 total on the building and the bank was threatening to foreclose. She didn’t know how to repair the building so it was rundown. She was distraught and didn’t know what she was going to do. This is what attracted him to the building initially. He saw the rundown building sticking out like a sore thumb. He got a meeting with the owner, the Lady widow. She liked Larry because he seemed knowledgeable. He made an offer with $200K down payment, this caught up the payments and left her with $180,000 to move down south with her relatives. After he fixed up the place, he refinanced it for $1 Million. He paid the existing mortgage off at $285,000, then paid the widow the remaining $315,000. After paying the $600,000 balance out of the new mortgage proceeds, he was left with $400,000 plus the $1.2 Million in sweat equity. His wealth grew $1.1 million on a $275,000 investment, a 409% return in one year. This is the power of being a banker.
Larry did not try to take advantage of the Lady widow as some people would have. She made almost a half million dollars in a situation where she could have lost everything. Larry made a brilliant move with his capital as a wise banker. This is a win/win situation with Black people doing business with each other. There was no hidden tricks with Larry. He was upfront and transparent with the Lady widow from the start. He did the purchase transaction with a title company which made the widow comfortable.
Was Larry lucky? Maybe, but wealth builders make their own luck by diligently seeking and working towards their goal. Once you start your wealth journey your objective is to bring prosperity into your neighborhood by serving people, not by taking advantage of them. Are there any other great deals out there? Of course, there are. Did you see that huge number at the beginning of this chapter. The $25.4 Trillion. It is up to you to go out into the world and get a piece of this goldmine. We live in a country that rewards industrial pursuits. Be a wise banker. Earn, save, and invest. Go Quickly!
Jesse Binga, First Black Banker in Northern states, Chicago, IL early 1900's
Business Stats
Total GDP Income African Americans 1964 – 2024 $43.4 Trillion
1964: $25 Billion
2024: $1.5 Trillion
Average African American wealth per household
1964: $6,674
2024: $13,024
***Earnings have risen astronomically while wealth is non-existent.
Banker's Tools
Capital works much harder than you.
This is the secret to building wealth. Many people living in poverty feel like it is a conspiracy of wealthy people holding them back. Nothing could be further from the truth, at least in 2023. What holds many people back is the lack of understanding of this one statement. Capital takes power of its own making in the hands of a wise banker. The reason capital works harder is because it uses multiplication to grow.
Have you ever turned on a financial channel and see the quotes of stock prices whizzing by on the bottom of the screen. Notice after the stock price, you see a percentage number at the end. This percentage is telling you if the stock grew in price or declined. It is done in percentages because it is growing exponentially. This means it is either growing rapidly or declining more rapidly. It can only do this through multiplication or division. As a banker, you have two tools in your toolbox to multiply your investment and business growth rapidly. Are you ready, drumroll please… The 2 powerful tools in your toolbox are Leverage and Compound Interest. Let’s define these tools.
Leverage- 1) Use of borrowed capital for an investment, expecting the profits made to be greater than the interest payable. 2) Use something (resources) to the maximum advantage.
Compound Interest- The return of profit in interest on an investment, so that, from that moment on, the interest that has been added also earns interest. In other words, interest will continue to escalate because every year the new interest will be added to the new total return on capital making it increase even faster.
Is this clearer? Let’s look at Larry’s first investment into the stock market. Larry made an annual compound interest rate of 35%, a really great rate because of his technology stocks. If he holds the stock more than one year, the real growth rate or APY will be 35.7% the next year because it will earn interest on the investment and last year’s interest too. The next year the interest rate will be 36.4% because the return will be on the original investment and the interest the last 2 years. The interest will continue to compound interest on top of interest because it is compounding faster and faster multiplying your investment. Larry’s stocks compounded even faster because he added $150 every single week to the principal investment compounding the total at supersonic speed. He was earning interest on top of interest.
Larry also demonstrated leverage with his purchase of his brownstone. He used the lever of a down payment ($200K) to purchase a building costing much more than his down payment. He leveraged the building even greater by using sweat equity when he did the work himself paying for materials and supplies only ($75K). This leverage of sweat equity and small down payment earned him a return of 409% in one year with a profit of $1.1 Million. It would have taken him 45 years to earn this type of money by working. As a banker you will be more effective with the multiplication tools of leverage and compound interest. Larry’s goal is to make $50 Million over the next 25 years. He will get there by using these two powerful tools in his toolbox. Let’s try an example.
Performing Magic
vs.
Let’s perform a little magic…
If I give you the choice to take a penny doubling every day for 35 days or give you $1,000 a day for 35 days, which one would you take?
By choosing a thousand dollars a day, you would have $35,000.
Do you want this choice? Are you sure? Well, let’s see.
What does a penny doubling everyday look like?
#1 .01 #2 .02 #3 .04 #4 .08 #5 .16 #6 .32 #7 .64 #8 1.28 #9 2.56
After day 9 you would have $2.56 vs. $9,000
$1,000 wins hands down, but let’s keep going.
#10 5.12 #11 10.24 #12 20.48 #13 40.96 #14 81.92 #15 163.84 #16 327.68 #17 655.36 #18 1,310.72
After day 18 you would have $18,000 vs. $1,310.72
$1,000 still looks good, but let’s continue.
#19 2,620 #20 5,240 #21 10,480 #22 22,960 #23 41,920 #24 83,840 #25 167,680 #26 335,360 #27 670,720
After day 27 you would have $27,000 vs. $670,720
$1,000 a day gets matched on day 22. On day 23 it gets beaten by a mile. On day 27 there isn’t even a question about what you would choose. But remember the exercise was for 35 days, we have 8 more days to go. Do you want to even see?
#28 1,341,440 #29 2,682,880 #30 5,365,760 #31 10,731,520 #32 21,463,040 #33 42,926,080 #34 85,852,160 #35 171,704,320
After day 35 you would have $35,000 vs. $171 Million
How do you feel if you chose the sure $35,000 at the beginning of this exercise? That’s okay because 95% of people will choose the sure bet. This my young wealth apprentice is the power of compound interest. When you work a job for income, you are only using addition to grow your money. When your money is working for you in investments, it uses multiplication to grow. This exercise is to show you, no matter how small your beginning investment, it has the potential to grow into large sums of capital with the power of compound interest.
Most people on average work a period of 35 years, that’s why the example is 35 days. Notice the penny did not pass the $1,000 until day 23. Do you know why? Because it will take you between 20 – 25 years before your investments really bring in large capital gains. Larry, our resident wealth builder didn’t really start to take off until year 21 when he purchased the building and then met LaTasha. But notice his money went to work right away when he started purchasing stock after he took the second job as parking attendant. The same as the penny. The penny worked just as hard on day 1, as it did on day 35.
Time is really of the essence when utilizing investments to build wealth. The earlier you get started, the better off you will be at the end. Does this mean if you wait until your late 40’s or early 50’s, there’s no chance to build wealth? Heck naw! It just means your pot of gold will not be as big at the end. You could still purchase 1,2, or 3 houses a year at the age of 50 and end up with 40 houses by 70, with a few of those house mortgages completely paid off. Wealth is relative to how much of a good steward you are in managing your property and assets. Compound Interest and Leverage, the two power weapons of a shrewd, intelligent banker. Next up calculated risk.
Risk or Gamble
Do not risk money you can’t afford to lose on an investment.
This statement is misleading for the majority of people, even educated people. It appears this statement suggests investing is a form of gambling. This is a long way from the truth. A banker is not in business to gamble. Most people thinks it takes money to make money and a bank will not lend you money unless you already have it. They have it partially correct. There has been many entrepreneurs with little to no cash able to borrow money. The project they were working on had a sure profit built in from the start. Larry, our resident wealth builder, first real estate deal had a built in profit from the start. What a bank wants to know above all is can you earn him a profit. Second if you can’t deliver, do you have collateral that can cover his investment if it doesn’t work out.
If a bank operates this way, then you best believe you must operate this way. You are not in business to take chances or gamble away your hard earned capital on some hope, wish, or a dream. In every move Larry made, he was 90% sure he was going to earn a profit. When he invested in the stock market, he chose companies that were earning increasing profits every year. The best advantage of investing in stocks is you can usually get out quickly if your stock starts to lose money. The surprise stock that made him money year in and year out was Domino’s Pizza. It had the perfect trend line, going up almost in a straight line diagonally at a 45* degree angle. When he invested in the jewelry business with LaTasha, he believed in her wholeheartedly. Their first venture together, she did not disappoint. She made a $14,500 profit in a month and a half with ease. She was a total professional. He had picked a winner. You know he knew his stuff in real estate. Larry was taking a risk every time he ventured out, but he assured himself profits by picking sure winners.
Gambling in business is when you invest in someone with no experience thinking they can make money because everyone else is doing it. The investment that comes to mind is Bitcoin, a Cryptocurrency. It was very popular, and the exciting trend of the moment, getting high profile celebrities to endorse it. Yes, the people who got in early made a ton of money because the demand went through the roof. Remember a banker wants to know can he get his money back if you fail, so he ask you for collateral to cover his investment. The number 1 glaring Red flag with Bitcoin is it’s totally unregulated. No government in the world has any rules or laws to protect investors if all hell breaks loose. All hell broke loose in one of the exchanges. FTX went bankrupt with the founder going to jail. Millions of people lost all of their money with no way of getting it back. It seems people are drawn to shiny objects, thinking there is an easy way to “get rich”. Investing in Bitcoin is pure speculation, which is gambling, like shooting dice.
You are not in business to gamble. Would I invest in Bitcoin? Yes, when it gets some rules and regulation to protect the investors using it. Blockchain technology and digital currencies are the wave of the future. I see great promise and huge business possibilities in digital currencies. Using a digital currency let’s me do business with anyone in the world without worrying about going through customs or being bogged down in red tape. Isn’t this government regulation, yes but some governments can stifle business with overkill. Cryptocurrencies will get it right one day, until then I will stay clear.
As a banker you must stack every factor in your favor before you lend out your money. I have learned the hard way in the past dealing with people whose whole idea is to steal your seed money. Learn from Larry’s business deals on how to risk your capital the right way. Next up debt.
Click on links below to move to new section
Debt subtracts
Debt the silent killer.
Have you ever heard the phrase speed kills? Well in business, debt kills. People use debt for all sorts of reasons. Most use it for the wrong reasons. Credit is a debt. Debt is a liability. Too many debts will cause a business to struggle, going against the grain of earning profits. If the debt gets to heavy, the business will collapse causing it to fail heading for bankruptcy. A wealth builder goes into business to earn a profit, not go heavily into debt.
Debt is a sharp double edge tool for wealth builders. Its wise use can propel you to great heights with leverage. Using it the wrong way could slice you to shreds. It should not be used to purchase consumer items. It definitely should not be used to pay living expenses. That’s right income pays for living expenses. If your goal is to get to the point of passive income drawing interest, rent, and dividends from your investments. It goes totally counter to your goal to be paying interest to a financial institution, especially with a high interest rate. How do you avoid the debt trap?
The best way to live above the risky use of debt is to keep a strong balance in your bank. This way you can finance your own business deals yourself with little to no help from outside banking institutions. When purchasing real estate, you must use debt in the form of mortgages. This too, you must be conservative in your approach. You handle real estate mortgages by putting large cash down payments on purchases. Mortgage bankers will love you and be more willing to work with you when you place your own skin in the game. Your own skin is you sharing the risk with the banker making it less likely for default. He feels if you use your own money, you will fight like hell to make your project profitable. Once you do 2 -3 deals with him, he will trust you with larger deals.
Debt will subtract from your wealth, not grow it. The only time you should use your credit card is to pay business expenses to keep a record. You should pay the total balance every month to avoid paying interest. The only time you should use debt is to use leverage in financial transactions that will bring you a profit. Mortgages on real estate deals and margin in stock purchases. Keep the monster at bay with the wise use of debt or else it will devour you every month until there’s nothing left. Go Quickly!
Agreement on the Home Team
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20
Can we find common ground with another person long enough to accomplish an objective? Then as the General Manager of this co-operative I will take a stand right here and stake everything I own on me agreeing with another Black male. My subject matter is interdependence. My statement for agreement is:
Do you believe there are 50 Ottawa W. Gurley’s in the whole United States who can start a separate independent economic district each that is as vibrant, industrious, and profitable as the original Black Wall Street?
I believe there are 50 African American men right now today in these United States capable of leading their own economic district full of producing people all working for the prosperity for one and all who live in each separate district. Financial literacy will be taught to kids in each district. Men and women will use their skills and talents to produce disposable income from their employment in each district. Businessmen and Businesswomen will produce profitable businesses, shops, and restaurants in each district for the enjoyment of the citizens who live there. My belief is I can find another person in 42 million African Americans who can agree with me and is ready to make this happen. I happen to believe God when he says he will be in the midst of two in agreement. This is when the supernatural occurs, “in agreement”.
Interdependence- Interdependence occurs between two or more people. Dependence is one-sided and typically involves one person relying on another person. Interdependence is a mutual reliance. Our goal is that everyone will pursue profitability in order that the door is opened for more to pursue profitability. In the case of dependency, there is no mutuality.
The key to African Americans moving forward, progressing, and modernizing our own neighborhoods is shared interest. No two human beings ever agreed on everything, you wouldn’t want that anyway. That will be a boring existence. We must accentuate the positive and diminish the negative. We can agree economic progress is good for the whole community leading to expanding opportunities for all. Such as what OW Gurley performed in the Greenwood District in the early 1900’s. The subjects we disagree on should not lead us into brawls, but should be recognized, accepted, and should focus on compromised solutions for the mutual respect of all. We cannot and must not throw people under buses because we disagree with their beliefs and opinions. We are closer than ever to prosperous Black communities. The GDP amount of $25.4 Trillion is what the Civil Rights Acts was all about. We have a right to pursue economic independence in the general economy without fear of retribution or retaliation.
What person will agree with me to build the home team?
Ready, willing, and able
Being a wealth builder requires a collective effort. You can go only so far doing every action yourself. If you start a business, you must have managers and employees. If you work on your real estate project, you must work with contractors, suppliers, and finance people. Doing business is about building a network of relationships. The only business you can do by yourself is owning a stock portfolio. Still, you must work with other people and that means building a team. How do you build a team with people not interested in business? You can’t! Please do not try. However the solution is easier than it seems.
First, you must set an example of how it’s done. Most employees have an attitude of exploitation from owners is how business succeeds which is counterproductive. This means you must let them see you working ten times harder than everyone combined. Weak performances are highly contagious. Second, work with people truly interested in building a future for themselves. Also, be instrumental in helping them reach their goals. This includes letting them leave when it’s time to spread wings and fly to build their own business. Goodwill and peace should be the hallmark of your business, along with freedom of movement.
Next, the most important factor is judging their preparation for work. The person you are bringing on to the team must be ready, willing, and able to perform the duties you are asking of them. They might be ready to join your team and able to show up every day, but they are not willing to do the work necessary. This is a no go. They might be willing to work hard and they have skillful abilities, but they are preoccupied with responsibilities elsewhere. They are not ready and this is a no go. They might be ready to start tomorrow and their willingness to do whatever it takes may be beyond reproach, but their capabilities are limited meaning the skills required for the job are not there. You cannot ask anyone to build a house if he can’t even hang a picture on a wall. This too is a no go. The people you are seeking to work with you must be ready, willing, and able to produce. Remember working is a man’s superpower. He has to be able to pull his own weight when he works.
Finally, in building a team, you must use professional skills. You will need an attorney, an accountant, and a computer savvy professional to assist you in running a smooth operation. You must stay within the bounds of the law. You must keep good records for tax purposes and keeping score. You should also be automated in this digital age for speed of delivering services. A good professional service team helps you meet deadlines early and run an efficient business. Go Quickly!
Capital Gains
Nothing ventured, Nothing gained French Proverb 1300
The final goal of “Earn an Income” is to arrive at the point where you are receiving Passive income. The final goal of “Starting a Bank” is to receive Capital Gains.
Capital Gain- The profit from the sale of property or an investment which has increased in value over the holding period.
Asset- A property, resource, or investment with value that an individual, business, or country owns with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit.
Liability- A sum of money owed to an individual or financial institution. A liability is a debt.
We have learned Income pays for living expenses and Investments build wealth. The goal of a Banker is to build wealth through the accumulation of assets. Our objective is to choose assets that will increase in value over time. When an asset increases in value it’s known as equity appreciation. Assets increase the value of a person’s wealth. Liabilities decrease the value of a person’s wealth. The equation of wealth is simple: Capital = Assets – Liabilities The goal of any Banker is to accumulate more assets and to eliminate any borrowings or at least keep his debt to a bare minimum.
Capital Gains: The real High End Theory
The first financial statement an accountant reads every year is your Capital Statement on New Years Day. The last financial statement an accountant reads every year is your Capital Statement on New Years Eve. The accountant wants to know did your money grow or did your money decline during the one year period. As an astute banker, this one financial statement symbolizes the quality of your wealth building activities. Did you make wise decisions or were you terrible and mistake prone with your money? The goal is to grow your money 15 – 20% per year. With an average of 18%, your money will double every 4 years.
Capital Gains is the real testament of wealth. In our community, there is no real growth in community activities because people cannot see their destiny is tied to a few wealth achieving activities in the simple business plan. Many working people do not realize they don’t have to go outside their comfort zones to achieve wealth. Just change a few habits. Remember, working is a Superpower and disposable income is the force behind that power. Most African Americans already work, if they were more budget conscious and directed their spending activities more closely, they could achieve Capital Gains year after year.
Nvidia, achieves explosive growth of 230% in 2023. If you had purchased $10,000 in Nvidia stock In the 1st week in January, you would have $33,000 the first week in December 2023. So, you say, there’s a chance? Let me show you the power of wealth and Capital Gains. Let’s turn that $10,000 invested into $10 Million invested in Nvidia stock at the first of the year. In the first week of December, you would have $33 Million. No physical grudge work, no wisecracking boss, and no assassin co-workers. $23 Million in one year is The real High End Theory. You didn’t have to shoot basketball like Steph Curry or rap like JayZ. All you had to do was grow your capital as an intelligent banker.
I can hear you through the computer shouting. Who the hell has $10,000,000 to invest? Larry! That’s who the hell does! Larry started off as a janitor in a Bronx elementary school. He had to break up fights, clean shit, and boogers off the walls, then endure nasty snobbishness from teachers who thought they were better than him. He started with nothing at 18 and it took him 21 years to build his estate and capital to $1.8 Million dollars. Every wealth builder will tell you, the first million is the hardest to achieve. The game is chess, young apprentice.
Next, a plum fell right into his lap when LaTasha found him with her business skills and saleswomanship. Now, they are both off to the races, working as a team using synergy as a wealth building couple. Larry and LaTasha don’t have $10 Million yet but could easily have afforded to invest $100,000 in Nvidia at the beginning of the year, growing their capital in that one stock to $330,000. Larry’s goal is to reach $50 Million in Net Worth over the next 20 years with a Passive income of $4 Million a year at the age of 59 years old. He is disciplined in his approach to looking over the long haul and being prepared for the opportunities presenting themselves daily. He was definitely ready for his Queen LaTasha, the jewel in his crown, when she approached him. Again, The real High End Theory.
As a Banker you have two powerful tools at your disposal, compound interest and leverage. These two laser beam of weapons blast poverty to death. Go and build your wealth, achieving Capital Gains every year. “Study to show thyself approved to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. Meaning, you must study, and then study, start practicing, and then study some more to be able to spot an opportunity like Nvidia coming down the avenue. You will get better and better at spotting opportunities with study and real world experience. The question is do you want to live on the Low End or escalate to the High End? Growth = Capital + Time + Effort + Intelligence
Capitalism
Capitalism exploits humankind by creating an economic structure in which benefiting yourself benefits the society as a whole.
This definition is partially correct. The young content makers at Urban Dictionary uses the word exploits to make using capital wisely sound criminal. Some humans are greedy and everyone looks out for their self interest first. The goal however is to benefit society by providing goods and services. This definition also misses one huge point, if you don’t deliver and in a timely matter, you are out of business. Your time and money invested is gone, finished, and trashed. 80% who take the leap, crash and burn. Ouch!
African Americans have had a serious disgust of Capitalism in general, and if you go into business, you are just as disgusting, looking to exploit someone for gain. Not a nice sentiment is it. You can’t blame them because for the better part of 400 years, we have been abused and nearly destroyed by capitalist.
Move forward to today. We can put that behind us and the reason is staring us in the face. We have to. If we do not provide our own businesses and profit-making centers we will starve to death. The world is getting smaller and resources are limited. Countries are on the march to control these provisions. In order to compete, we must bring something of value to the table in order to get paid.
The training you receive in this Co-op will prepare you for this brave new world. Our community will perish unless we deliver. Dig in, we got work to do. Coach T
definition of Capitalism taken from the urban dictionary
Postscript Conclusion
Greed: The destroyer of wealth
When people say they hate Capitalism. What they actually mean is they hate greed. Building wealth with capital is the best system to grow a community. We are not all equal and we do not all produce the same amount of work. Do you think OW Gurley should have been paid the same amount as the milkman in the Greenwood District? No. Here’s a better question. If Master builder Gurley built his district today, would he be considered a villain? Maybe, because of this definition of Capitalism by most Black people. It is greedy people who destroy the image of wealth building being a healthy pursuit. The majority of wealthy people are not greedy. It is the few rotten apples that spoil the whole barrel.
Larry, our resident wealth builder, made sure the Lady widow was well off when she sold him the building. He gave her a fair offer and she was able to live comfortably the rest of her life. Why come he just didn’t give her half? Because she allowed the building to fall into disarray lowering the value of the building. It took his productivity, skill, and capital to turn the building around. As a risk taker and investor, your goal is to make a profit. In order to earn a profit, you must earn it from productivity, not taking advantage of someone ripping their life to shreds. He was able to produce it in a year because he was ready, willing, and able. Success is when preparation meets opportunity.
Your goal is to produce wealth for mutual prosperity opening the door for others to have opportunity. Greed doesn’t care if others prosper. Yes, the capitalist system can be exploited. A socialist system can be exploited. A communist system can also be exploited by greed. Republicans can be greedy. Democrats can be greedy. When people attack you for building wealth, just smile and go your merry way because you know greed is the culprit, not you. Amen