The Very, Very Rich
Book

The Very, Very Rich

Profiles of Phenomenal Entrepreneurs, How They Got That Way, and How You Can, Too!

Mike Caslin and Steve Mariotti
Career Press, 2000
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Editorial Rating

5

Qualities

  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

How the rich got that way is an interesting enough topic. But an interesting topic does not necessarily make an intriguing book. Author Steve Mariotti profiles 20 well-known 20th-century entrepreneurs. You will easily recognize the names Bezos, Branson, Burrell, Kroc, Roddick, Walton, Ford and Winfrey. However, the author presents little new information about them. His profiles are short; three to four pages, and take the tone of corporate press releases. The book works best as a compendium of capitalist success stories, and getAbstract.com recommends it as a student’s primer in entrepreneurial studies. Since the author shares cover credit with the charitable program he launched to help low-income teen entrepreneurs, that might be just the audience that the author had in mind.

Summary

Amazing Entrepreneurial Stories

The stories of phenomenal entrepreneurs are not stories of wealth accumulation. They are stories of personal vision and of making the vision real. When you read about the lives of 20th-century American entrepreneurs, you find all types of surprises.

For instance, did you know that Ray Kroc was an economic failure until he was 57? His success as the entrepreneur who built McDonalds came afterward. What about the improbable story of Will Durant’s entrepreneurial rise and fall? The founder of General Motors - the man who started what grew into the United States’ largest corporation - spent the last ten years of his life managing a bowling alley. He sacrificed his wealth trying to maintain the value of GM’s stock during hard economic times. What about Madame C.J. Walker? She was a cleaning lady until she was 43, but she became the "first self-made woman millionaire in America." You’ll also find stories of early success. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak became "overnight successes in their early twenties" with a little company called Apple. Jeff Bezos found success with the Internet. And, Bill Gates and Paul Allen started a little software company...

About the Authors

Steve Mariotti is the author of numerous books on entrepreneurship. He is the founder of the National Foundation for Teaching Entreprenuership (NFTE), an international nonprofit organization that introduces low-income teens to the world of business and entrepreneurship by teaching them how to develop and operate their own small businesses. Mike Caslin is the CEO of NTFE.

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