Prof G reveals the most reliable path to getting ‘rich’ in America. And his dad who makes just $52K/year is already there. But how?
- - Prof G reveals the most reliable path to getting ‘rich’ in America. And his dad who makes just $52K/year is already there. But how?
Vishesh RaisinghaniDecember 29, 2025 at 12:15 AM
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Scott Galloway
Entrepreneur and professor Scott Galloway believes the path to getting “rich” is simpler than most people realize.
“I define rich as the following: passive income that’s greater than your burn,” Galloway told Chris Williamson during a 2024 interview. (1)
By that definition, Galloway said his multimillionaire working friends are poorer than his retired, five-figure-earning father because their expensive lifestyles outpace their seven-figure incomes.
“Between his Royal Navy pension, Social Security… and a dozen washing machines he collects quarters from in trailer parks… [my father] makes about $52,000 a year without really working,” he explained. “He spends $48,000. He's rich, his passive income is greater than his burn.”
Galloway believes financial freedom is a better measure of wealth than just income. And that most people can achieve this status with a simple three-step process. Here’s a closer look at his formula for success.
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1. Focus
Faced with economic uncertainty, many Americans are taking up multiple jobs and side hustles.
According to one survey, 27% of U.S. workers have some side gig or freelance working arrangements. (2) And, according to the Federal Reserve, in September 2025, 5.4% of the labor force had multiple jobs. (3)
Some people juggle multiple jobs to reduce risk, but Galloway sees this as a distraction.
“I hate side hustles,” he said, explaining that most people would be better served by doubling down on their main hustle instead. “Find something that you're naturally good at that you could become in the top 10% or top 1%, in an industry that has a 90% plus employment rate, and focus on it.”
2. Understand controllable factors
Some of the factors that impact your wealth and financial status are beyond your control.
Galloway explains that the 2008 financial crisis wiped out one of his business ventures and much of his accumulated wealth. “I can’t control that,” he said. “But I can control my spending.”
By focusing on factors that are within your control — such as saving, spending and investing over the long term in low-cost ETFs and index funds — Galloway claims you can optimize your financial position regardless of what the market throws at you.
Unfortunately, many families struggle to save or manage their expenses. Roughly one in four 45 to 59-year-olds say they exceed their budget, according to a 2025 survey by WalletHub, and 17% of women and 10% of men say they don’t even have a budget for regular expenses. (4)
You can’t manage what you don’t measure, so using an online tool or app to create a budget could be your first and most important step towards financial freedom.
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3. Invest for the long-term
Perhaps the most important ingredient in the financial freedom recipe is the power of compounding. Galloway admits he failed to recognize the power of compounding early in his career when he decided to spend $32,000 on a sports car.
“If I had just bought a Hyundai for $12,000 and invested the other $20,000 in the markets, I think that money would be worth like 3.1 million now,” he estimated.
Indeed, investing over decades can turn even modest amounts of money into substantial wealth. For instance, the S&P 500 has delivered an annualized return of roughly 14% since 2010. (5)
Assuming a similar rate of return in the future, $10,000 invested today could turn into $1.9 million in 40 years.
Unfortunately, long-term investing seems to be less fashionable now. The average holding period for stocks declined from eight years in the 1950s to just 5.5 months in 2020, according to the World Economic Forum. (6)
If you stay disciplined enough to hold assets for multiple years or even decades, you can outperform many of your peers on the path to genuine financial freedom.
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
YouTube (1); Bankrate (2); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (3); WalletHub (4); S&P 500 Data (5); World Economic Forum (6).
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Source: “AOL Money”
