REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT ; ROAD MAP TO SUSTAINABLE WEALTH CREATION
Cornelius Vanderbilt is often quoted as saying, “Any fool can make a fortune; it takes a man of brains to hold onto it.” His insight — and advice — is something that if practiced by him and his heirs would have change the outcome of a now-vanished Vanderbilt fortune. It’s possible that the Vanderbilt fortune could have remained alongside that of John D. Rockefeller, whose heirs hold onto an estimated net worth of $11 billion as of 2016. What was the difference between the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers? The Vanderbilts squandered their fortune on depleting assets — wealth-diminishing assets with limited life — while Rockefeller parlayed his wealth into productive assets, evidenced by the family trust’s considerable real estate holdings. Vanderbilt’s wealth estimated at $100 million ($200 billion in today’s dollars) at his death — was gone in 50 years. Vanderbilt had built generational wealth through his business holdings, but he didn’t take the necessary measures to ensure th...