A true story of a sweeper who became a millionaire!

ByNinad Mondkar

What if I tell you that Ronald James Read, a petrol pump attendant and a sweeper, died a millionaire?

Yes, a millionaire!

Shocking, right?

I was shocked, too.

I mean…

  • How is that possible?
  • How can a sweeper die a millionaire?
  • How could he save and invest so much?
  • Did he win the lottery?
  • What did he do?

… were the thoughts running across my mind.

I was about to ignore the story as hogwash until I decided to dig a little deeper.

Ronald James Read fixed cars at the petrol pump for 25 years and swept floors at JCPenney for 17 years. He bought a humble two-bedroom house for 12,000 dollars at age 38 and stayed in it for the rest of his life.

He died in 2014 at 92, when the international world was awakened to his over 8-million-dollar net worth.

Yes, 8 million dollars for an individual who was a petrol pump attendant and a sweeper.

When I read the story for the first time, I was baffled and curious to know what he did.

If a sweeper could be a millionaire, then why not me? Was the question that kept coming up.

But to my surprise, he just kept things simple.

Ronald James Read invested whatever little amount he could in good-quality stocks and lived frugally. He did this consistently for over 59 years! He allowed compounding to work, which helped him become a millionaire over time.

This got me thinking. I realised that although I cannot pick stocks like Ronald James Read if I start a SIP of ₹1,00,000 at an interest rate of 10% p.a. for 20 years and stay invested irrespective of market volatility, I’ll end up making ₹7.18 Crores.

If I stay invested for 25 years, I’ll accumulate ₹13.26 Crores.

And if I start early and stay invested for 30 years, I’ll make ₹22.60 Crore.

Ronald James Read gave me hope that even an average Indian like me can be wealthy! All I needed to do was invest regularly and stay invested for a long period.