How the rich get richer (2020)
Mentioned in the article but it seems many commenters missed it:<p>The rich get richer because they have access to more choices than the plebes do. There are lots of non-publicly traded investments out there. They have a minimum investment amount that many people cannot afford. A friend sets up and manages RE investment syndication deals - these are where a bunch of people pool their funds and buy RE properties (commercial offices, or large apartment complexes).<p>He used to require $50K as a minimum investment. He now asks $75K. He is on the low end. I&#x27;ve encountered many that require $100K <i>and</i> require you to be an &quot;accredited investor&quot; - you need either $1M in assets (excluding your home) or earn over $300K if married to qualify.<p>These investments are potentially higher risk (e.g. if they use your funds for 80% downpayment on a mortgage, and the value of the property drops 10%, you&#x27;ve lost half your investment). But their returns are quite high. For a deal that exits well, the investors typically get over 20% return (annualized). I used to be all about index funds, and then I saw these. You have to find an operator with a good track record, understand the factors at play well enough to evaluate their offering, and if you do your due diligence, then you pretty much always get <i>at least</i> 15% annualized. Most investors wouldn&#x27;t even consider the investment if they felt it is less than that.<p>But you need a lot of money to get in.