The millionaire binman

Graham_Devon

Heard an interesting bit of chatter today (it's no more than that, but it's not really unbelieveable either) about someone who has just moved down "my way".

He's bought a 3 bed house to retire to. He has lived in London most of his life.

For most of his life, he was a street sweeper / graffiti remove, but went on to become a bin man for the last 2 years of his career. He has now retired, aged 58, sold his house, become a millionaire and moved elsewhere to live off the cash. (That's all I know, as that's what his neighbour said!)

We were talking about it today and how insane it had all become that an ex council worker, working the lowest paid jobs could become; and live the life of a millionaire simply by tripping up and buying a house in London at the right time....that's buying a house in London on a street sweeper salary...because you could then.

It got me thinking.... could this posssibly ever happen again in our lifetimes? Or was it a one off set of factors that has probably turned completely normal, everyday joe teachers, sales assistants etc into millionaires who can retire very very comfortably? Factors which could never piece together again?

wotsthat

It's just a combination of luck, hard work and grabbing opportunities as they present themselves. Probably important to remember this chap isn't the norm either he's at one end of a bell curve. Average Joes are just that - average.

This book is worth a read. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0141036257

Graham_Devon

wotsthat wrote: »

It's just a combination of luck, hard work and grabbing opportunities as they present themselves. Probably important to remember this chap isn't the norm either he's at one end of a bell curve. Average Joes are just that - average.

This book is worth a read. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0141036257

Yer, not sure the book quite fits the bill here! That talks about overachievers. This bloke, seemingly just bought a home and carried out a menial job and through various factors, found himself as an "accidental" millionaire.

Sure there are many others like him too.

I was thinking more not about what they have achieved (as in reality, they have achieved buying a family home at a certain point in history)..... but more about whether the combination of factors (over say the last 30 years) that led to this man becoming a millionaire through owning a normal asset could ever play out in our lifetimes again.

Linda_D_2

A million pounds isn't really that much in today's financial climate. There are a huge number of millionaires, it's almost the norm.

I'm sure there will be many millionaires just on this forum.

Now being a billionaire is really the new millionaire as there are so many who can boast having a million but only a few with a billion pounds to their name.

wotsthat

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Yer, not sure the book quite fits the bill here! That talks about overachievers. This bloke, seemingly just bought a home and carried out a menial job and through various factors, found himself as an "accidental" millionaire.

There's obviously more to it otherwise every boomer bin man who ever bought a house would be a millionaire. I'd guess he was lucky, took opportunities, made efforts to increase his savings ratio, spent time improving his investment returns etc

Even if he bought the average London house 30 years ago (unlikely) he'd be well short of a million.

Ask yourself if this is normal why every 58 year old menial worker isn't a retired millionaire.

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Sure there are many others like him too.

Probably but they live at the flat end of the bell curve together. If it was completely normal it wouldn't make for very interesting garden gate chatter

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I was thinking more not about what they have achieved (as in reality, they have achieved buying a family home at a certain point in history)..... but more about whether the combination of factors (over say the last 30 years) that led to this man becoming a millionaire through owning a normal asset could ever play out in our lifetimes again.

It'll be a different set of factors but there will always be rags to riches stories.

ukcarper

Some parts of London have improved out of all recognition over the last forty years and parts that I would not have put a foot in in 70s have been gentrified .

Average London price is £467k or £479 for a semi.

caronoel

So Graham is envious of even the binmen now?

If it really is so easy to make a million Graham, why havent you done it?

chewmylegoff

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Yer, not sure the book quite fits the bill here! That talks about overachievers. This bloke, seemingly just bought a home and carried out a menial job and through various factors, found himself as an "accidental" millionaire.

Sure there are many others like him too.

I was thinking more not about what they have achieved (as in reality, they have achieved buying a family home at a certain point in history)..... but more about whether the combination of factors (over say the last 30 years) that led to this man becoming a millionaire through owning a normal asset could ever play out in our lifetimes again.

Well, we don't actually know if the anecdote you have heard is true.

Perhaps he was a street sweeper and bought an absolute wreck with a bit of cash he inherited from a mad aunt and spent 20 years doing it up after work.

Perhaps he wasn't a binman at all. Perhaps he made his money selling penny shares to gullible pensioners and doesn't want to admit it.

Perhaps he thought someone was being nosey so just fed them a load of rot.

I think it quite unlikely that London is full of millionaire street sweepers and bin men riding the property boom. More likely that the people sitting on property boom cash are a bit more middle class professional.

padington

wotsthat wrote: »

It's just a combination of luck, hard work and grabbing opportunities as they present themselves. Probably important to remember this chap isn't the norm either he's at one end of a bell curve. Average Joes are just that - average.

This book is worth a read. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0141036257

Good read, f*cked my desire to have children though that book. Little success stealers.

Masomnia

Nice discount via a right to buy, council place in a central location and it's not at all inconceivable.

N1AK

wotsthat wrote: »

It's just a combination of luck, hard work and grabbing opportunities as they present themselves.

If the example if true then neither hard work or grabbing opportunities had anything to do with it. A street cleaner in Burnley likely works just as hard, and other than moving to/staying in London, they could have done nothing different.

As to GD's question: Yes it will happen again, some people will get lucky and buy something that increases vastly in value without predicting it. We might see prices increase considerably in Manchester or another city for example, but clearly I can't predict where or I'd be buying in now