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A couple of years ago, I was giving an investment presentation at the Radisson Blu Resort, on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Afterward, the company’s manager invited my wife and me to dinner. I sat beside a wealthy British man who made his fortune in real estate. “I was fascinated by your presentation on index funds,” he said.
My wife and I recently had dinner with two young women. We hadn’t met them before we connected through an online social group in Panama City, Panama. One was a twenty-six-year-old German photographer whose husband helps start-up businesses. The second was a twenty-eight-year-old Australian who works online with her partner. I always enjoy meeting people. There’s a blank slate.
I sat on a small swing while looking out at the Caribbean sea. To my left was a private shower that any guest could use. Two private rooms were behind that shower. Immediately behind me were two hammocks and a large table from which a handful of guests would soon be eating breakfast. Marco, our host and a fabulous chef, prepared breakfast in the kitchen.
A few years ago, a company’s director asked me to speak to his employees about saving and investing. Before I began the presentation, he privately explained why he invited me. “I don’t want my employees to make the same mistake I made,” he said. He earned several million dollars a year. And although he looked rich, if he lost his job, he only had enough savings to sustain his lifestyle for a handful of months.
I had never seen a “Help Wanted” sign above a men’s urinal before. But there it was…in a Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania Walmart. It offered $18 an hour, plus benefits and a promise to pay for college education fees. The state’s minimum wage, which hasn’t increased in 15 years, is $7.25 an hour.