making it to a million.

I have a fun ADHD habit of looking up actors’ net worth when I watch movies.

Part of the game is trying to guess before looking at the answer. I’ve been entertaining myself with this for years; the piece I hadn’t considered until recently? They’re not worth that much. Hear me out. 

Most search results I come across show a net worth of somewhere between $5 - $25 million. Bigger names span the $50 - $80 million range. You then have, of course, the mega stars who made an initial sum of money through their on-screen time before ultimately parlaying their notoriety into other lucrative business ventures. Take Ryan Reynolds, and his [guesstimated] $350 million, for example.

getting to the point.

Kids grow up idolizing the popularity, fame, and fortune of celebrities. At least, I did. We see celebrities as the epitome of making it. Athletes very much included. 

• The odds of becoming a professional athlete are .023%.
• The odds of becoming a millionaire are 7.29% 

If you go into a room of 100 people, 7 are likely to be millionaires. No one is likely to be, or have been, a professional athlete. 

Wealth means different things to different people. I’m certainly not here to define it for others. What I will point out is that, generationally, the tactics used to create and reinforce financial stability have shifted. 

what is wealth and is it attainable?

Survey says, “yes”. 

• As of 2024, small businesses worth $3M or less, on average, typically sell for anywhere from 2 - 3 times their profits.
• A medium business worth between $3M - $20M can earn an average price point of 3 - 5 times their profits.
• A large businesses above $20M have an estimated going rate of 5 - 10 times their profits.

While these are gross generalizations, they contextualize a growing disconnect between perceived and tangible value. In the emergence of the creator economy, influencers have become the aspirational model to the youth. The caveat to idolizing the career path of an influencer? Earning potential is tied to the rate by which brands are willing to pay for affiliation.

Influencers are compensated similarly to the athlete who appears in a fast food commercial. An athlete has a salary and then gets paid for product partnerships. An influencer has only their partnerships.

I’m not looking to disparage influencers; relatability and personalization are powerful tools in the marketplace. Brand loyalty is no longer created by product performance as it once was – it’s earned instead by a social stamp of approval. In fact, a lot of company founders, executives, and investors have leaned into the influencer approach, themselves, to represent their respective business interests.

Kids see influencers with millions of followers promoting a lifestyle synonymous with high net worth. They don’t always see the businesses behind the personal brand(s).

Nasdaq recently calculated that to make influencing a full time career, it takes at least 1 million followers.

• The odds of earning a million followers is < 1%
• The odds of becoming a millionaire are still 7.29% 

Said differently, earning a million followers does nothing for your bank account unless you’ve found a way to monetize the eyeballs looking at you.

tick-tock.

Time is the largest investment you'll ever make.

It’s more likely that you become a millionaire than an influencer, actor, or athlete. I’m not advocating you quit your job for an entrepreneurial pursuit, but I am suggesting looking at where and how you spend your time. And your money.

A little planning goes a long way. Looking up once in a while to evaluate and adjust can make all the difference.

True value remains in skill building.

You reap what you sow.