5 Benefits of Stealth Wealth

Have you ever met a person who seemed to live a normal, middle-class lifestyle and then found out later they were worth millions? I did.

Under The Radar Millionaires

I had a good friend from college who passed away way too young from an aneurism. We all knew he was a saver and quite frugal. He led a simple lifestyle, had a zest for life, enjoyed time with family and friends, and never spent a lot on cars or trips. I knew he owned a few vacation homes across the country that gave him rental income, but none of this flagged us as to how wealthy he was when he passed away.

It wasn’t until we talked to his newlywed wife that we realized he was worth millions! She was wondering what to do with all the inheritance she just received and began asking us what to do. She knew we had a knack for business that she didn’t have and wanted advice on how to manage the estate.

Stealth Wealth

Boy, did that throw us for a loop!

Do you think this story is unusual? Think that it can’t happen to you? Think again.

As you go through life, you’ll meet people who you would never suspect are extremely wealthy or have large fortunes. These wealthy people could be neighbors, family, or even friends you have known for years. They have done quite well for themselves and have blended into a traditional middle-class lifestyle.

Want another example? A good friend of my father’s was just like this. He drove modest cars, wore modest clothes, and “built houses” for a living. He went shopping at Wal-Mart for his jeans and ordered off the dollar menu at McDonald’s.

I remember meeting him for the 1st time. I was about 4 years old, and we were unloading a wagon of hay bales. Out of the blue, this guy wearing a white dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes comes up to us and asks if he can help. He rips off his dress shirt, gets in the wagon, and starts throwing around hay bales with the best of them. I’m looking at my sister wondering who this guy is and she just looks at me and says, “that’s dad’s friend.”

Flash forward years later, we travel to the city he lives in for a visit. I get to his office and it is immaculate! It had a couch the size of a bed, his own refrigerator, and even a standup shower in the bathroom!

On his massive oak desk was a blueprint for one of the “houses” he was building… it was a 150-unit high-end condominium complex being built in Myrtle Beach, SC! Nice “house” huh?

One of the nicest, most modest, and hardest-working people I ever met and worth multi-freaking millions to boot! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it.

Stealth Wealth

In the U.S., this type of wealth has been happening more than most people realize. Currently, there are about 12+ million millionaire households in the U.S. and growing.

More and more, people are practicing a concept know as stealth wealth.

What is Stealth Wealth?

Stealth Wealth is the practice of minimizing publicly available information about one’s income, assets, and net worth to maximize privacy. This level of secrecy also extends to keeping your wealth hidden from others, including friends and family.

It allows you to live the lifestyle you desire without the celebrity status. People who practice steal wealth prefer to fly under the radar.

Individuals who fit the stealth wealth profile are financially independent with a high net worth. The difference is their wealth is not outwardly apparent. While becoming wealthy in America has never been easier, feeling comfortable about being wealthy has never been harder.

Stealth B-2 Bomber

In this world of social media, instant gratification, and online narcissism, we’re trained to think that millionaires have a life of excess. When people think the “millionaires” what comes to mind?

I think of big mansions, expensive cars, lots of bling, and non-stop partying. The reality of stealth wealth is far different.

The wealthy use stealth wealth to minimize information available about their net worth. The less information your enemy has, the more effective the protection is. Practicing stealth wealth has a lot of benefits.

5 Benefits of Stealth Wealth

Avoid Anger and Resentment

When a person becomes successful, their friends, colleagues, and family tend to compare their successes to that individual. This leads to feelings of inadequacy, anger, jealously, and resentment.

Success can be a tricky situation because jealousy is part of human nature. While we cheer for underdogs to succeed, people can feel jealous and envious when those people achieve success.

On one hand, we applaud those who attain things higher than we thought possible. On the other hand, people can be resentful since they feel those successful people have more than enough while they don’t.

People ask the question, who did you rob, cheat, or steal to get where you are?

Practicing stealth wealth shields successful people from those negative emotions and from attacks by others. Why create emotional turmoil when it doesn’t need to exist? It sure beats facing angry and jealous mobs of people.

People Don’t Ask for Handouts

If people know you have money, they aren’t shy to ask you for money.  You’ll get invited to all the fundraiser parties where friends, colleagues, and acquaintances will be more than happy to ask you for money. The PTA who needs your help to meet their fundraising goals. The local youth baseball teams that need a sponsor to pay for their uniforms. The Girl Scouts begging you to buy their cookies.

Even worse, if you constantly say “no” to all these requests, you look like a stingy jerk…. you can’t win!

In living a stealth wealth lifestyle, saying no is acceptable because people don’t expect a lot from you. Buying the 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies that you want (Samoas, baby! Yum! 😊) instead of the 40 boxes they are trying sell you is perfectly acceptable.

You can turn down fundraiser invitations. If people push you, you can simply say, “your cause sounds great but I’m already supporting my charity of choice, maybe next year.” It’s flawless! Lol 😊

Money can also make people feel weird and create uncomfortable situations. Imagine family members finding out how much you are worth and asking for a loan or to invest in their awesome new project? Do you have the cahones to tell them “no”?

What if a family member is in a dire situation of their own doing and just need a little help to get out of it? What if you think that little bit of help is actually enabling their behavior? What if it was your kid brother or childhood friend? Could you say no?

If you have wealth, people start to show up out of the woodwork thinking they can get a piece of it for themselves. Some may be innocent while other may not be. Can you tell the difference?

No one can see your bank account unless you show them so don’t. Practicing stealth wealth can make your life SO much easier and helps to avoid those uncomfortable situations.

Keep More of What You Make

Not only will stealth wealth protect you from uncomfortable situations, but it can also keep Uncle Sam off your back too. Once a person makes more than $250,000 a year, they will face a lot of taxes and tax phaseouts: education tax, credit eliminations, New Investment Income Tax, etc. are to name just a few. Under the Biden administration, the government is clearly targeting the wealthy to try to better distribute some of the wealth.

While taxes are virtually unavoidable, working to minimize your tax burden is attainable. By not flaunting your wealth and not making frivolous purchases, expectations are low and can be kept under the radar of the government to a certain extent.   

Camouflage

When people think you are struggling to get by, you don’t receive much attention from competitors, enemies, or the government. Having more freedom to do as you please is great! The IRS won’t be knocking on your door wondering how you afforded that yacht on $80,000 a year in income. Deflecting attention can be a beautiful thing!

Plus, there are a few legal ways to help secure your wealth and keep more of what you make. While I do not have any experience in this field and am not a tax attorney or CPA, I do know that the rich use a variety of ways to hide their wealth from the government and the associated taxes that come with it. Things like offshore accounts, tax-sheltered investments, and professional wealth management methods such as family banking are just a few of the ways this is done and I’m sure there are many more on top of that.

In the end, stealth wealth can help you keep more of what you make by staying under the radar. If flaunting your wealth, there are expectation that must be constantly lived up to. While these expectations may be in your head, it could also be reinforced by the money sucking people you have surrounded yourself with. Don’t succumb to that mental baggage because keeping more of what you make will lead you to financial independence sooner.

Less Likely To Get Ripped Off

Ever hear of the driveway tax? It’s the upcharges contractors will charge the longer your driveway is. It’s like the zip code tax that is charged if your house falls within a certain zip code.

Contractors are smart. They know how much houses cost in your neighborhood. Even if you live in a lower priced neighborhood but drive a brand-new Porsche, it’s literally a flashing sign to all contractors to “upcharge me, I’m rich!”

It’s not uncommon to charge 2-3X times higher for the same work done in a “rich” neighborhood as a “poorer” neighborhood.

Ever been approached by someone that wants to befriend you with the next get rich quick idea? As PT Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute”. If flashing your wealth around, there are plenty of people out there that want to test that theory.

If these things are happening to you, odds on you’re not practicing stealth wealth. Staying off their radar screen keeps your asset safe, keeps your sanity in check, and keeps the con artists far away from you.

Identify Who Your Real Friends Are

One of the most challenging things for the wealthy is knowing who their true friends are. Imagine walking around always wondering if the people trying to befriend you actually care about you or simply want to use you for your money? I’d hate it.

If you never give off the appearance of wealth, it makes it much easier to assess your acquaintances, to determine if they are true friends, and to find out if people like you for being you. There’s a reason why Lebron James’s entourage is made up mostly of his friends from high school and his old neighborhood…. it’s who he trusts.

Personally, I have a hard time fathoming having to second guess everyone’s intentions because they know how much wealth I have. It would drive me absolutely crazy!

Without knowing your net worth, people won’t treat you differently. You’ll worry less about whether the people trying to get close to you: friends, family, and people you date, are simply trying to get to your money.  

Practicing stealth wealth lets you be who you are and not worry whether people have ulterior motives.

Where to Go From Here?

Our society thrives on excess and ostentatious displays of wealth. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have tens of thousands of people showing off their new boat, the 2nd home they purchased, and even the business they started.

People thrive on showing off what they own and the luxuries they are experiencing. Look no further than people like the Kardashians to understand what I’m talking about. However, the willingness to share personal information can also lead to the decimation of all the wealth you worked so hard to create.

Stealth

Stealth wealth is important in not only preserving wealth but also accumulating it. Staying under the radar provides an information advantage in your favor. By having better information, you also gain leverage when negotiating your salary, discussing business transactions, and even hiring contractors to repair your house.

Practicing stealth wealth has a plethora of benefits. Try it and find out for yourself!

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave your comments here.

Until next time……

Live The Life You Love, Want, and Deserve! 😊