Unassuming Janitor Died with a Secret $8 Million Fortune

Ronald ReadInvestor $8 Million portfolio

Wikipedia has a fascinating article about Ronald Read.

Read was born in 1921 and grew up in a poor farming family in Vermont. He walked or hitchhiked 4 miles every day to get to high school, becoming the first person in his family to graduate.

Read served as a military policeman in Italy during World War II, then went back to Vermont and worked at a gas station as an attendant and mechanic for 25 years. 

Then he got a part-time job as a janitor at J.C. Penney, where he worked for 17 years 1997.

Here’s the crazy part

When Read passed away in 2014, people were surprised to learn he had quietly amassed an $8 million fortune. 

He built his wealth by investing in stocks that paid dividends, sticking to companies he understood, and living very simply. 

He was patient with his investments, focusing on reliable, well-known companies.

An amazing example of the boring-but-effective “buy and hold” strategy of investing.

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