March 9, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Millionaire Mind
By Thomas J. Stanley
Besides gardening and consulting with their tax advisers, there are few things wealthy people enjoy more than fund raising, the author of this book discovered.
Nearly two-thirds of the 733 millionaires interviewed for the book said they had engaged in fund raising during the previous year, writes Mr. Stanley. “Most of today’s millionaires were raising funds for good causes before they became financially independent, and most did it because of noble intent.”
Mr. Stanley, a former professor of marketing at Georgia State University, co-wrote the 1996 book The Millionaire Next Door, which concluded that many rich people shun extravagance. This new book analyzes the motivations of millionaires who live in upper-class neighborhoods, but who accumulated wealth without using credit, and who carry little or no debt.
The millionaires responded to a survey on topics ranging from S.A.T. scores to the cleaning habits of their spouses. In answers to questions exploring their way of life, 64 percent of the respondents said they had raised funds for charity over the past year — and 57 percent attended fund-raising balls in that time.
Those activities ranked fifth and tied for ninth, respectively, among 30 recreational activities pursued by the millionaires.
Mr. Stanley offers a possible explanation for the high level of interest in charitable work.
“Good deeds do get rewarded even here on earth,” he says of fund raising by the wealthy. “People are always seen at their best when involved in noble causes, and their reputation and integrity are, in turn, enhanced.”
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 4520 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600 or (800) 826-4216; fax (816) 932-6706; http://www.themillionairemind.com; 406 pages; $26.95; I.S.B.N. 0-7407-0357-9.
