I Asked Miami’s Millionaire Elite How They Got Rich

What this episode is about

The content explores how Miami's wealthy elite achieved their financial success, featuring interviews with millionaires and billionaires who share their experiences in entrepreneurship and investments, highlighting significant business deals and personal milestones that contributed to their fortunes. It emphasizes Miami's status as a hub for wealthy individuals, showcasing their insights into wealth-building strategies in the modern world.

Key takeaways

• From paper routes to yachts: hustle trumps privilege every time.
• Empathy is the secret ingredient of sales—connect before you sell to succeed.
• Miami's millionaire scene: hard-earned wealth beats inherited riches in the pursuit of success.
• Success breeds scrutiny; even loved ones can unknowingly hold you back.
• Sacrifice is the cost of ambition—no vacations, just relentless drive to achieve.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Unknown Host (Host) · 9 min speaking
• Unknown Guest 1 (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Unknown Guest 2 (Guest) · 2 min speaking
• Unknown Guest 3 (Guest) · 2 min speaking
• Unknown Guest 4 (Guest) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Miami, financial success, billionaire, entrepreneur
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Hedge funds, Overcome Your Villains, Sagenov, Michigan
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Wall Street, networking, Hedge funds, Bank of Montreal
4. 9:00 – 12:00: entrepreneur, CEO's ego, ODU
5. 12:00 – 15:00: billionaire, entrepreneur, financial success
6. 15:00 – 15:25: billionaire

Notable quotes from "I Asked Miami’s Millionaire Elite How They Got Rich"

• Well, I own a hedge fun. You owned a hedge fund, correct? For how long?

  about Hedge funds · at 0:11

• Miami is one of the richest cities in the entire world. In fact, it is the number six city in the United States with the most millionaires. And there's over 12 billionaires that live in Miami.

  about Miami · at 0:58

• 50 years old. I am. Did you come from a lot of money? I came from nothing. I grew up with four kids, a single mother on food stamps, living in a trailer behind my grandparents home. What was your turning point to financial freedom?

  about food stamps · at 2:08

• Doesn't have to be haters. I think that's a confusing point for a lot of people. My second book is called Overcome Your Villains. It's about getting all negative people out of…

  about Overcome Your Villains · at 4:06

• On how you became successful? Yeah sure. So, I my first job I was on Wall Street. I worked for a company called Nesbit Burns. It was actually acquired by Bank of Montreal and I…

  about Nesbit Burns · at 6:05

• With. And one of the craziest stories is my partner and I, Brian, when we had the broker dealer. There was one of the biggest companies on Wall Street, the biggest traders on…

  about Wall Street · at 7:39

• As your business grows, you know what becomes significantly harder? Managing inventory. And ODU automates the entire process from tracking stock levels to placing purchase…

  about ODU · at 10:16

• Of business in today's world. What's the most common mistake you see business owners make? CEO's ego. Your ego is not your amigo. Yeah. No. CEOs will up a good company. Were you good in sales?

  about CEO's ego · at 11:38

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Books & papers

• Overcome Your Villains — Book · Referenced book · 1 mention · first at 4:09
  The book is mentioned as the interviewee's second book about removing negative influences, positioned as key to success.

Companies & orgs

• Nesbit Burns — Company · Referenced employer · 1 mention · first at 6:09
  Nesbit Burns is named as the hedge fund owner's first Wall Street employer, later acquired by Bank of Montreal.
• Bank of Montreal — Company · Referenced acquirer · 1 mention · first at 6:11
  Bank of Montreal is cited as the acquirer of Nesbit Burns, anchoring the hedge fund owner's Wall Street career timeline.
  Street. I worked for a company called Nesbit Burns. It was actually acquired by Bank of Montreal and I then developed a hedge fund which I was running about 4,000 traders and about 600 employees.

Concepts & topics

• entrepreneur — Concept · Core topic / identity label · 4 mentions · first at 0:43
  Interviewees are framed as entrepreneurs or business owners, and the host positions the audience as aspiring entrepreneurs seeking wealth-building tactics.
  How long have you been an entrepreneur?
• Hedge funds — Concept · Core topic (wealth mechanism) · 3 mentions · first at 0:13
  A yacht owner credits running a hedge fund for decades as a major source of wealth and discusses risk management and trading losses.
• financial success — Concept · Core topic (outcome) · 3 mentions · first at 0:18
  Financial success is demonstrated through revenue/profit figures, exits, and wealth markers (yachts), and tied to skills like sales, networking, and risk control.
  Almost 28 years. Over these 28 years what was the most amount of money you made in a single year? We did about 30 million in sales. I had been a part of a partnership where we…
• billionaire — Concept · Core topic / aspirational reference · 3 mentions · first at 1:04
  Billionaires are referenced to emphasize Miami's wealth density and the channel's mission to extract advice from ultra-successful people.
  The entire world. In fact, it is the number six city in the United States with the most millionaires. And there's over 12 billionaires that live in Miami.
• Wall Street — Concept · Referenced career context · 3 mentions · first at 6:06
  One yacht owner attributes early career experience to Wall Street, using it to discuss trading, deal-making, and networking as wealth drivers.
• networking — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 7:28
  Networking is described as essential for attracting top talent and accelerating growth, illustrated by recruiting a major Wall Street chairman via a timely call.
  Street, they never actually placed a trade. You just got rich off of like a handshake closing deals. How important was networking for you when you were on Wall Street? Yeah…
• financial freedom — Concept · Core topic / goal · 1 mention · first at 2:16
  Financial freedom is the stated objective of the video—learning how wealthy people built wealth and how viewers can replicate it.
  So, today I flew out here to come find and ask millionaires and billionaires how they built their wealth and how you could become financially free in today's world. With that being said, let's get this video on the.
• CEO's ego — Concept · Core topic (failure mode) · 1 mention · first at 11:41
  A business owner identifies CEO ego as a common reason companies fail, summarizing it as 'Your ego is not your amigo.'
• food stamps — Concept · Referenced hardship · 1 mention · first at 2:12
  Food stamps are used to illustrate the interviewee's poverty background and contrast with later business success.
• trailer — Concept · Referenced hardship · 1 mention · first at 2:14
  Living in a trailer is cited as part of the interviewee's 'came from nothing' story that motivates her drive toward wealth.
  Lot of money? I came from nothing. I grew up with four kids, a single mother on food stamps, living in a trailer behind my grandparents home. What was your turning point to financial freedom?

Places & events

• Miami — Place · Primary setting / core topic context · 2 mentions · first at 0:58
  Miami is framed as a hub of wealth (millionaires/billionaires) and the on-location backdrop for interviewing yacht owners and entrepreneurs about how they built wealth.
• Sagenov, Michigan — Place · Referenced formative location · 1 mention · first at 3:43
  The interviewee cites moving to 'Sagenov, Michigan' as a sacrifice to build credibility and wealth; the transcript likely intends Saginaw, Michigan.
  Lived in Boston. I lived in Boston. I moved to the middle of Michigan, in the middle of nowhere, Sagenov, Michigan.

Sponsors

• ODU — Company · Sponsor / recommended product · 1 mention · first at 10:20
  ODU is promoted as business management software to help entrepreneurs manage sales, accounting, and inventory while scaling.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Excuse me, sir. Sir. Yeah. Is this your yacht? Yeah. But what's with the camera right there? I have a channel with 10 million followers. I go all over the world interviewing the most successful people. I'm asking yacht owners what they did to be able to afford a yacht. Well, I own a hedge fun. You owned a hedge fund, correct? For how long? Almost 28 years. Over these 28 years what was the most amount of money you made in a single year? We did about 30 million in sales. I had been a part of a partnership where we had bought a company for $25 million and had sold it for 55 million 3 years later. I would say about 300 million. $300 million.

0:29 Yeah. More or less question for you that day. I have 10 million followers. I have the biggest business. Can I interview you for one minute? How long have you been an entrepreneur? A little bit longer than you. Yeah. What was the most amount of money that you made a single year? Me or the company? The company. The company I think did let's say would be 8.5 billion I think last year. How about for yourself? I ate every day. How can somebody own a yacht in today's world, man? Miami is one of the richest cities in the entire world. In fact, it is the number six city in the United States with the most millionaires. And there's over 12 billionaires that live in Miami.

1:08 So, today I flew out here to come find and ask millionaires and billionaires how they built their wealth and how you could become financially free in today's world. With that being said, let's get this video on the way. Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am, question for you. How old were you when you became a millionaire? Excuse me. How old were you when you made your first million? I was 26. You became a millionaire at 26. What happened that year? I had been a part of a partnership where we had bought a company for $25 million and had sold it for 55 million 3 years later. Actually, yes. What do you do for living out here in Miami? I do a lot of different things. You think we could interview you real quick? I have a channel with 10 million followers. cuz I go all over the world and interview super successful people. Can we get one minute with you? Sure. How many businesses do you own right now? Yeah. I

2:00 have five. Five businesses? Yes. How long have you been a business owner? Oh my gosh. My first time I was an equity partner in a company. I was 24 years old. How old are you now? I'm 50. You're 50 years old. I am. Did you come from a lot of money? I came from nothing. I grew up with four kids, a single mother on food stamps, living in a trailer behind my grandparents home. What was your turning point to financial freedom? When you grow up with lack, you realize what you don't want. So, you're like "How am I going to fix this?" And I just remember thinking at a young age, at 9 years old, I started my first paper route. I'm like "I just need to start hustling. Start working. I'll figure it out along the way." A lot of people don't want to hear that. The comeup is a struggle and it's a journey. But by the time I was 18 and everybody else was just starting to think about working. I had been working for a decade. So, I had

2:40 sales expertise. I had hustle ingrained in me. So, when I actually started my first job out of college, I crushed everybody near me because I had the work ethic and I also had the experience and expertise that I had built in that come up. Were you good at selling? I mean, I could sell ice to an Esco. Wow. So, give us a quick sales master class right here. Give me a lesson about sales. The most important thing about sales to always put yourself in the other person's shoes. Too often, people think about here's what I want you to have.

3:03 Here's why I want you to have it. That's an epic fail. The right way to do it is to put myself in your shoes. Figure out the problem that you need solved. Think about and empathize with how you're feeling, how you got there, and start speaking that to you. Immediately you're going to feel a connection with me. You're going to feel a trust with me. And you're going to say, "This girl gets my painoint. Now I can ask her "Hey, can you solve that for me?" And wouldn't she know, "Yes, I can." And that's how you really sell people. You realize they don't teach that in school right? Well, they need to start teaching it. Did you have to sacrifice a lot when you were coming up? Oh my gosh, of course. I remember in my 20s, all my friends were getting married. Everybody was having babies. I didn't take one day off from work for 4 years. Not one vacation, not one day. All my friends lived in Boston. I lived in Boston. I

3:42 moved to the middle of Michigan, in the middle of nowhere, Sagenov, Michigan. Not somewhere an ideal location people want to go. I was 24 years old. I gave up everything because I wanted to put myself on the map in regards to business, create some credibility and a name for myself and some wealth and it all worked out. When you were coming up growing your businesses, did you have a lot of people that were hating on you or doubting you? Even my own family has right? Like people who It doesn't even mean they have to hate on you. They might love you and they want to hold you back cuz they're scared for you. It doesn't have to be haters. I think that that's a confusing point for a lot of people. My second book is called Overcome Your Villains. It's about getting all negative people out of your life. That's key to success. But sometimes the people that are really holding you back and holding you down

4:17 are the ones that love you cuz they're afraid for you. You have to be willing to say, "I feel you. I see you. I thank you. I'm grateful for you and I'm going to still move forward anyway." So, it's safe to say that even though they're your family or your loved ones, they may not know what's actually best for you. No one is going to know what's best for you other than you. You've got to tune out that noise. Maybe they couldn't do it. That has nothing to do with whether you're going to be successful or not. You got amazing advice. Oh, thank you.

4:38 I'm so I'm so happy to be here with you. I appreciate you. Thank you for your time. I appreciate you. You guys, we're at our next destination right now. The Miami Beach Yacht Harbor, home to some 10, 20, $30 million yachts. So, we're going to be going around seeing if we can get into these gates, go up to these docks where the yachts are parked to see if we can ask yacht owners what they did to become rich out here in Miami. So let's waste no more time and let's go around and see if we can find some people and go see what they have to say.

4:58 Come on. I'm sorry, bro. Can we come in? No, no no. Why not? It's private. Private? Yeah. Yeah. Are any of them open? Yeah. You got to go to the office. Other ones? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. As you guys can see man, since we are at the yacht harbor the yacht marina out here, it is very hard to get into these places because these people are very private, very secretive with how they made their money. But you know us, and we're going to do whatever we can and whatever it takes to go get the game for you guys out here in Miami. So, let's go find some and go see what they have to say.

5:25 Come on. All right, you guys. So, we were able to get into one of the docks out here. So, we're going to try and find some people out on these boats and see how they were able to accumulate their wealth out here. Sir, question for you. What is it? Is this your yacht? No. Excuse me, sir. Sir. Yeah. Is this your yacht? Yeah. But what's with the camera right there? I have a channel with 10 million followers. I go all over the world interviewing the most successful people. I'm asking yacht owners what they did to be able to afford a yacht.

5:48 Well, I own a hedge fund. You owned a hedge fund, correct? For how long? Almost 28 years. Over these 28 years what was the most amount of money you made in a single year? I would say about 300 million. $300 million. Yeah, more or less, actually. Yeah. And could I ask you a couple questions for the channel real quick? Sure. Thank you for having us on board. Absolutely. Nice to meet you. Can we ask you a couple questions on how you became successful? Yeah sure. So, I my first job I was on Wall Street. I worked for a company called Nesbit Burns. It was actually acquired by Bank of Montreal and I then developed a hedge fund which I was running about 4,000 traders and about 600 employees.

6:18 We did about 3 4% of the US markets in volume. In 2010, I then basically created a fintech company and switched from trading to execution and did that for about another seven or eight years and one of the big banks in Canada looked at us, loved it and we sold the company. Have you ever lost money? A lot of money. What's the most amount of money you lost in a single year? I'll tell you what I lost in one day. What did you lose? A little over $8 million. $8 million. What happened? I was trading a stock that didn't go my way and it was like pretty bad. But, you know, over time, we learned from our lessons, made it back, and that's it. That would cause a lot of people to crash out and do something crazy. How did you maintain composure and not go off the deep end?

6:52 What was it that kept you kept you going? I had a bad day. Thought about it and I said, "It's just a bad day. We're going to go back and do whatever we can." So, I learned from that mistake. I I learned that one thing is always know what your risk is and always don't underestimate anything at all because anything can happen any minute anytime. We don't have any control over anything over this world and I learned that. So right now when I decide how much risk I'm going to take in any business, I'll make sure that I could afford what I'm investing if it goes to zero or it fails. Some of the richest people that I've ever met that worked on Wall Street, they never actually placed a trade. You just got rich off of like a handshake closing deals. How important was networking for you when you were on Wall Street? Yeah, that's very interesting. So, I think first of all you could trade, you could do a lot of

7:34 things yourself, but the most important thing is networking where you want to meet people that you want to connect with. And one of the craziest stories is my partner and I, Brian, when we had the broker dealer. There was one of the biggest companies on Wall Street, the biggest traders on Wall Street. The chairman was about to leave and we invited him to come to see our company. And basically, I told Brian, I said "You got to call him. You met him at the golf tournament. You got to call him right now. this is now he's going to remember you. Bring him over and let's show him what we do. And he did that.

8:01 The gentleman was extremely respectful and and and super kind and he did come to the company. He looked at us and he looked at me and said, "How the hell did you build this so under cover? It's an amazing business." And he became the chairman of my company. And from then on, this is where we got more and more people that were you got to be able to attract the best people in the industry if you want to make. I love how you said when he had to call him, he had to call him now. How important was speed for you? It was everything. if he didn't call him that like now and I remember he ran around the pool and he he was a little nervous and he called him and the guy said yes and he came to me and he said wow he's coming over but then we had to have something real that you know that was valuable for him to invest and he did invest and became the chairman that was like where we pivoted in the company and that's where that took us to

8:42 the next level so speed is extremely important when you want something you got to go for it and manifesting is the most important thing you can do in business talk to me about that manifesting though because not a lot of business people they don't really talk about the mindset too much but it seems like that's been very important for you. It's very important. I mean, manifesting is something I do every day and I believe in it so much and I've done that since I was like 10 years old. Like, if I really, really want something, I'm going to go for it and I'm I'll do everything to get it. Doesn't matter how I'm going to get it legally, of course.

9:09 But everything that I need to do, I'm going to do to be able to acquire what I want. So, what does your selft talk look like? I mean, it's very different for everything. I think one of the selft talks is probably like I smile, I think and I go, "Yeah, I'm going to get this." and I know exactly how and I think in my head what are the steps for me to achieving that and I create this whole story and then I go for it. You got amazing advice, my friend. Great. Well thank you very much. Pleasure to talk. Thank you for having us on. Guys, Miami has been incredible so far and I'm headed right now to go get my next interview for you all, but I want to talk real quick about one of the most important pieces of advice that I've received from a $100 million entrepreneur. And this is for all the business owners out there. You see, most companies die from indigestion than starvation. And let me break that down.

9:53 When a business starts growing fast things can get out of control very quickly. Sales, inventory, accounting everything starts to break down if you don't have the right systems in place. And that's why so many entrepreneurs turn to ODU, a business management software that brings everything into just one platform. So instead of juggling five different tools, ODO lets you manage sales, accounting, and inventory all in one place. For example as your business grows, you know what becomes significantly harder? Managing inventory. And ODU automates the entire process from tracking stock levels to placing purchase orders at the perfect time. So you can focus on scaling instead of micromanaging. And the best part, you only use the apps that you need. And you can try any single app for free or get a 14-day free trial with no credit card information required whatsoever. So if you're serious about

10:39 scaling your business the right way check out ODU. All you have to do is go down to the link in the description of this video. Click that link to check it out today for free. But with that being said, let's go get this next interview. question for you. I have 10 million followers. I have the biggest business. Can I interview you for one minute?

11:05 Credibility matters. Credibility matter. Credibility kills all bad attitudes. Remember that. My man, what do you do for a living? I help companies navigate the regulatory and clinical pathways for their products. So, you're a business owner. If you take any supplements or beverages, more than likely, it's my client. Actually, yeah. Yeah. How long have you been an entrepreneur? A little bit longer than you. Yeah. You said longer than a year. A little bit longer than you. Yeah. Can we turn this off for one minute real quick? What was the most amount of money that you made a single year? Me or the company? The company.

11:30 The company I think does, let's say would be 8.5 billion, I think, last year. 8.5 billion, give or take. How about for yourself? I ate every day. Eight out of 10 companies, they go out of business in today's world. What's the most common mistake you see business owners make? CEO's ego. Your ego is not your amigo. Yeah. No. CEOs will up a good company. Were you good in sales? No, I'm great in sales. You're great in sales. What's your secret to selling? Cuz sales cures everything for a lot of companies. I don't sell anything. I just find out what the client needs and I help him hit his goal. Is there a question that you're constantly asking people? Like, what are you doing to get to yes? What do you need? Same thing you asked me. You got a minute. What do you need? I'll help you get there. I'm like a genie. How How about negotiating though? Cuz you've been at the table with some heavy hitters.

12:05 You're going back and forth. What's your secret to negotiating? There's a dollar value to everything. If I can get your product to market faster than you can. What is that worth to you? And I ask I'll figure out what that is, how much they're going to make on that particular product within a year. And if I can save them three months, let's say they're going to do $12 million a year on that product launch. If I can get a product 3 months earlier, I make an extra $3 million. If I'm charging you 300 grand then why are you bitching? You just made the 3 million. Yeah. So it's it's not what it costs, it's what you get. Yeah.

12:27 It's a scale of economics. If you lost everything tomorrow, could you make it all back? Done it four times. So you've lost it before. Four times. How are you getting back every single time? Same way. Yeah. What the uh Well, what's the X factor each time that you that you've lost? It doesn't make it the the widgets are relevant. Policies and procedures are the exact same. You just got to do what you got to do. treat people right to give them a value for what they're looking for and uh outwork everybody else. Thank you so much for your time today. You got amazing advice. You guys heard what I said. I stopped him on the motorcycle because I said I have 10 million followers. Understand this credibility matters. But just like I said I have 10 million followers. That guy made $10 billion with his company.

13:01 Crazy good interview out here in Miami. We got to keep this one rolling and go get another one out here. You guys come on. I watch this all the time. Just recognize you. Hey. Hey. Real quick. Real quick. How did you get rich? I didn't get rich. That's why I watch you. Yeah. So what do you do for a living? Mechanical engineering. Engineering. Yeah. Do you own a own a firm or you I own I own a company. Yeah. For how long? For 22 years. Did you become a millionaire? No, I did not. But I'm trying to be. You're You're gonna be one. What did you do in revenue this last year? We did about 30 million in sales. 30 million in sales. And how about what's profit on that? Probably like 2 million 3 million. Million. So you're putting a lot of money back into the business. So you're building right now. Constantly building. So what are you doing to scale the company? Like like what's the biggest thing the number

13:35 one X factor that you're We can't scale unless we have employees. Good employees cuz we're in a field service business. Is it easy to find them or No, it's really hard. It's really hard because no one wants to work. Who's the most important person you've hired so far? My twin brother. Your twin brother? Yeah. So, are you a fan of going into business with family? Cuz some people say don't go into business with friends and family. My dad said, which was funny. He goes, when he trained us, he's like, I got to train some So, it reminds me of my own son. So, your dad was a business guy. Yeah, he put us into business. How old are you now? 51. 51.

13:59 You look incredible for 51. What's the secret to looking so young at? Go to the gym every morning. Yeah. You work out every day. You still put up that 225 bench? No, I'm at 135. Regardless though, money stays in shape at the end of the day. Yeah. You know what? It's a whole mindset. If you go to the gym and you're dedicated and you go there every day, you're going to go to work every day, too. Have you ever lost money before? Yeah. When you're an owner, you go through cycles all the time of when you're up and down. No one wants to cut back. It's always great to buy great cars and buy Porsches and all that stuff, but god forbid you have a bad year. What are you going to get rid of?

14:26 It's always harder to go down than up. Do you think everybody's built for entrepreneurship? No, because some people are great employees, but at the other end, it's a lot of sacrifice. Your wife, your kids, everyone's got to sacrifice. You travel, you're not home every night. So, a lot of people aren't built for that. out there just rather to take a paycheck, which is great, but at the same time, it's a lot of dedication. It's good and bad. It's It's hard to start a company, but it's even harder to keep it. Appreciate you so much, man.

14:49 Excellent. Thank you, guys. This video was incredible, but I need you guys to like and subscribe for amazing content I've got coming every single week because I'm going all over the world to find billionaires and the most successful business owners to deliver their advice right to you. And if you are not a member of my entrepreneur community, the number one in the world the school of mentors, you need to become a member. You can join this community today for free by going down to the link in the description of this video. The School of Mentors is number one in the world for a reason because you can get mentored directly from the millionaires and the billionaires that I interview on this channel every single week. I can't wait to see you on the inside of the community. And with that being said, I'll see you in the next

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "I Asked Miami’s Millionaire Elite How They Got Rich"?

Unknown Host (Host), Unknown Guest 1 (Guest), Unknown Guest 2 (Guest), Unknown Guest 3 (Guest), Unknown Guest 4 (Guest).

What is "I Asked Miami’s Millionaire Elite How They Got Rich" about?

The content explores how Miami's wealthy elite achieved their financial success, featuring interviews with millionaires and billionaires who share their experiences in entrepreneurship and investments, highlighting significant business deals and personal milestones that contributed to their fortunes. It emphasizes Miami's status as a hub for wealthy individuals, showcasing their insights into…

What is mentioned in this School of Hard Knocks episode?

16 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Miami, entrepreneur, Hedge funds, financial success, billionaire, Wall Street. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "I Asked Miami’s Millionaire Elite How They Got Rich"?

The episode runs 15 min; the transcript is about 4,077 words in 29 timestamped sections.

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