Thomas Stanley

1944 (age 71)

Bronx, New York, United States

Thomas J. Stanley was a marketing researcher who had been researching methods for selling to wealthy people since 1973. Marketing to the Affluent discusses how salespeople can find wealthy clients and sell financial services to them, as does Selling to the Affluent: The Professional’s Guide to Closing the Sales That Count. Stanley continued his examination of wealth and how to get it with The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy. Based on over ten years of interviews with hundreds of wealthy people, the book tells readers how to follow seven rules to become wealthy, ranging from "Always live well below your means" to "Choose your occupation wisely." The authors emphasize hard work, self-sacrifice, and discipline, and provide profiles of many unexpectedly wealthy people: no rock stars or athletes, but ordinary manufacturers and working people who saved and invested. Most millionaires, Stanley notes, did not inherit their money or suddenly hit it rich on Wall Street. They are ordinary people who worked hard and saved hard in down-to-earth businesses—often owners of scrap metal businesses, dry- cleaners, or funeral homes. In The Millionaire Mind, Stanley provides the results of a survey of 1,371 millionaires and allows readers to categorize their financial style. Are you a constant spender, big consumer, soon to be poor, or are you the frugal type who lives modestly but saves big bucks? According to Stanley, real millionaires are 4.9 times more likely to prefer spending time with their grandchildren over shopping at expensive stores like Brooks Brothers. Surprisingly, many millionaires did poorly in school but were noted for having pleasant personalities and a way with people; they became rich because they also had self-discipline and drive. By definition, Stanley writes, millionaires accumulate wealth instead of spending it. At the same time, they aren't afraid to take calculated risks when investing. Thomas also served as chief advisor to Data Points, a company founded based on his research and data. He taught marketing at the University of Tennessee, the University of Georgia and the Georgia State University and worked at the University at Albany and State University of New York.

Thomas J. Stanley

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Background

Thomas Stanley was born in 1944 in Bronx, New York, United States.

Education

Thomas J. Stanley received a doctorate from the University of Georgia.

Career

Thomas J. Stanley was a marketing researcher who had been researching methods for selling to wealthy people since 1973. Marketing to the Affluent discusses how salespeople can find wealthy clients and sell financial services to them, as does Selling to the Affluent: The Professional’s Guide to Closing the Sales That Count.

Stanley continued his examination of wealth and how to get it with The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy. Based on over ten years of interviews with hundreds of wealthy people, the book tells readers how to follow seven rules to become wealthy, ranging from "Always live well below your means" to "Choose your occupation wisely." The authors emphasize hard work, self-sacrifice, and discipline, and provide profiles of many unexpectedly wealthy people: no rock stars or athletes, but ordinary manufacturers and working people who saved and invested. Most millionaires, Stanley notes, did not inherit their money or suddenly hit it rich on Wall Street. They are ordinary people who worked hard and saved hard in down-to-earth businesses—often owners of scrap metal businesses, dry- cleaners, or funeral homes.

In The Millionaire Mind, Stanley provides the results of a survey of 1,371 millionaires and allows readers to categorize their financial style. Are you a constant spender, big consumer, soon to be poor, or are you the frugal type who lives modestly but saves big bucks? According to Stanley, real millionaires are 4.9 times more likely to prefer spending time with their grandchildren over shopping at expensive stores like Brooks Brothers. Surprisingly, many millionaires did poorly in school but were noted for having pleasant personalities and a way with people; they became rich because they also had self-discipline and drive. By definition, Stanley writes, millionaires accumulate wealth instead of spending it. At the same time, they aren't afraid to take calculated risks when investing.

Thomas also served as chief advisor to Data Points, a company founded based on his research and data. He taught marketing at the University of Tennessee, the University of Georgia and the Georgia State University and worked at the University at Albany and State University of New York.

Achievements

Stanley's books The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind spent more than 170 weeks combined on the New York Times’ Best Sellers list. His work Millionaire Women Next Door was a finalist for the business book of the year by the Independent Publishers Association and was on several business bestsellers lists. In total, more than three million copies of Thomas’ books have been sold worldwide. He was named Omicron Delta Kappa's Outstanding Professor by Georgia State University.