Skip to content Ramon Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi was a celebrity millionaire famed for constantly flashing his wealth to his Instagram followers. It later turned out that he acquired the wealth fraudulently. As a consequence, he was eventually arrested in Dubai and extradited to the US where he was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in 2022 for money laundering and business email compromise frauds including an attempt to steal $124m from an English Premier League club.
We all want to make money and live the good life. Who doesn’t?
However it is also important to note that there just as there are proper ways to gather wealth, there are also improper ways. It is not just making money that counts but making it in the right way – legit money. This is key. How you make money will determine how long the money will last and how well you will be able to truly enjoy it.
Some Things Are Not Worth Losing for Wealth
While wealth is important, pursuing it should not be at the detriment of some other valuable commodities. It is true that there is a price to pay and sacrifices to make to become wealthy, but in your pursuit of money you should not lose the things money cannot buy. Your pursuit of wealth should not be at the detriment of your health, your integrity, and your valuable relationships.
Many people often risk their health in their quest for wealth forgetting that there is a wall of difference between working hard and toiling hard to the point of breaking down. If your health suffers as a result of trying hard to be rich you won’t enjoy the wealth and you would only have worked for others to enjoy the fruit of your labour. You end up losing both wealth and health. Wearisome work is not a guaranteed path to wealth.
You should not compromise on values of integrity and fairness in your pursuit of wealth. Taking a shortcut may be tempting and alluring but any wealth accumulated on a fraudulent foundation will not last. Or what is the point in making it big only to spend your years in jail like Hushpuppi?
Be Patient: Legit Wealth Takes Time
You need to be patient because it takes time to accumulate wealth. According to a report by Barclays, it takes an average of 17 years for individuals in the UK to become millionaires.
According to a study by Ramsey Solutions, it takes the average millionaire in the US about 28 years to accumulate a net worth of $1 million.
The average time it takes for an individual in China to accumulate a net worth of $1 million is around 10 years.
In essence it takes years of hard work to become legitimately rich. Those who seemingly become rich overnight like lottery winners, sports stars, actors, beneficiaries of a large inheritance are by far in the minority. They are the exception rather than the norm but because they are the ones mostly projected in the media, most people wrongly think these are the quickest routes to becoming wealthy.
Written by : Ayo Adebamowo
About the Facilitator – Ayo Adebamowo Ayo Adebamowo is an Author, Speaker and Tech Entrepreneur. He is the founder of MyMedicalBank, a health technology company promoting digital access to healthcare through creating innovative digital solutions.
A Nigerian-British national, Ayo has been named as one of the 70 Most Outstanding Healthcare Professionals in the United Kingdom.
Having started and run various businesses himself in healthcare, technology, agriculture and publishing, Ayo very much understands from a practical point of view the pains, struggles and mistakes aspiring and established business owners often make that delay their success. He therefore brings his wealth of experience coupled with years of experience and research to help other entrepreneurs succeed in their journey.
