The spectacular success stories of 15 men who made it to the very very top

By Max Gunther

Max Gunther’s classic study of the super rich – now back in a new edition.

The Very, Very Rich and How They Got That Way provides revealing insights into the intriguing world of big money, recounting the spectacular success stories of 15 people who made it to the very, very top.

In 1972, Max Gunther invited readers to take a journey with him through a gallery of America’s most prominent millionaires. The inhabitants framed here are by no means merely ordinary millionaires, though – the minimum qualifying standard to be considered for inclusion was ownership of assets valued at $100 million or more (the equivalent of $650 million today).

This classic is now nearly 50 years old but its value endures, since the key steps on the route to wealth do not change with time. These secrets can be learned from, adapted and applied by anyone today.

On that original tulip exchange in Amsterdam, one of Max Gunther's ancestors bought a hundred dollars' worth of bulbs in 1632 and paid a witch to insure the investment's success. By 1636 (so the story goes), Gunther's ancestor's bulbs were worth $150,000. So much for pedigree.

Max Gunther was born in England and emigrated to the US when he was 11. He attended schools in New Jersey and received his B.A. from Princeton University in 1949. He served in the U.S. Army in 1950-51 and was a staff member of Business Week from 1951 to 1955. He then served as a contributing editor of Time for two years. His articles were published in several magazines and he wrote several books, including The Luck Factor, How to Get Lucky, The Zurich Axioms, Wall Street and Witchcraft, The Very, Very Rich and How They Got That Way, and Instant Millionaires.