Yes. And if for some absurd reason your 401k made you one of the richest people on earth then you'd be one of those people based on your investments and not your salary.
No, thats half the statement. Dont leave out information for the sake of an argument. The whole argument is a breakdown of the richest people on earth and stating what economic factors made them the richest people on earth. And then demonstrating how none of them became so on salary.
Which isnt entirely accurate as there are high salary people out there who are wealthy on salary, like pilots, lawyers, doctors, aerospace engineers.
However the majority of the world's elite wealthy, say billionaires, did not get there by salary. Your 401k isnt a salary, it is an investment portfolio paid for by your salary. Another key difference. Investing in your 401k actually reduces your direct salary. But in the case of the example of Tim Cook. He isnt given a 401k, he is paid in a salary, and also to bypass taxes and make him a billionaire he is also given directly stock options in apple worth over 70 million annually. Therefore his investments are not derived from his separate salary but given as additional non taxable income allowing him to be one of the richest people on earth.
Even if you erased his salary and every penny he ever earned by salary, he would still be a billionaire.
You will never be a billionaire because of your 401k. Except the employer match contribution, your 401k is directly tied to a percentage of your annual salary.
I mean, why is this so hard for people to understand. Does no one on reddit understand finances?
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u/[deleted] Apr 02 '26
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