Best investment strategy to grow wealth can be actually quite simple: This American janitor made a fortune using it
Ronald Read, an American janitor and gas station attendant, who, when he passed away in 2014, left behind a $8 million fortune. What is truly remarkable is that he built this wealth while working jobs that never paid him more than a modest salary. The striking thing is that Read’s story isn’t about some magical investment strategy or discovering the next big thing. Instead, it’s about the fundamentals of investing I’ve written about in this column for years, with an extraordinary demonstration of their power.
ET Year-end Special Reads
What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024?
India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024
Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for
Working at a gas station for 25 years, and then as a janitor at JCPenney for another 17, Read invested consistently in what he understood. He focused on dividend-paying blue-chip companies, which were household names like Johnson & Johnson, CVS Health, and Procter & Gamble. He avoided trendy tech stocks and anything he couldn’t comprehend. When he died, his portfolio included 95 stocks across industries like healthcare, telecommunications, utilities and consumer goods.
What’s striking about Read’s approach is how it aligns with what I wrote about three months ago—the power of doing nothing. He was the epitome of the patient investor. When stacked up, his stock certificates were five inches high in his bank locker. These weren’t frequently traded positions, but long-term holdings he allowed to grow over decades.
His
