The 25th edition of Forbes list of the World’s Top Billionaires was out a week ago. It saw the biggest rise in the number joining this prestigious club. From the previous figures of 943 to 1210 billionaires; more and more it appears, have either learnt few tricks on what it takes to mint the bucks. Or perhaps this confirms the fact that maybe; there is enough of it for every one of them. To prove the facts, Carlos Slim Helu added a fat $20.5 billion to his fortune to stretch his lead at the top of the table. The tricks are evidently working for this telecommunication guru.

You and I may not be dollar billionaires but my hypothesis is that the fundamental principles are not a preserve of the Helus.

And so this development got me thinking. Do these billionaires put in the commensurate effort in time and energy, or lie awake, like you and I, trying to figure out how the next coins would get in the bag? The answer is;Nope!

Few of these worlds rich are individuals who inherited their wealth from family fortunes. That is given. But on the whole these are people who have overcome odds to build some of the prestigious and respected wealth empires from own efforts of simple investments prudence and entrepreneurial acumen. Mohamed Al- Fayed, the son of a poor school teacher features in the honor roll. And he began where most of us would rather not; peddling homemade lemonade to his classmates over break time, and as sewing machine salesman along the line. To make entry into the Fortune list, be reminded one must have quotable and quantifiable ethical wealth. This excludes the dirty billions of the kind made by drug barons and corrupt World dictators.

What then are the paths to wealth?

The first path to wealth is Employment. Simply this means trading ones time and skills for a paycheck, hopefully doing something we enjoy (a huge percentage of us wake up everyday to go to jobs we don’t like).In most circumstances, this is the common strategy and ideally where most of us starts, but the LEAST efficient path to Wealth Creation. Hardly do paychecks commensurate the level of skills and efforts. Besides tax regimes seems to punish higher salary levels. There is too, the attendant false comfort and ‘security’ that comes with assured monthly paychecks- same date next month with come with similar pay- a complacency that lulls our sense of judgment where financial prudence is concerned. Unfortunately, characteristically more is spent than earned as discipline is apt to be elusive with the said sense of security. Remember Parkinson’s Law of Money? The dynamics of global economy have additionally dealt serious blow to the notion of job security and skills upgrading, for those who take this path are soon hit by the realization that this too does not always earn commensurate remuneration.

Working as an employee therefore may provide convenience and comfort when it can, while it last but clearly your job cannot be the ultimate path to wealth.