<p>If you look at the Forbes list of richest Americans, you’re not going to find very many if any at all, who got rich from a “job,” i.e., from working for someone else. Many invented something and started a business that took off and became a multi-billion dollar enterprise; others just figured out a way to provide some product or service that was better, or cheaper, or more attractive than those already on the market, and built their business from there. Some got rich investing other people’s money and charging them hefty fees for it. Others got rich by buying and then developing land in the right place and at the right time. The wealthiest real estate developer on the list, Donald Bren, had the foresight to buy and develop land in Orange County, CA, in the 1960s. All these people had foresight, smarts, vision, gumption, determination, and hard work, but they were also lucky; they were pretty much all risk-takers whose gambles paid off, and probably for each one who succeeded at this level there were probably dozens of equally talented, hardworking people, but whose gambles didn’t pay off because they bet on the wrong thing, or perhaps even the right thing but at the wrong time or in the wrong place.</p>
<p>You don’t need bazillions to live comfortably in Manhattan. In most cities, though, the wealthiest people are often essentially like the Forbes wealthiest, but on a smaller scale. As Pizzagirl said, it’s the guy who started a chain of car dealerships or car washes, or who parlayed a unique restaurant idea into a regional or national chain. CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are handsomely compensated, but it usually takes a while (and some lucky breaks) to fight their way to the top, and once they get there their shelf-life tends to be pretty short. </p>
<p>In New York City, equity partners in mega law firms make a lot of money, but that’s always been a tough racket to crack, even more so these days. A lot of people high up in investment banking make big money, but many don’t last very long. And I imagine there are some top surgeons in high-demand specialties making pretty decent incomes, along with perhaps a few psychiatrists to the stars. But keep in mind that a lot of the wealthy people in Manhattan didn’t make their money there; they either made it elsewhere or inherited it, then gravitated to Manhattan because they could afford to live anywhere they chose, even Manhattan, and if you have that kind of money . . . well, why not? </p>
<p>Still, there are a lot of New Yorkers quietly building successful businesses from scratch. Crain’s New York Business ([Crain’s</a> New York Business](<a href=“http://www.crainsnewyork.com%5DCrain’s”>http://www.crainsnewyork.com)) annually profiles some of them. These are mostly people who found little niches where there was a need for a product or service to make people’s lives run a little smoother or be a little more enjoyable, and they seized that business opportunity and ran with it. It’s a pretty old-fashioned idea, but sometimes it just works.</p>