The inspiration for this blog post came from a conversation I was having with my cousin. The conversation was very insightful, to say the least. Before I go into the inspiration of our conversation, I will paint a picture of who she is for context.

Paige is a twenty-three-year-old young woman born and raised in Canada by Jamaican parents. She’s far beyond her age in thought and conversation and has been like this ever since she was a child. You would think her maturity would make her dull, but that’s far from the truth. She’s more than capable and exhibits the ability to have carefree, lighthearted fun. One of the things I admire about her is her passion for human rights. Her empathy is not limited only to groups she identifies with but any individual that is marginalized and taken advantage of.

She’s not without fault. She could care less about the pursuit of wealth and the knowledge a person must acquire to accomplish that goal. It is at this point where we butt heads and where I’ve made it a life mission to change her mind.

She is not without resistance and enjoys showing me the flaws in the ideal of pursuing wealth. One of the things she enjoys is taking shots at billionaires and the flaws within capitalism. So I come up with a list of reasons why my beloved cousin should become a billionaire.

1. Representation

According to Forbes, there are approximately 2,095 billionaires in the world in 2020. 234 are women, and only 3 of those women are Black. The three women are Oprah Winfrey, Isabel Dos Santos, and Folorunso Alakija. As you can see, Black women are grossly underrepresented in the billionaire group. 

If Paige should become a billionaire, that would be one more Black woman added to the group. This will inspire more Black girls and women to aspire to become a billionaire. The three Black women only make up 0.001431% of billionaires, which is half of, half of, half of, half of, half of 1%. The probability for a Black woman to become a billionaire is pretty slim, but the interpretation of numbers can be deceptive.

Probability tells a story of what is and not what can be. A 1% chance of accomplishing something extremely difficult becomes 0% if a person doesn’t try. There’s a saying that “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” If Paige takes the journey to pursue something that she doesn’t identify with, such as becoming a billionaire, it will provide the opportunity to grow in ways that are unimaginable.

2. More Possible Today

It’s much more possible today for a person to become a billionaire than it was 20-30 years ago. I’m well aware of the fact that it is much more difficult for some people to become a billionaire than others, and I’m also aware that race and gender don’t paint a complete picture of why that is so.

The number of billionaires in the world in 1996 was 423, according to the website hypertexbook.com. That’s a 20% increase over 20 years to the number of billionaires we have today. That is a good sign for anyone who wants to become a billionaire today.

Globalization and the internet are among the many reasons for the increase in the number of billionaires over the years. The internet provides the opportunity for anyone to create a product or service online if they have access to the internet, and globalization provides the opportunity to sell to anyone anywhere in the world if they have access to the internet.

3. Influence, Advocacy & Credibility

Influence, advocacy, and credibility are among the most important reasons why Paige should want to become a billionaire. Influence is the ability to have an effect on people. Paige already possessed the ability to have a positive effect on people due to the sincerity of her character. If she should become a billionaire, the positive influence she already has on people will be one hundred times stronger and reach a million times more people.

With the increase in influence, Paige’s impact in advocating for causes she feels passionate about will be stronger. Whatever the cause, it will get more attention because she would have more power to bring those causes to the forefront of society’s conversation.

Sometimes compassionate people feel like they are screaming in the dark when they talk about any injustice in the world. Many times they don’t have a platform or something that commands people to stop their lives and pay attention to them. Being a billionaire commands attention and gives people credibility even if they are not an authority in what they are talking about.

We listen to Bill Gates when he talks about infectious diseases even though he is not a doctor. We also listen to Elon Musk share his opinion that he thinks our reality is a simulation even though he’s not a child. The title of a billionaire commands credibility even if it’s not deserved.

4. Free Your Lineage From The Trap Of The 9-5

Some people believe that becoming a millionaire or a billionaire will give them so much money that they don’t have to work anymore. These people believe that there is a magic number where if you achieve it, you no longer have to worry or care about carefully managing money anymore. There is no amount of money that careless handling can protect a person from. A person can achieve the billionaire status and lose it all by being careless.

Mike Tyson’s net worth was once $300 million, but now it’s $2 million. $2 million is better than being broke, but it’s faulty to think that a person can have so much money that they can’t lose it all.

Another example of poor money management is Eike Batista. He is a Brazilian businessman that once boasted the title of the richest man in Brazil with a net worth of 35 billion dollars in 2013. Now his net worth is negative 1 billion dollars.

To make it clear, being a billionaire won’t free anyone from the responsibility of being diligent with their money. If Paige should become a billionaire, it would free her offspring from the bondage of believing that a 9-5 is the only way to earn money. One of the big issues with a 9-5 is that it leaves you with little left over from covering basic needs and leisure. If there’s a billionaire in the family, it would more likely encourage others in the family to abandon the 9-5 and pursue other things.

Depending on how a person makes their wealth, it will more likely become the family business. Other members of the family tend to follow in the same direction as the person who made the wealth. If Paige should make her wealth in politics, fashion, or finance, there’s a great chance several generations from now will follow in the same direction. The children of actors become actors, the children of politicians become politicians, and so on.

5. Gain More Time

The average life expectancy in the United States is 78.54; in Canada it is 82.25. It’s a shame that we spend ⅓ of our time earning money so we can afford to live on a planet we were born on. If most are lucky, they’ll get to retire at 65 with a pension or social security. You’ll get to enjoy all of the hard work of your youth in your golden age. It’s sad that they refer to the period in a person’s life when they are considerably aged as golden.

The goal of achieving great wealth is not to acquire more things but to free yourself from the 9-5 and gain more time. Time is the scarcest resource that can’t be renewed. Many people take time for granted until they are running out of it.

7. Perks

 You can buy whatever you want. You may not be able to buy happiness, but you sure can buy the path to happiness. You have the time and resources to find out what ails you and work on it. At the same time, you must have the desire to be happy and the willingness to work towards it. What good are all the resources to talk to the best psychologist if you’re not willing to seek help?

This is another perk I know Paige will enjoy. Eating out can take a toll on a person’s pocketbook, especially if they are making a little over minimum wage. She can dine at all of the finest restaurants in the world, and the cost will be a drop in the bucket.

Even though I put traveling under the category of perks. The benefits of traveling go further than vacationing, nice beaches, and five-star hotels. One of the conditions that comes with living in the West, especially North America, is that sometimes we are not aware of all the happenings of the world. Even though Paige’s bubble is not as opaque as many of ours, it’s still a bubble nonetheless. With Paige being a billionaire, she would get access to every inch of the world in ways that most people will never have access to. This will provide the benefit of interacting with other people and cultures, which will provide an immense level of growth.

10. Bragging Rights

I must admit the bragging rights are for me. I’m not the type to take any credit for anyone’s achievements publicly, but privately is a whole different story. If I have anything to do with Paige becoming a billionaire, better believe I’m taking some credit privately.

Bragging rights will not only be limited to taking some credit for her achievement of wealth, but I will also be able to boast that I know a billionaire personally. Not many can say that they are related to a billionaire or have the contact information of a billionaire.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a billionaire is extremely difficult; approximately only 2,000 exist out of 7.8 billion people. It’s even more difficult for Black women, who now make up only three out of the 2,000 billionaires.

These numbers are discouraging, but probability is not causation. Many people do not want to be a billionaire. They either believe it’s impossible or they fear the responsibility that comes with having so much money. Some people just don’t want to put in the work. According to CNBC.COM, 55% of billionaires are self-made. That’s approximately 1,000 people who didn’t inherit their wealth. 

I say all of that to say this. All of that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what the probability is of anyone becoming a billionaire. What matters are how strongly you believe in yourself and the conviction of your purpose. Many people gain great wealth on their way to fulfilling their purpose.

According to heavy.com Madam C.J. Walker, a Black woman born in 1867, died in 1919 with a personal net worth of $600,000, which is equivalent to 8.8 million. She made her wealth in the beauty industry. I doubt she set out to be wealthy, but nonetheless she did. Let me be clear: this is not a justification for the argument that many ignorant people like to use. Many ignorant people try to defend a system that is designed to oppress Black people and other minority groups by saying if one person can do it, then all should be able to. They imply and state outright that others are lazy for not achieving as much as the others in that same oppressed group. Using Madam C.J. Walker as an example is not a defense for a biased system; instead, it’s a symbol of hope that when you believe in yourself and your mind is free from all constraints put on by an oppressive world, anything is possible.

Many people can benefit from the pursuit of becoming a billionaire, not only my cousin Paige. If you aim for billions and get millions, that’s still a great accomplishment. Many people who become billionaires weren’t pursuing money but were out trying to change the world for the better, and a billion dollars was just a byproduct.