Picking up where the smash bestseller The Millionaire Next Door leaves off, Getting Rich in America reveals eight simple, practical, commonsense rules anybody can follow to save a million dollars--without sacrificing quality of life. Based on years of research studying self-made millionaires, and a phi-losophy that has proven successful for the authors, internationally acclaimed economists Dwight R. Lee and Richard B. McKenzie unveil a profound truth in the quest to become wealthy: Getting rich is a choice--and choosing to be rich, especially in America, has never been easier. With its emphasis on achieving balance, Getting Rich in America is filled with exercises and easy-to-execute calculations that reveal how the "little things" really do add up and practical tips for saving and making your money work harder--so you don't have to. " Getting Rich in America has plenty of inspring anecdotes.... [It's] perfect for someone just starting out, but even late bloomers... may also be able to save more money." -- USA Today "This comprehensive, pragmatic primer on personal finance rivals The Millionaire Next Door in its ability to show anyone how to get rich in America." -- Stephen Pollan, author of Die Broke and Live Rich Dwight R. Lee is a professor at the College of Business at the University of Georgia. He lives in Atlanta. Richard B. McKenzie is a professor at the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine. He lives in Irvine, California. Rule 1 Think of America as the Land of Choices Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, renowned for being the country's most successful nerd, has really made it in America. In the process of creating the world's most widely used operating system for personal computers, plus a growing array of other programs, he has amassed a fortune exceeding $50 billion. At the same time, he has created an unprecedented amount of wealth for other Americans (plus hundreds of millions of citizens of other countries around the world) who either workfor Microsoft or have benefited from its products at work and at home. By making it in this country, Gates has all the trappings of business power and personal fortune that even his well-to-do parents could never have imagined. When he speaks, everyone listens--the business public, the media, and (because of his presumed computer industry market power) the antitrust lawyers in the U.S. Department of Justice. He lives in a modern-age electronic castle on a hillside outside Seattle. Few Americans would not want a portion of his good fortune, which he continues to, build. Neither should they want him to stop building his fortune. There are, gains for everyone in his efforts to improve his products and best the competition. Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan has also definitely made it in America. And while he has no where near Gates's vast fortune, he isn't worried about his financial future. He has bankrolled his considerable basketball prowess into a sizable empire of business projects and endorsements, including soft drinks, cologne, a chain of restaurants, and, of course, his signature footwear and apparel line, making him worth 'hundreds of millions of dollars. Like Gates and just about everyone else who makes it big, he has surely given more value to his consuming--and adoring--public than he has taken in accumulated wealth. Ordinary Americans, Extraordinary Accomplishments When we think of people who have made it in America, the names of Gates and Jordan-and maybe other less widely known Americans on Fortune, magazine's list of the country's four hundred richest--come quickly to mind. We've heard and read a great deal about the usual cadre of truly wealthy business and entertainment celebrities, such, as Warren, Buffett, Michael Dell, Barbra Streisand, Ted Turner, Linda Wachner, Garth Brooks, Donald Trump, Sharon Stone, and Tom Cruise. This book, however, is not about how the financial elite, made it in this country-nor is it about how you can live like them, or be as rich as they' are. Wish on! The, focus of this book is on ordinary people of far more modest, means and talents and how they have "made it" and will continue to do so. Rather than the rich and famous, the people you will meet in this book are, people like Ron and Pam Jones, owners of Handy Andy,Janitorial Services in Plano, Texas, who have done well with their business mainly because of the principles they were taught as children. Ron Jones notes that he grew up in a family where hard work was an ethic: "I guess it goes back to what my uncle, used to tell me all the time when I was growing up: If you want your prayers answered, get off your knees and hustle. The book is also about the Huynhs, Le Thi and Hai Minh, immigrantsfrom Vietnam, who, started from scratch and developed Fulton Seafood business in Houston. They believed in the American Dream, that hard work pays off; as it has for them. It's about-what Patrick ]Kelly has accomplished. H