Quora Answer: With All the Available Resources on Wealth Creation, Will There be More Millionaires?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “There are more personal finance books and online sources than ever, that give advice on wealth creation.  Does this mean that there will be more millionaires and successful people in the future?  Or does this mean that it will be even more competitive?”

Firstly, many of these resources are either gimmicks, or outright nonsense.  And many of the resources which are genuine are not exactly accessible.  Many of them assume some level of familiarity with the finance industry or finance.  Or, they are applicable to specific market conditions that may not arise for the reader, or simply be unavailable to them.

Secondly, assuming people are able to imbibe and understand, we are assuming that they are able to apply these lessons, which requires a combination of opportunity and discipline.  People may develop discipline, but opportunity is a rare commodity, and may not be available to most people without the requisite networking.

That all being said, there will be more millionaires simply because of a combination of economic growth and inflation.  A million dollars is not what it used to be.  As the world gets more educated and people search for opportunities, there will be more successful people.  This is because the developing world is hungry, not because of some books and websites. The main drivers of financial growth are entrepreneurship and networking.