The new face of wealth

Move over Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. There’s a new top dog in down. And his name is Bernard. 🙂

With an estimated net worth of $193 billion, the LVMH chief has been recently crowned by Forbes as the wealthiest person in the world.

Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault is a 72 year old French investor, and chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, which is the world’s largest luxury goods company. His stock (LVMUY) soared after vaccine announcements in November of last year. And the company reported a 34% jump in revenue this year.

LVMH owns over 70 luxury brands in fashion, cosmetics, jewelry, and wines/liquor. You may have heard about some of its brands such as Hermès, Dior, Tiffany & Co, De Beers, Louis Vuitton, Céline, Marc Jacobs, Guerlain, Hennessy, Dom Pérignon, and my wife’s favorite store, Sephora.

LVMH’s stock price doubled from a year ago, outperforming the S&P 500 index. For full disclosure I own LVMUY shares in my retirement account. I also own Tesla and Amazon shares.

Strong entrepreneurs create the most wealth

Here’s a simple strategy I use to help me pick which stocks to buy.

I simply look at what the wealthiest people in the world are investing in. And not surprisingly, in most cases they are heavily invested in the companies that they’ve created. That’s why I’m primarily a buy and hold investor, especially when it comes to LVMUY, AMZN, TSLA, MSFT, FB, etc.

These incredibly talented entrepreneurs who started their companies are literally the richest people in the world for a reason. They are masters at creating value, and therefore wealth. They come up with the business plan, run the companies, and investors like you and I can simply go along for the ride by becoming part owners of their businesses.

This is why I’m a capitalist. I’m fundamentally a lazy person. But I can leverage the hard work and success of other people for my own benefit. 🙂

The road to becoming a billionaire

Most billionaires on the Forbes list achieved their financial gains by starting companies and working hard. But there’s an easier way to build a 10 figure portfolio. All you need is a tax advantaged account and a willing spouse.

Both the Roth IRA in the United States, and the TFSA in Canada are excellent tools to create tax free investment gains. In either case you can invest $6,000 into your account today. Let it grow tax free, and eventually take the money out tax free and penalty free. Certain restrictions apply but that’s the basic premise.

Using the Tax Free Savings Account, (TFSA) if you and your partner started contributing today, and max out your contribution room each year, you would be millionaires in just 25 years. 🙂 If you save more money and have multiple income streams you could even get there in just 10 years.

But how long would it take to accumulate one billion dollars?

That’s what I break down in my latest video on how to become a billionaire using the TFSA. In case you missed it, click here to watch it on YouTube or see below.

Double check your TFSA has a successor holder

If you have a spouse it’s really important to name him or her as your TFSA successor holder rather than just a beneficiary. I talk about this in the video. The difference is subtle, but the impact can be huge.

In simple terms, a beneficiary would get your money when you pass away in one lump sum and the tax free growth status ends there.

But a successor holder would just take over your TFSA with no tax implications. The transition is much easier. If your spouse makes a withdrawal he or she would get that contribution room back the next year. 🙂

How do you designate someone to be your beneficiary or successor holder? Usually there’s just a form you fill out.

For example, my TFSA is with TD bank. So I would go to TD’s forms and application page, and download and print the TFSA designation form.

Here’s an example if I choose the Successor Holder option. The Branch Number can be found on the My Accounts home page in EasyWeb.

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And then mail the completed form to the following address:

Client Transfer Services
3500 Steeles Avenue East
Tower 2, 2nd Floor
Markham, ON
L3R 0X1

That’s pretty much it. 🙂

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Random Useless Fact:

It’s becoming harder to keep up with the rising cost of living.