When one millennial asked on Reddit, ‘Do you personally know any millennial millionaires?’ they probably weren't expecting hundreds of real answers. But the replies came fast and honest—yes, they exist, and they're not as rare as people might think.
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A large chunk of the thread was filled with stories of people who got into tech early. “The one from college went into computer science, ended up working at FAANG right out of school,” the original poster wrote. FAANG refers to Facebook, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Google. After more than 12 years of saving and investing, their friend hit millionaire status.
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Another added, “Every single engineer I know became a millionaire by around 30.”
Some became millionaires the long, slow way. “I am, but low level with a worth of about $1.5M,” one person wrote. “No magic sauce to my methods, I've just consistently contributed to my accounts over the years and busted my butt working on the house which is now worth 3x what I paid.”
Index funds and time were a recurring theme. “Once I hit around $150K I noticed exponentially growing,” a commenter shared. Others said they were well on their way just by investing early and often, even on modest salaries. “I'm a mechanical engineer… I just make good money but not incredible and always lived on about the US median or less,” one person said. “We've had an insane bull run since I graduated in the mid-2010s.”
Location mattered too. “A lot of my friends on the west coast are [millionaires], just because of higher salaries and housing,” one said. Others mentioned they felt wealthy in their communities even if they'd be average in places like the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Of course, plenty got there through inheritance or generational wealth. “I do. Their parent died, and they inherited a lot of money plus life insurance money, and sold the parent's $1.6M home,” one commenter wrote. Another admitted, “Me and all of my brothers, but just because our parents established trust funds for each of us.”
Still, many were self-made through business ownership. “Buddy is a convict and couldn't get a job. He started his own concrete business. It's hard work but he easily makes $600K a year.” Others succeeded in less expected ways: OnlyFans, YouTube, or founding companies and selling them off.
Some reminded others that being a millionaire today isn't what it used to be. “Literally about a third of the wealth of a millionaire in 1984,” someone pointed out. “Meaning you really need to have $3 million to have the lifestyle of a millionaire we think of.”
But there was a shared thread across most responses: they lived below their means, stayed consistent, and had a long time horizon. As one person put it, “Simple but not easy is really it.”
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