Okay, long story short. My main female character has just met my main male character, who is rich beyond belief. He is 36 years old, lives in a mansion in London, and has money to throw around. My question is - how did he make his money? Ideally he now lives a very quiet life and doesn't really work anymore (at least, it suits the plot if he is home all the time or only goes to work a couple of days a week) so I was thinking that he worked hard throughout his twenties but doesn't need to anymore. So... What job did he have? Any ideas?
It's not really necessary for FMC to understand his work, but I still want something believeable... I was going to say that he was a dot com millionaire or played with the stock market or something, but I know nothing about those things. Would that be logical? *shrugs* Unfortunately I don't know any millionaires to ask them!
Anyway, thanks for the help you lot!
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NaNo 2006: The Perfect Man - Chick Lit - 91,549 words!
NaNo 2007: Project Get The Ghost... ... ... YA Romantic Comedy... ...
50,718 / 50,000
Apr 30, 2008 - 13 24
Inheritance. Say his parents owned some newspaper, or law firm, or accounting company, and after they died he got all their money. lol nice and easy, that way.
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Apr 30, 2008 - 14 49
Thank you for the idea! Problem is that his parents are involved in the story! I also want him to have earnt his money, rather than just been given it...
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NaNo 2006: The Perfect Man - Chick Lit - 91,549 words!
NaNo 2007: Project Get The Ghost... ... ... YA Romantic Comedy... ...
22,645 / 50,000
Apr 30, 2008 - 17 50
He might have invented something, patented it and then sold it for an obscene sum of money to a big company.
Or he could have been one of the founding employees of a company that listed on the stock exchange. Because he was one of the founders he got a big chunk of shares, and when the stock price soared he sold his shares and made a fortune.
50,088 / 50,000
Apr 30, 2008 - 17 51
Invented some key bit of technology and patented it?
4,468 / 50,000
Apr 30, 2008 - 18 44
He could have done something very heroic and received a title of nobility or a gift from the crown (or both) as a reward. (This doesn't happen in the United States, but it can certainly happen in Britain!)
He could have written some bestselling novel. Or a bestselling memoir, if he did something interesting in his own right. He could be an artist whose work has won great acclaim and sells for high prices. He could own a business in food, clothing, furniture, jewelry, or something else that lots of people purchase.
He could be an editor of a major newspaper or magazine. He may not be rich beyond belief, but he'd have an income solidly in the six figures.
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Come to the fantasy genre. We have syllabubs.
35,349 / 50,000
May 5, 2008 - 08 06
They say that behind every great fortune is a great crime... jk, your character seems like a nice guy.
As to the origin of his fortune, if you don't want to go there, you can always simply not discuss the subject. Heatcliff from Huthering Heights goes from being an orphan to being very, very rich in a few years and the book never discusses where the money came from.
0 / 50,000
May 7, 2008 - 10 34
Has to be something entrepreneurial. If he was working for someone else, he wouldn't be making much money, especially in his 20s when he hadn't yet climbed the ladder.
- Invent some technology - like a Segway scooter, or a part that is used in machinery (what do his parents do? if they're involved in an industry he may have an inside scoop about what to invent - like if his father is a surgeon he might want to invent medical devices)
- Create some computer program - depending on how old the character is, if he was in his 20s in the 90s, he could have sold a website or a computer program for millions of dollars; or perhaps he sold some social networking website in recent years - sites like Facebook have sold for a billion dollars
- Win the lottery - not really earned by merit, but maybe he did some honorable thing for a person who couldn't afford to pay him so just bought him a lottery ticket as thanks
- Write a set of bestselling books - it's not common to make millions of dollars on your first book unless you're already famous, but if he'd written at least 4 books and sold film rights to a couple of them, he could be making lots of money from his books. Keep in mind that writers earn $1-3 per book sold, and give 15% of that to their agent and then another chunk (as much as 50%) to taxes. Film rights are usually the big money-maker - a young author won't necess make a million bucks, but might sell film rights for $50,000 or $100,000, and if the movie is a hit then people will buy the book and they'll start to recognize the author's name and buy the other books. Then the film rights for the next book might sell for $500,000 or a million.
- Win a million dollars in a reality TV show - a million won't get you that far - a million will buy you a nice house in London but nothing like a mansion. But if he could parlay his instant fame to other money-making ventures - selling an autobiography, hosting some other TV show, etc, he could save up a nest egg. Then he could escape from the spotlight after people start to get sick of him and he has a very public fallout with a female celebrity, etc.
- Pro athlete - he could have a contract for millions of dollars a year when in his twenties, plus what he could make from sponsorships. He doesn't have to be an outgoing person to be in the public eye if he has a skill, and then it might explain why he's reclusive - wants to get away from the spotlight after he retires.
- Real estate investment - buying and selling properties, renting apartments - but it's hard to make significantly more than a million without getting into development.
- Hollywood actor or former chid star
- Singer/musician