Billionaire assets

Money itself is inert, and like an idea, it has no value unless it is actively employed or exchanged to get work accomplished. And just like an idea can be good or bad, money can be used constructively or destructively.
 
When money is used constructively, money creates or buys an asset. An asset is something that creates income, can appreciate in value, and sometimes allows for tax advantages like a piece of real estate or a business. I would add that the best assets to have are those that make you a return on your investment (i.e., puts money back in your pocket).

When money is used destructively or irresponsibly, it creates a liability. A liability is something that depreciates in value, increases your expenses, or in accounting terms, takes money out of your pocket. Credit card debt, also called consumer debt, is the best and most extreme example of a liability because you continue to pay for something that provides you no benefit. Cars, for example, are another liability because they decrease in value over time and you pay insurance and maintenance. Unlike the credit card debt, they do provide the benefit of transportation.
 
Building wealth is all about acquiring assets with assets. (A job is not an asset because you do not own it and you have no equity from it you can pass on to someone else like you can with a business or real estate). A person is an asset (or a liability!) and that’s why companies have human resource divisions — to locate and place their assets. What determines if people are assets (or liabilities) are two things everyone has: a body and a mind. From the neck down a person’s labor is worth about $20 per hour. So what is a person’s value from the neck up? Anywhere from zero to billions of dollars. Thought process is the only thing separating a janitor from a professor or a ditch digger from a billionaire. The most successful of us are very careful to assess how we spend our time and money.

How often do you take the time for sincere self-assessments? It could mean all the difference.