Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue from certain programs through the links below.
Money has a way of distorting expectations. Once it comes out, people start assuming that other rich people must be doing something smarter.
Personal Finance Expert Dave Ramsey It is said that this assumption is usually wrong.
He made the point in a lengthy interview with the co-founder of private investment and advisory firm Acquisition.com Alex HolmozYouTube channel with videos titled “How to Get Rich”. While the conversation covered everything from business structures to debt, Ramsey returned to a core idea: Rich people don’t make complicated investments. Their investment ideas are clear.
Don’t miss:
“When you get money, something happens,” Ramsey said. “You think everyone with money is good at investing. But I’ve found that almost no one is.”
Instead, he said, rich people tend to be “very primitive.” That’s not a putdown. This is a strategy.
“I mean, a lot of the people I talk to are farmers,” Ramsey explained. “You know what they bought? A lot of land. They bought dirt, man. That’s it. Just dirt.”
Ramsey recalls meeting a farmer who owned 8,000 acres—not because he was seeking status, but because it was all he knew. “It was the most comfortable and natural thing in the world for him,” Ramsey said. Farmers are not playing asset class roulette. He insisted on the most intuitive move he could make: landing.
This is not just a problem for farmers. The same pattern appears across professions, Ramsey said. He once spoke to a car dealer who had amassed a fortune by collecting classic cars — something most people would consider risky or indulgent. But it worked for him because he deeply understood the value of what he was buying.
“Invest your money into something you love, something you understand,” Ramsey told Holmozy. “Don’t throw money into something because it sounds complicated. Because you’re ready to lose your ass.”
Hot: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will let you Become a host in just 10 minutes, with a minimum investment of as little as $100.
Ramsey believes this is where most people go wrong. They confuse complexity with intelligence. They hear terms like “limited family partnership” or “triple net lease” and think these are ways to build wealth, without realizing that many of the country’s wealthiest people keep their strategies extremely simple.
“I started making money for the first time,” Ramsay said of his own investing journey. “I thought, I need to do a double backflip limited house partnership or some shit that I don’t even know what they are — but if I can make that much money, I should probably do one.”
But after talking to wealthy people who actually did it, he realized the common denominator wasn’t the asset class. It’s confidence in something they understand.
Ramsey’s original investment example echoed another strategy he’d heard firsthand—he simply drew a 30-mile radius around the edge of a growing city and purchased land there. “Then I waited 20 years,” the man said. That’s the whole plan.
See also: Why billionaires like Warren Buffett prefer real assets to speculation –Institutional real estate now available for personal use
Not everyone has access to land, but the principle holds. If someone knows about real estate but doesn’t want the responsibility of property management, platforms like Arrived allow them to invest in a rental home for as little as $100. Attraction is not leverage or flash. It’s knowing what you have—and why you have it.
For Ramsey, the danger comes when people abandon their instincts and give in to hype or external pressure. “You trust a guy who has no money and he’s trying to sell you something,” he said in the interview.
Even Ramsey, who made a fortune in real estate, says it’s not about the tools but the marriage of money and understanding. This is what allows wealth to grow over time without constantly chasing the next big thing.
Ramsey said getting rich isn’t about sounding smart. It’s about something that feels clear, repeatable, and authentic.
He believed that primitiveness was not the opposite of wealth. That’s how things often start.
Read next: Invest in a gaming marketplace backed by early Zynga and PayPal investors— Starting at $300.
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles change, industries rise and fall, and no investment performs well in all circumstances. That’s why many investors are looking to diversify with platforms that offer real estate, fixed income opportunities, professional financial guidance, precious metals and even self-managed retirement accounts. By spreading your risk across multiple asset classes, you can more easily manage risk, earn stable returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied solely to the fortunes of one company or industry.
Fund rises
Fundrise has more than a decade of experience managing billions of dollars in private markets for hundreds of thousands of clients. Their venture capital products allow individual investors Obtain investment opportunities in private technology companies with low investment minimums, diversified holdings and a long-term growth focus before public markets. For investors looking to branch out beyond stocks and bonds, Fundrise offers an easy way to get into private technology companies starting at $10.
Rad Artificial Intelligence
Rad AI’s award-winning artificial intelligence technology helps transform chaotic data into actionable insights, enabling the creation of high-performing content with measurable ROI. Their Regulation A+ product allows investors to participate At $0.85 per share, with a minimum investment of $1,000, it provides the opportunity to diversify your portfolio into early-stage AI innovations. For investors looking to get into the fast-growing artificial intelligence and technology industries, Rad AI offers an opportunity to get under the hood of the data-driven growth story.
arrived
Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing easier with a lower barrier to entry. Investors can Buy shares in single-family rentals and vacation homes for as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without directly managing the property.
EnergyX
As demand for electric vehicles and energy storage grows, lithium has become a key driver of the clean energy transition and an untapped asset class for many investors. EnergyX’s Lithium Ion Transport and Separation (LiTAS) technology provides a “brine-to-battery” solution, giving early stage investors a way to gain exposure to the lithium production and energy industry. Investments in EnergyX start at $1,000 and investors can Diversify beyond traditional stocks and bonds into the fast-growing green economy.
lightstone
Lightstone DIRECT gives accredited investors direct access to institutional-grade real estate, going beyond typical crowdfunding platforms. By eliminating the middleman, it aligns the interests of investors and managers while delivering a $12B+ portfolio spanning multifamily, industrial, hospitality, retail, office and life sciences properties. This approach allows investors Diversify your investment portfolio across multiple property types and marketsget professional-grade real estate exposure without the fees or dislocation common on other platforms.
field
Domain Money helps professionals and families making over $100,000 a year Take control of your finances with personalized guidance from CFP professional coaches. By delivering tailored financial planning, Domain empowers users to make smarter, more confident decisions about investing, retirement, taxes and overall wealth strategies.
game flip
Gameflip is a next-generation marketplace where users can buy, sell, and “flip” digital gaming items. Backed by Silicon Valley venture capital firms, PayPal and a visionary EA co-founder, the platform has generated more than $200 million in lifetime sales and a community of 7.4 million users. For investors looking to get involved in early-stage startups and the growing gaming economy, Gameflip provides investment opportunities in high-growth digital markets outside of traditional investing.
Image: Shutterstock
Dave Ramsey This article states that rich people are not “sophisticated” when it comes to investing – they are just “very primitive” and buy land. “They’ve Got Dirt, Man. “That’s It” originally appeared on Benzinga.com
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. all rights reserved.