If you’ve never heard of Ronald Read, you’ll be forgiven. Though Read had a net worth of more than $8 million at the time of his quiet death in 2014 at the age of 92, he was hardly headline news. His life was so unassuming and everyday that few, if any, would have guessed at his staggering financial success.
Especially not if they knew his daily business.
After being the first of his family to graduate from high school and daily hitchhiking his way to campus for college, Read repaired automobiles at a small gas station for the better part of 30 years. He then swept floors as a custodian at J.C. Penney for another 17. His friends remember his main hobby as chopping firewood….