Chapter 1: Wealth Is a Birthright

Chapter 1: Wealth Is a Birthright

The Billion-Dollar Investment Lecture: Wealth Is a Birthright

Hello everyone, welcome to the CLEC Investment and Financial Education Channel.

Today’s lesson is the very first investment class of 2026: “The Billion-Dollar Investment Lecture.”

In previous years, the title of our first class was always “The Hundred-Million-Dollar Investment Lecture.” But now, many of our students already have net assets exceeding NT$100 million. So continuing to use the “100 million” title feels somewhat outdated.

That’s why I changed the title to “The Billion-Dollar Investment Lecture.” Hopefully, in a few years, it will evolve into the “Hundred-Billion-Dollar Investment Lecture.”

If you resonate with this title, then keep watching. But if you think this title sounds exaggerated, or if you believe you do not deserve to own assets worth over a billion dollars, then you probably do not need to continue.

Because if you yourself believe that becoming wealthy is impossible, then you will never become wealthy.

Wealth is a birthright.

Only those who truly believe, deep in their hearts, that they can become wealthy will ultimately become wealthy.

My Background

Before we begin, let me briefly introduce myself.

Some people may still not know me well, even though our channel already contains thousands of videos.

I came from the technology industry and worked at Acer throughout my career, including within Acer America’s multimedia business group.

The foundational architecture behind the multimedia systems used in modern computers today was designed by me. Even the Microsoft Multimedia PC standard adopted my design concepts.

In addition, the modern Hibernate function on computers — the ability to power off and instantly resume where you left off — as well as the concept behind mobile apps preserving their previous state when reopened, are technologies covered by my patents.

I retired from Acer as a business group executive in 2004.

However, I have been teaching investment education voluntarily for about 22 years now, and I personally have roughly 40 years of investment experience.

Over these twenty-plus years of retirement, my assets have continued to grow larger and larger while being used. Therefore, I believe I am qualified to share with you the foundational logic of investing.

I am James.

Investment Risk and Channel Disclaimer

Now let’s go over the disclaimer.

The CLEC channel is entirely volunteer-based educational sharing. We are not licensed investment advisors, and I do not hold any financial licenses. Therefore, I cannot legally charge fees to manage your money.

If anyone uses my name, our channel logo, or pretends to represent our community in order to charge fees, manage investments, invite you into private groups, or ask for money — those are all scams. Please be extremely careful.

Investing carries significant risks. You may experience severe market volatility and losses at any time.

However, short-term market fluctuations are not the real risk.

The real risk is having a low long-term rate of return.

Because when everyone else becomes wealthy while you remain poor or underinvested, you effectively become poorer relative to society.

Many viewers and students are already familiar with our channel. After today’s first chapter, if you want to learn more, there will be many future chapters ahead.

If there is anything in this first chapter you would like to explore further, feel free to leave a comment below.

Our lecture notes will also be pinned in the YouTube comments section for everyone to download.

Core Concept: Are You a Laborer or a Capitalist?

The focus of Chapter One is this question:

“Are you a laborer or a capitalist?” What is the real difference between the life of a laborer and the life of a capitalist?

Most people grow up believing life should follow this path:

• Study hard.
• Get good grades.
• Attend a good university.
• Earn a master’s degree or even a PhD.
• Then find a good job to make money. But the truth is:

Working for a salary is not the only way to earn money.

There is another path:

Becoming a capitalist. When your capital is still small, of course you may need to begin as a laborer.

But from the very first day you receive your first paycheck, you can already begin setting aside part of your income — perhaps NT$10,000 or US$500 — and start investing.

At that moment, you become both a laborer and a capitalist simultaneously.

Over time, once the money you earn as a capitalist exceeds the money you earn as a laborer, you achieve financial freedom.

From Tenant Farmer to Landowner

What is the difference between a landlord and a tenant farmer?

A landlord sleeps until naturally waking up each day.

A tenant farmer — and even the tenant farmer’s children — must wake up at 3 or 4 AM to work in the fields.

The tenant farmer teaches the children:

“You must learn farming so you can survive.”

This is exactly like modern parents saying:

“Study hard so you can find a job in the future.”

It is the same mentality.

I hope everyone realizes: You are not destined to remain a tenant farmer forever. You are not destined to remain a laborer forever.

You should learn how to become a landlord. You should learn how to become a capitalist.

A tenant farmer should save part of the harvest, gradually accumulate assets, and eventually purchase land of his own.

At first, he may still farm for others. But as his land and assets grow, he no longer needs to work for others.

That is the path from tenant farmer to landowner.

The same principle applies today.

As a laborer, from the moment you receive your first paycheck, your salary should begin working for you as capital.

In places like Taiwan or Singapore, as long as you have salary income, you can apply for personal loans.

The purpose of borrowing is:

Invest first. Enjoy first. Pay later. Some people ask:

“Can’t I just slowly invest over time instead?”

Actually, it is not the same.

You may be far better off borrowing money over seven or ten years and investing a lump sum immediately.

If you borrow NT$1 million and invest it today, that money may double within five to seven years.

But if you slowly invest over time, after seven years your portfolio may still not even reach NT$2 million.

Capitalists must first learn how to borrow money intelligently.

The moment a young person starts working and understands investing, they should consider borrowing to buy index funds.

Not All ETFs Make You Wealthy

Eventually, you will learn what index funds are, and which ones actually create wealth.

Not every ETF will make you rich.

For example, if you buy VT — a total world fund — you may end up becoming poor relative to others.

Do not randomly buy funds. Do not assume all long-term investing leads to wealth.

When others grow their assets to NT$1 billion or NT$2 billion while you still have only NT$50 million, comparatively speaking, you are still poor.

That is why selecting the right assets matters.

This channel exists to teach you how to become a billionaire — or even a trillionaire.

Invest Early

Everyone must understand:

The earlier you invest, the better. If you never learn how to become a capitalist, then how are you different from a hardworking water buffalo?

You work until old age. You work until death. Yet you never accumulate wealth.

Will a water buffalo become rich? Of course not. It simply works every day.

If you never learn capitalism, then you are no different from the water buffalo.

Why do some people become capitalists while others remain laborers forever?

It is exactly what Rich Dad Poor Dad teaches.

If your father is a laborer or a tenant farmer, the knowledge he passes down will likely trap you in the same destiny.

I am a capitalist.

So I have the responsibility to tell you:

“Wealth is a birthright.” And I want to teach you how to become a capitalist.

The Laborer’s “Rat Race”

What is a laborer?

You study painfully for twenty or thirty years… only to finally enter what I call:

“The labor camp of laborers.” You may feel excited to get a prestigious job.

Your entire family congratulates you for joining a top company.

But many of these jobs are deeply miserable.

Every morning the alarm clock rings, and the first thing you see in your mind is your boss’s angry face.

Life inside the “labor camp” is painful.

Unless you truly love your work, I sincerely advise young people:

Choose work you genuinely enjoy. Because money should not primarily come from labor.

Money should come from investment.

You must become a capitalist.

Income earned through labor is tiny compared to the wealth created through capital.

Even if you join the most prestigious corporation, your salary is insignificant compared to the wealth of capitalists.

Do Not Buy a House Too Early

Laborers rush to work every day, work overtime every night, send their children to after-school programs, and live under endless pressure.

They buy luxury cars. They buy expensive houses. Then they suffocate under debt.

So let me say this very clearly to young people:

Do not buy a house too early. Housing is an extremely high-risk expense.

Too many people become financially trapped after buying a home.

The moment they lose their jobs, their entire lives collapse under mortgage pressure.

You would rather raise children than raise a house.

Only when buying a house feels as easy as buying slippers should you consider doing it.

Otherwise, you are gambling your entire life on one property.

Thirty years later, after finally paying off the mortgage, you may only own an aging house.

Meanwhile, truly wealthy people buy newer luxury properties using the bank’s money — not their own.

So do not trap yourself.

The Capitalist Lifestyle

The lifestyle of a capitalist is completely different.

Education becomes a pursuit of curiosity and meaning — not merely a way to earn money.

Reading becomes leisure. Learning becomes joy.

The true purpose of education is:

Serving society. A capitalist wakes up naturally each morning, enjoys a healthy breakfast, and lives peacefully and happily.

For over twenty years of retirement, this has been my life.

I wake up naturally every day. My assets continue growing. I enjoy coffee with my spouse. I spend time with my children. I eat meals with my parents. I travel with family.

That is the life of a capitalist.

Life becomes slow and meaningful.

Sometimes I only do one thing per day.

Even if I have two tasks, I may say:

“One today is enough. The other can wait until tomorrow.”

That freedom is priceless.

The Mission of Capitalists

Capitalists work to serve society.

They do not exchange labor and time directly for money.

My lifetime wealth did not come from salary. Salary income was merely a tiny fraction.

Look at Warren Buffett. Over 99% of his wealth came after age 50.

True wealth means:

• not depending on labor income,
• not worrying about money,
• and allowing capital to work for you. That is real capitalism.

Capitalism’s Greatest Gift

Wealth is a birthright. It is one of capitalism’s greatest gifts.

The system is publicly available to everyone.

Yet most people never understand it.

Traditional culture teaches:

• study hard,

• get degrees,

• find a stable corporate job,

• earn a salary for life. That path is acceptable — but it is not the optimal solution under capitalism.

Working alone will only earn you perhaps 1% of your lifetime wealth.

The remaining 99% comes from investing and becoming a capitalist.

And everyone can do it.

Happiness Is a Human Right

Besides “wealth is a birthright,” there is another core principle:

“Happiness is a human right.” You have the right to maintain happiness in:

• relationships,
• work,
• lifestyle,
• and daily life. Anything that destroys your happiness can be rejected.

Life is ultimately about pursuing meaningful happiness.

If people, relationships, or situations only bring suffering, you have the right to walk away.

Avoid the Poverty Trap: Do Not Buy Insurance

Now let’s examine the laborer’s endless “rat race.”

People:

• trade life for money,

• sacrifice their health,

• pay heavy taxes,

• buy expensive homes,

• and then buy endless insurance policies. Let me emphasize this clearly:

Do not buy insurance. Do not buy insurance. Do not buy insurance. Important things deserve repetition.

Savings insurance. Annuities. Cancer insurance. Long-term care insurance.

Avoid them all.

Your wealth itself is your greatest insurance. I have seen many poor people who bought large amounts of insurance. I have never seen someone become truly wealthy by purchasing endless insurance products.

Money Energy and Spiritual Energy At first, you may not come from wealth.

You may need to save aggressively before investing.

But here is something even more important:

Financial energy and spiritual energy reinforce each other. Without spiritual growth, you cannot keep financial wealth.

This is why lottery winners often become poor again.

Many highly paid professionals — lawyers, accountants, famous TV hosts — still end up miserable because they never learned how to become capitalists.

You must grow spiritually while building wealth.

Read books. Live simply. Cultivate peace of mind.

That emotional stability allows you to survive market volatility.

Minimalism and Meaningful Spending Minimalism does not mean being cheap.

It means only buying what truly matters.

Travel with family. Eat wonderful meals. Create memories.

But many physical objects eventually become garbage.

For example:

• bread makers,
• espresso machines,
• juicers,
• giant televisions,
• fancy appliances. Most become unused clutter.

Experiences, however, never disappear.

Family trips. Cruises. European vacations. Shared meals.

Those memories remain forever.

That is spiritual wealth.

Borrowing Is Advanced Capitalism In the future, I will teach you something even more advanced:

You can live comfortably without spending your own principal assets.

Borrowing is one of capitalism’s highest-level financial operations. If you do not understand borrowing, you may become wealthy — but you will never become ultra-wealthy.

Today, many of my expenses — travel, taxes, daily life — are paid through strategic borrowing and credit systems.

Meanwhile, my invested assets continue compounding.

That is advanced capitalism.

Preview of the Next Lesson In the next class, we will discuss index funds.

Take QQQ as an example.

When QQQ launched in 1999, it traded around $53. Today it exceeds $670.

That is roughly a 12-fold increase with an annualized return around 10%.

However, markets are highly volatile.

There were:

• the Dot-Com Bubble crash,
• the 2008 Financial Crisis,
• and many painful drawdowns. Sometimes investors waited 15 years just to break even.

That is the true risk of long-term investing.

Therefore, future lessons will teach:

• asset allocation,
• retirement cash flow management,
• and how to survive major market crashes safely.

Closing That concludes today’s first lesson.

If you are interested, please visit the CLEC Investment and Financial Education Channel on YouTube, where you can find the full “Value Investment Lecture” playlist as well as shorter video clips.

Today’s lecture notes will be pinned in the YouTube comments section.

Please support us by subscribing, liking, and commenting across all platforms.

You may also leave questions or thoughts about today’s topic:

“Capitalists vs. Laborers.” Your feedback may become part of future lessons.

You may also contact me directly via email:

• [email protected]
• [email protected] Next week, we expect to release the next lesson on Wednesday morning (Tuesday afternoon U.S. time).

In addition, our weekly Clubhouse live audio sessions every Saturday will continue as usual.

See you next week. Bye-bye!

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