Mark Moss lost $25 million in the 2008 financial crisis and realized his money didn't vanish, it transferred to someone else. He spent the next twelve years studying how wealth moves through the financial system to make sure he'd be on the winning side next time.
I got more than punched in the face, I got knocked out. I was an entrepreneur, real estate investor, and had figured out how to make a lot of money. I had a couple businesses, $25 million in real estate development, but when 2008 came, I got hit really, really, really hard. You know, Mike Tyson says everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. I got more than punched in the face, I got knocked out. It made me go, shoot, I'm pretty good at making money, but like, I don't understand this whole financial casino thing going on. And so then I realized it was a lack of my own education, and that's where I had to dig in. So that kind of changed everything for me, and I just spent all my time figuring this out. Being kind of competitive, I learned this key concept that money doesn't disappear, transfers. So when I lost my wealth, somebody got my wealth. Correct. And that didn't sit well with me. And I vowed to never let that happen again. And as a matter of fact, to be on the receiving end of wealth transfers. And so for 12 years I've studied wealth transfers.
