Image: Josiah True/ WENN.com

When most of us think about being wealthy, we think about the blood, sweat and tears that go into earning those millions (or billions, depending on how lofty your aspirations are). But some (mostly rich people) say it’s your attitude about money that is the determining factor in how rich you’re destined to be.

This article from Business Insider breaks down the differences in the ways that the rich and the middle class think about money. According to Steve Siebold, the author of How Rich People Think who conducted 30 years worth of interviews with millionaires, “most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money.” This prevents the acquisition of lots o’ cash.

A few things jump out right away because they ring true.

“Average people earn money doing things they don’t love. Rich people follow their passion.” If you take a look at any of the profiles of successful businesswomen we publish here on Madame Noire Business, you’ll see that they always refer to their work as a passion, making their businesses a true labor of love.

“Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.” Regular folks will go to the mall, buying out the stores, and get their nails and hair done weekly so they look good when they go out on Saturday night. Meanwhile, creditors are blowing up their phones looking for overdue payments. When you’re rich, you can have a lot of stuff and still be rich enough to afford more stuff. When you’re middle class or working class, you cannot. If you live within your means, you’d be surprised by how much you can ultimately have.

“Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.” Half of this statement is spot on. I wouldn’t necessarily give rich people credit for being scholars. (Umm… Kim Kardashian?) But the overall gist is valid. People will talk about their favorite reality show with a blow-by-blow, scientific precision that comes with careful viewing. Ask them about that last episode of Frontline or 60 Minutes. Crickets.

“Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.” I wouldn’t say that anyone finds “comfort in uncertainty.” But successful people understand that there’s a level of risk that comes with innovation. And from that risk, one can reap great rewards. Look at Oprah and OWN. She quit a bonafide hit TV show to start something new and precarious. And though she has had a number of financial losses and setbacks (coupled with blistering criticism and declarations of failure), she marches on. Will the celebrity interviews and new programming do the trick? We don’t know. But O keeps going. And maybe sometime soon, we’ll look back at OWN’s path to ratings triumph.

But there are some things on this list that were just pulled from the air.

“Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.” While you shouldn’t be a greedy jerk no matter what this article says (and it does say that in a couple of spots), rich people aren’t the only ones who think it’s bad to be poverty-stricken. Everyone thinks poverty is bad. Don’t be dumb.

“Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.” Many people that you see making their morning commute also have a Powerball ticket in their pocket, especially when the jackpot gets into the hundreds of millions of dollars. This despite the knowledge that they probably won’t win. You can hope for a lucky break and work hard to make your own success at the same time.

“Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.” When was the last time you heard a (good) parent tell their kid, “When you grow up, you’re going to work hard and if you’re lucky, you’ll keep your head above water”? Trying to lay the foundation for your children to live a rich life isn’t something that just those with money do.

“Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.” Really?! No. Just no.

Overall, what the comments get at is money, no matter how much you have today, should be used to earn more money tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with nice things and enjoying some time off. But if you’re doing something you love, you don’t mind spending a great deal of time working at it until it’s setting you and your family up for today and for future generations.

What do you think of this list of rich people traits? Does it sell middle class people short?

Being the son of the wealthiest hip-hop head in the world has its perks if you didn’t know. No need to do cheesy promotional photos when you can just be the face of the boy’s line of clothing for your father’s uber-popular clothing company. Christian Combs, Diddy’s first child with Kim Porter, had the awesome challenge of doing so to help promote the Spring/Summer collection, and he aced it as far as I can tell. The 14-year-old looks exactly likes his pops, and seems to have a very similar personality as the shiny suit man as well. Cute kid indeed, and let’s hope he’s inherited his dad’s business savvy! Check out a few more images from the shoot below and tell us if Christian is a spitting image of the D, the I, the D, the D…and the Y.

And in jet-setting cuteness, Jennifer Hudson and her little man, David Otunga Jr., were seen earlier in the week going through LAX. The funky-fresh dressed kid was looking adorable in his Knicks hat and big ‘ol spectacles as they prepared to fly the friendly skies. Check out more of the cute kid and his animal-print loving mom below!

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Photos of Christian courtesy of concreteloop.com.

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If there was ever a reason to start taking lottery pools at your job more seriously, the winning pool of two Baltimore teachers and an administrator should be proof that you can’t miss out next time.

The three educators stepped forward on Monday to collect their winnings, but did so anonymously: they wore sweatshirts, gloves and hid behind one of their checks. I guess they were smart enough to realize that the minute they let the world know who they were, the sooner the “world” (and all of its many cousins) would want to get broke off too.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the individuals aren’t planning to spend their new millions on extravagant and wasteful things. After taxes, all three winners will attain $35 million in the next few days, which they plan to use on sensible things like new homes, investments (BORING! I’m kidding…), a European vacation, and probably the best idea: a college fund for one of the winner’s children.

After the big lottery on March 30, a woman by the name of Mirlande Wilson, a single mother of seven kids who played the lottery in a pool with her McDonald’s co-workers (but bought extra tickets for herself, alone), tried to claim that she was a winner. Then she wasn’t so sure if she was, causing a great deal of stress for her co-workers and lottery officials. In the end, she wasn’t the winner, we all learned the importance of making photocopies of the tickets we buy in pools, and these three winners shared a good laugh: “They were humored by it,” says Maryland Lottery Director Stephen Martino. Now that the three winners from Maryland stepped forward yesterday, and the winner from Kansas stepped up last week, the last baller winner from Illinois is the only person left to come forward.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Maryland winners are two women (one in her 20s, the other in her 50s), and a man (in his 40s), and before winning the lottery, each were said to have been working second jobs to pay the bills. Now that they don’t need a second or primary job, I’m wondering if they will chuck the deuces to their education positions? I love the kids just as much as the next person, but with $35 million??? Geez…I think I’d already be on my way to backpack through Europe. Congratulations!

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Its official three winners will share a $656 million windfall from the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The winners  bought their lucky tickets at a 7-Eleven store in Maryland, a Motomart convenience story in Illinois and somewhere in northeast Kansas, lottery officials said on Saturday.

Each of the winners will gets $105.1 million in cash after taxes roughly. The winning numbers announced at the drawing in Atlanta were 2-4-23-38-46 and Mega Ball 23. Winners could receive either a one-time payment of their share or take it in 26 annual installment payments. Read full story  here…

If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

The hit reality show, ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ certainly took its name from the infamous phrase ‘keeping up with the Joneses’.  As a large number of women, and some men, aspire to look and act like the three reality stars, it seems as if more people are attempting to ‘belong’ by buying their way into a social class, even if they can’t afford it.

The phrase, which originated in the early 1900’s from a comic strip in newspapers, used the name ‘the Joneses’ as a generic term for neighbors. The phrase simply meant to strive to keep up with your neighbors in both spending and in social standing. And while this phrase was coined years ago, it’s probably more relevant now than ever with the obsession of celebrities and reality stars’ lives; but  possessing a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality isn’t limited to your obsession with your favorite Basketball wife. It could be the woman at your job (who clearly earns more money than you), but you somehow feel compelled to outshine her.

This mentality usually leads to living above your means in efforts to buy your way into not just approval but to gain some sort of admiration. While most of us won’t admit that this behavior is a result of the need of approval, it surely isn’t an attitude of the most confident, content person.

So how do you tell if you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses?  Here are seven signs that you’re living a life that is way above your means.

Has anyone else ever seen the film, War of the Roses, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner? If you haven’t, here is the quick summary: it’s about a couple caught up in a bitter divorce who refuse to give up the house they both once lived in while happily married. To get the other person out, they do the most ratchet of things, and in the end [SPOILER ALERT], they wind up destroying the house because of all their beefing. Well, it looks like we might have a real life War of the Roses on our hands, folks.

According to the folks over at TMZ, Deion and Pilar Sanders will continue to share the same residence, even as they go through their divorce proceedings. Even worse, they will continue to live together after Deion’s oldest daughter publicly called Pilar out for allegedly cheating and being a bad mother (again, come get your kids!), embarrassing her stepmother. However, they might be able to stay out of each other’s way, and the kids can even keep their distance too, as the house that the soon-to-be ex-couple resides in is a whopping 29,122 square feet. The home has 10 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms on 109 acres. As crappy as this setup does indeed sound, Pilar has no plans to gather up those boxes of clothing she packed (that her angry stepdaughter tweet pic’ed) and leave, so let the battle continue!

I’m sorry folks, but I couldn’t go through with a hot mess agreement like this, especially if my husband’s children are attacking me and not being set straight. But then again, I’m not sure what they both should do. I’m so used to hearing about men manning up in these situations and moving out and letting their soon-to-be ex and kids stay in the home, but like Pilar, Deion doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. So what do you think? Who should go?

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The Occupy Wall Street movement has swept the nation, with new factions popping up in new cities as we speak. Though specific agendas vary, there is one very clear purpose behind this leaderless coalition: spread the wealth. And, while some have found refuge in the movement, others have been inspired by their exclusion from the one-percent club. However, it is not the sort of inspiration that marches through the streets or chants in the cold rain. It is the reality-check that comes with self-made economic success stories, such as GOP presidential nominee Herman Cain, telling them, “If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, it’s your fault;” it is the inspiration that cultivates ideas, creates and innovates.

Rich is a subjective term, but perhaps, there is some truth to the aforementioned. Economic success rarely comes to the faint of heart and those resistant to sacrifice. Although many of us would like to be wealthy, few are willing to do what it takes to get there; and, for reasons such as those listed below, we are not part of the $350,000 (roughly the amount of income it takes to be among the nation’s wealthiest) and up crowd:

It’s not enough that Nene Leakes had to annoy us for the past two episodes of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” babbling on and on about how rich she is. She’s now decided to put it on a t-shirt. Taking a cue from Dave Chappelle’s “I’m Rich B***h” parodies, Nene has created a monogrammed T-shirt that reads “I’m Very Rich B***h” in Swarovski crystals— for a whopping $150.

The phrase could be heard all throughout her altercation with Sheree Whitfield on the season premier on November 6 as the two swapped low blows now that their money seems to have swapped places. I guess it’s a cute, opportunistic and capitalistic venture, but all I’m going to ask is: what happened the last time a reality TV star tried to make a t-shirt based off on an altercation she had on-screen? Hint: I don’t see anyone walking around with non m******r f*****g factor t-shirts anywhere.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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By Charlotte Young

Last week President Barack Obama proposed a stimulus package aimed to raise about $447 billion over a 10 year period. But how will he pay for this plan? In true Robin Hood style, Obama’s proposes that the funds come by taking from the rich.

According to CNNMoney, Obama will heavily tax those in the two highest earning income brackets. The proposal “would limit itemized deductions and certain other exemptions for individuals with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more.” For married couples, the amount would be raised to $250,000 and more.

Generally, rich households disproportionately benefit from itemized deductions, which include donations to charity and mortgage interest. Under Obama’s new plan, itemized deductions will be capped at 28 percent.

For example, for every $100 in deductions that the rich claim, they would only be able to decrease their tax bill by $28 as opposed to the current deduction decrease of $36 to $39.60 for those in the top two tax brackets. Assuming Bush-era tax cuts would adjust the top two income tax rates from 33 and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent, the new tax rule would be effective starting Jan. 1, 2013.

In addition to heavier taxes on the rich, “carried interest,” which is the portion paid to hedge fund managers and other investment partnerships, would be taxed as normal income under Obama’s proposal. This means it could be taxed as much as 39.6 percent, a substantial difference from the current rate at 15 percent. According to the White House, this measure may possibly create an extra $18 billion over 10 years.

Obama also proposes to tighten and decrease the generous depreciation rule for corporate jet purchases. This move would save about $3 billion. He also plans to repeal oil subsidies which would make for about $40 billion worth of savings.

Altogether, the proposal would raise about $467 billion, White House budget director Jacob Lew calculates, pointing out that the measures “intentionally overachieves” on savings to account for the expected estimate difference that the Congressional Budget Office will make.

The proposal is sure to draw strong opposition and criticism from Republicans who do not wish to see taxes raised and never favored Obama’s jobs plan. The plan, which is similar to all three of his budgets, has not yet made any progress in Congress.

The latest in the effort to turn this country into the United States of Europe is this feigned outrage over income inequality. This message also helps to wrap all the negative reactions that do more to enslave people, dash dreams, and redirect energy into dead end avenues.

Anger – look how much money those people have, they must have stolen it from you!
Hatred – you can’t pay your rent and they have yachts, you should hate them!
Self-loathing – how can I live in a country that’s so unfair?
Fear – there is no way you can make it as they already have all the money.

This message will continue to resonate from the White House, although it will not be the way speeches begin; there will be hints and comments about income inequality. The remedy to this was the centerpiece of the Administration’s first foray into economic policy, the redistribution of wealth. This will always be dear to the heart of President Obama, and always will be a top priority. The messaging from the White House is going to be different than before, with the liberal media doing the in-your-face lobbying. So it’s all about income inequality, a term that means:

> Greedy Wall Street
> Evil Oil Companies
> Uncaring Republicans

The current issue of The Economist has a special 14 page report on the global elite as the cover reads: “The rich and the rest.” Interestingly, after so much huffing and puffing a passage reads:

“The question of the economic impact of extreme inequality is separate. Recent evidence suggests it may not be as damaging as many imagine. Our special report after page 58 casts doubt on the widespread view that inequality causes (or is associated with) a host of social problems. Economics focus, on page 90, finds little evidence that it stocked the financial crisis.”

I think the Left knows this already, but it makes for great fodder that says only we like you and through government, we are the only ones that will help. Of course, the question is how do people go about rectifying this injustice? It is an injustice, right? The obvious solution for the true elites pushing messages is to hike taxes on the rich, individuals, and companies. On Friday, I heard Russell Simmons on the “Bill Maher Show” say he’d pay more taxes, and I thought what’s stopping you? Of course it was an orgy of self-hate on that show where everyone ganged up on Steve Moore, who should have fought back with more vigor.

We heard how great Brazil is with their efforts to help the poor by giving them money. That example was used to avoid the obvious goal of moving America into a European social welfare state. Well, we have given our poor more money than Brazil has ever generated in its existence. By the way, Brazil has a GINI coefficient higher than America, so how the heck do they serve as an example?

The GINI co-efficient is a measure of the so-called inequality of a distribution. For incomes, a 0 means everyone has the same income, while 1 means one person has all the income. I decided to take a look at countries with great GINI ratings, you know, they spread the wealth. As it turns out it’s those nations that America’s liberals drool about. These nations have sky high tax obligations and aren’t known for innovation or job creation. These nations will not save the rest of the world in any fashion, militarily or economically.

I decided to do more digging to see just how much upward mobility exists in these nations because from my vantage point, I want to live in a country that creates a lot of millionaires and billionaires. The idea of somehow leveling the playing field by taking from those that have achieved really does nothing for the poor. Combing through the Forbes 2009 list of billionaires, I found some interesting things about where super wealth is created and spreading. Denmark had two names on the list that live in that country, one more person has moved to Switzerland. There are five names from Sweden that still live in that country, one lives in the UK, and Ingvar Kamprad (of IKEA fame) lives in Switzerland. And Norway has two names on the list, Olav Thon 85 years old, and Arne Wilhelmsent 75 years old.

These are old nations that have no innovation, aging populations, and massive social welfare obligations. Is this really what America wants to be? I counted 19 billionaires living in Switzerland of which six are German, one from the UK, and one (Marc Rich) from the United States. So, how many people work for those wealthy people and their families in Switzerland? Russia has more billionaires than all those Scandinavian nations combined. China has more billionaires, as does India. France has less than 10 billionaires, and Italy has ten, but four are from the Benetton family. Belgium has one billionaire and a country teetering on the brink of civil unrest because workers are tired of supporting non-workers.

I know so many people that blame their own failures on others, and grab onto stuff like so-called income inequality like a barnacle on a sinking ship. Ironically, it’s the kind of idol worship promoted by Russell Simmons that The Economist says has helped to stretch the difference in incomes. I admire self-made men and women, and that’s 80% of the millionaires in this country. Not everything is fair and even in the world, but the best system in the world is one where people can start with nothing and have it all when it’s all said and done. The answer is not high taxes and 43 million people on food stamps. The answer is not to gut the dreams and hopes we all have as children by creating false villains and hollow hurdles. It’s a damn shame.

Charles Payne is the CEO and Principal Analyst of Wall Street Strategies . This post was republished, with permission, from his company’s column, WStreet Market Commentary.