He made money how?

Getting rich is not something that happens overnight… but if you are like any of these people who struck it big with their one exciting and creative idea, it can be a dream come true. And who would have thought of it! Here are some of the wildest ways people have made a fortune.

Be the most watched on YouTube
YouTube has a way of generating richness for its creators but what’s surprising is that its highest income generator both in 2018 and 2019 is a little boy called Ryan Kaji. At just 8 years old, Ryan has been named the highest content creator, earning an estimated USD22mil in 2018 and USD26mil in 2019. What does he do? Reviews toys online! His channel – RyanToysReview – started in 2015 and has grown into a children’s channel called Ryan’s World with 23 million subscribers. One of his videos actually has 1.9 billion views! On top of that, Ryan is said to also earn about USD1mil from sponsored posts.

Create an app
Imagine if an app you developed was downloaded by millions and millions of people from all over the world. Even at just USD0.99 per download, you’d be raking it in. Which is the case of Robert Nay, the creator of the popular Bubble Ball game. In just two weeks, he raked in USD2mil – and he was only 14 at that time! His game has been downloaded over 16 million times.

Invent something everyone wants
If you can invent something that every household needs, you’d be laughing your way to the bank. Like single mum Joy Magano, the inventor of the self-wringing mop in 1992. That’s her big break and from there, Joy went on to invent even more must-have household items like the popular Huggable Hangers and Forever Fragrant. Her inventions have sold more than USD3bil worldwide. She even had her life story told in the 2015 hit movie Joy starring J-Lo!

Take photos
You’ve definitely heard of Humans of NY, right? Did you know that its founder Brandon Stanton started the account after he lost his job as a bond trader? It wasn’t instant success for Brandon; he in fact posted thousands of photos on social media before Humans of NY became popular – and only when he decided to add the interesting stories about the people he photographed in each photo. Now, @HumansofNY has over 9 million followers on Instagram and over 18 million followed on Facebook. He’s published two best-selling book and raised millions for charity.

Play games online
We are not kidding you – and we even have young Malaysians to prove it! In 2018, professional Dota 2 player Yap “xNova” Jian Wei and his team PSG.LGD placed second at The International 8 Dota 2 tournament, earning themselves more than USD4.1mil. In 2017, Tue “Ah Fu” Soon Chuan and his team LGD.Forever Young placed third at the event, earning more than USD2.6mil. And then in 2016, team Fnatic won USD1.4mil after coming in at fourth place. And then there is Chai “MuShi” Yee Fung, one of the most respected and well-known players in the entire Dota scene who is said to be worth RM3mil! It wasn’t easy for Chai to be where he is; his mum even locked him out of the house because he was busy gaming at a cyber café. So he struck a deal with his parents – give him one year to play and be successful; if he fails, he’ll get a job. And look at where he is now!

Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash