Why Billionaires' Wealth Shouldn't Concern You: Invest Smart!

Magazines like to publish once a year the list of the ten richest people in the world. Since dreams sell, they would be wrong to deprive themselves of them. At the top, we always find the same faces, with, in order, the Mexican Carlos Slim (telecoms), Bill Gates and our dear Warren Buffett. The ranking as such remains relatively stable over time. What varies more, however, is the personal fortune of these gentlemen. Of course, it has an unfortunate tendency to rise... But sometimes it still falls a "little", even if this qualifier is at least out of place when we are talking about amounts of this kind.

So, in August 2011, Carlos Slim lost 4.5 billion in the space of a single week.He still has a trifle of 69 billion left, which should still allow him to go on holiday without having to borrow, or if he does it is because he still manages to make money on it...

While these lists may sell magazines, they have no real other use. Maybe Slim and Gates will find a way to flatter their oversized egos a little more, but I don't think they really care about such details. I'm even sure that the Mexican's decline in fortune has had absolutely no impact on his lifestyle. As for Buffet, we don't even talk about him. He's a million miles away from such trivialities.

Because what ultimately matters is not capital, but its ability to generate income. As soon as part of your wealth is invested in the stock market, your capital will fluctuate, it's inevitable. Getting excited because it goes up in a bull market, or freaking out because it goes down in a bear market, is counterproductive. The only thing that matters is that the income you draw from your wealth is at least constant.

By selecting quality companies, even when markets crash, you will continue to receive a stable dividend. Better, some of them will be able to increase their distributions, even in bad economic times, while their share price is falling at the same time. This will be a good time to buy new future income at a good price.