How is it possible for one of the most marginalized communities in history to become the richest in the entire world?

Jews are Rich!

According to a 2016 Pew Research Center report, Jews are US’s wealthiest religious community, with 44% of them generating over $100,000 a year compared to 19% in the general population.

A recent Forbes ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans had over 100 Jewish billionaires! That’s a stunning 25% for a community of just 2% of the population! Among them, co-founder of Google Larry Page tops the list with his net worth of $111 billion. Co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg is in second place with a net worth of $68 billion. Larry Ellison and Michael Bloomberg are also among well-known Jewish billionaires.

Furthermore, this is how the Jewish people have self-rated their financial situation in a recent survey:

• 50% said they are living comfortably
• 35% believe they can meet essential expenditures with a little money left over
• 15% say they just meet basic needs

These facts suggest Jews are more likely to have sound financial basics and habits inculcated in them. Curious why and how they did it? Want to know their secret? Let’s go it!

Who are Jews?

According to Wikipedia: Jews or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah.

Only about 20 million people in the world have Jewish ancestry. Interestingly, only 7 million of them still live in Israel. Most of them live in the US. Others are spread across western Europe and Canada.

Why are They So Rich?

1. Deep Fundamental Teachings

Judaism doesn’t cast poverty as a sign of righteousness as other beliefs might. Instead, they deeply believe each person should avoid poverty and be gainfully employed or run a business to earn their living. This is a fundamental value that has led to a good work ethic and a personal responsibility for each person earning their own.

2. Went After New Markets & Become Merchants

As an ethnoreligious group, Jews were badly marginalized and had to go through a lot of hardships. To survive, they had to go to the lengths that no other groups of people in history have to go through. About 6 million were mass murdered due to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi ideology.

They were frequently banned from other sectors of economic activity such as property ownership. Instead of staying with these limitations, they were on the lookout for new markets, and new opportunities. They frequently began as peddlers to get access to undeveloped markets. This became a gateway to new kinds of retailing including department shops catalog sales and box stores. Being merchants and traders in industries to this day, where they still have a big footprint in most countries. This created a safety net for Jewish communities because where their services were needed, they were safe.

3. Masters of Money Lending

In the middle age, Christians considered that charging interest was a sin. This prevented them from holding any type of financial job, leaving the opportunities in that field open to the Jewish community who did not see lending in the same way. Jewish people became prominent in money lending businesses. It’s Needless to say, money lending is a highly lucrative business as that’s the banks’ core business. Their early success in this lucrative business was a forerunner for many of the stereotypes we hear today.

Also, Jews are considered the first people to start banks in Europe. Banks created a step opportunity for Jews to multiply wealth and stay ahead of their peers.

4. Strong Formal Education & Research

Jews are the most educated religious group in 2016. The Pew Research Center released a study showing that Jewish people as the most educated religious group in the world. On average Jewish children receive 13.4 years of schooling. And when it comes to post-secondary degrees, they hold 61% of the qualifications. The second most educated religious group is the Christians. But Christians have an average of 9.3 years in school.

It’s needless to say that high credentials lead to better and well-paying jobs for obvious reasons. This strong foundation of a well-paying job has helped Jews to stay ahead of the competition by investing and growing their wealth over the generations.

It’s also worth noting that Israel is the country that spends the highest portion of the GDP on education and research. These investments have yielded very high returns and they have been able to achieve great technological breakthroughs and spawn successful companies. There are about 100 Israeli companies that are listed on U.S. stock exchanges.

5. Strong Sense of Supporting the Community

Every Jew regardless of financial situation is expected to contribute 10% of their earnings to the needy. If they are unable to make that payment, volunteering and doing something beneficial for others can also count as charity.

However, they don’t believe in relying on charity to lift themselves up and indeed not become a burden on the community. Growing up with this kind of mindset makes for a solid foundation to see success as the only option.

They look after one another as a community. Perhaps it comes from a long history of being marginalized or perhaps it’s just inherent nature. But Jewish people have a deep pride in sharing their wealth to benefit their community. This mutual aid mentality is a part of their ethos and ensures that each member of the community is supported to enable them to succeed.

If someone opens a new business, the community will rally around them to support it. If someone else falls on hard times, the community will try to help them out. Jewish law instructs that poor people are to be respected and protected. This strong focus on uplifting the whole community has meant that even shunned Jewish communities have managed to survive the hardest times by investing in one another. The idea of wealth is not just to accumulate wealth; which is seen as vanity. Wealth is seen as a means to an end to growing a community!

6. Religious Education of Money & Business

Understanding the value of money is inculcated in them from a young age. Jewish kids grow up learning how to manage money in a way that makes it work for them.

Unlike other religions, their religion teaches good business practices. The Torah and many Jewish philosophers, leaders, and writers have made it clear how Jewish businesses must operate. According to these teachings, there’s absolutely no room for dishonest practices. Any deception, collusion, or price-fixing against a consumer is known as ona’a (oppression). Knowing that you’re going into business with someone who’s inspired to good ethics by a higher power makes Jewish business people a very attractive business partner to many.

What did you learn?

The truth is there are always exceptions. There are Jews who seriously struggle to make ends meet, and often are not able to fulfill their obligations to family or community due to that.

But, isn’t it so amazing that one of the most marginalized communities has come to such a length to become the richest community in the entire world?

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this article, please share it and follow for more content like this. Thank you for reading! Part of this content is inspired by the works of the Alux.com & Be Inspired youtube channels.

Note: Please note that this is not investment advice, the information given above is presented for financial education purposes only.

Written by Lilan Priyashantha