Nick Maggiulli — Climbing the Wealth Ladder (EP.276)

Nick Maggiulli, data scientist turned financial writer and COO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, joins me to discuss his latest book,The Wealth Ladder, which presents a six-level framework for building and managing wealth.

Warning: this episode will upend what you think you know about money. We explore why atypical results require atypical actions, how income and not budgeting is the real unlock for wealth mobility, and how many financial myths persist simply because they feel good. Nick also shares the personal rules he lives by, how wealth changes meaning, and why being rich doesn’t guarantee happiness.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack.

Important Links:

• Of Dollars and Data
• Nick’s Twitter
• Nick’s LinkedIn
• Nick’s Instagram
• Ritholz Wealth Management

Show Notes:

• Money May Magnify Happiness But Can’t Manufacture It
• Atypical Results Require Atypical Actions
• The Risk of Financial Generalization
• The Loneliness Tax
• Some Legacies Can Be Built Without Capital
• The Plateau Between Wealthy and Wealthier
• When the Job Becomes a Side Hustle
• The Spending Myth
• The Baby Bond Idea
• The Universal Basic Income Debate
• Markets Evolve Faster Than Us
• Kindness is Rare and Needed.

Books and Papers Mentioned:

• What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
• Just Keep Buying; by Nick Maggiulli
• The Wealth Ladder; by Nick Maggiulli
• Portfolios of the Poor; by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven
• Invest like the Best; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
• Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year; by Matthew A. Killingsworth, Daniel Kahneman, and Barbara Mellers