The secret money-making hacks of the super-rich they SHOULD be teaching in school: Four multi-millionaires reveal the wealth-building advice they’re telling their children

We’ve all at one time asked ourselves this question: How do I become rich?

If you’ve read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, you’ll know financial literacy isn’t taught in schools, and neither is how to do your taxes. 

There’s a reason why.

The secrets of the rich and wealthy are often deliberately hidden from the lower classes to maintain the division.

But now four Australian multi-millionaires have revealed the money and life lessons they’ll be teaching their kids to ensure they get ahead.

Property investor Eddie Dilleen, Booby Tape co-founders Bianca and Bridgett Roccisano and The Quick Flick entrepreneur Iris Smit all have something in common – they started from nothing.

But over time, through trial and error, they’ve learnt from failures and have become incredibly wealthy.

Here they share the wealth-building advice the rich usually keep to themselves…

Powerhouse sisters Bianca (right) and Bridgett Roccisano (left), from Melbourne, are the co-founders of Booby Tape, the world’s first ‘breast lift in a box’ 

Eddie Dilleen (pictured with his wife) is a Sydney investor with a staggering 150 properties under his belt, 40 of which have been purchased in the last seven months

Iris Smit (pictured), from Perth, is the brains behind The Quick Flick. She rejected a $300,000 offer on Shark Tank in 2018

BIANCA AND BRIDGETT ROCCISANO – BOOBY TAPE CO-FOUNDERS 

Melbourne sisters Bianca and Bridgett Roccisano were educated about money during their youth and have passed on their secrets.

The siblings launched Booby Tape, the world’s first ‘breast lift in a box’, in 2018 after noticing a lack of products on the market which supported women’s breasts.

Prior to this, they started a fashion label appropriately named Bianca and Bridgett, which recently launched in David Jones.

Today their collective net worth is well into eight figures.

1. The ‘dollar-for-dollar’ theory

As a child, Bianca’s father taught her about the ‘dollar-for-dollar’ theory – meaning how much time you’d have to work to earn the price of something you want to buy.

For instance, Bianca, 39, said if a pair of shoes cost $500, then you should first equate how many hours of work it would take you to make that amount.

‘If you are making $5 an hour then you really should not be spending $500 on shoes, for example,’ she says.

‘This very simple philosophy of spending within your means really will teach my children the value and importance of money.

Mr Dilleen said he’s on a mission to prove that he’s the ‘greatest property investor in Australia’ 

‘My father once told me this life-changing piece of advice and I will pass it on to my children.’ 

Bridgett, 31, who is pregnant with her first child, agreed and said she’ll be teaching her kids how to budget, too. 

2. There is no such thing as an ‘overnight success’ 

Bianca rejects the idea of an ‘overnight success’.

‘It doesn’t exist. If you want to be successful, you need to be ready for the hard yards. It doesn’t get easier,’ she warns.

‘The more money you make, business gets tougher. Character and composure is everything.’ 

Specifically when starting a business, you need to have an ‘all in’ mindset you can’t back away from.

‘Having a business is for the ultimate strategic gamblers. Those willing to place it all on the line to back themselves. You and only you are the catalyst for change,’ she says.

‘Nothing comes easy and hard work beats talent,’ adds Bridgett. 

3. You cannot become successful without failing 

Another lesson both sisters will be teaching their future children is how you cannot succeed without failing first. 

‘I have failed countless times. I attribute my success to my feelings and attitudes about failure,’ Bianca says.

‘I’m not scared of failure. I can be knocked down or rejected so many times in business and I pick myself up and say, “That’s okay, Bianca. This is a new challenge – let’s go again until we have a desirable outcome.”‘ 

Bridgett agrees, saying that while failure never feels good in the moment, it allows you to pivot and try something new.  

4. Money is freedom  

It’s an age-old money lesson for a reason, and one Bianca and Bridgett will be teaching their future children: money is freedom. 

The more money you have, the more freedom you have to do and buy what you like. But accumulating money for its own sake should never be the goal.

‘I will teach my children that money should be perceived as a tool to create freedom. The importance of money has an incredibly high value as in this day an age you can’t live a fully free life without it,’ Bianca says.

EDDIE DILLEEN – PROPERTY EXPERT

Property investor Eddie Dilleen has built an impressive real estate portfolio worth $100million in just 15 years – and the father-of-two is already teaching his four-year-old how money works. 

The 33-year-old Sydney dad started from humble beginnings, growing up with a single mother in a Mount Druitt housing commission. 

Being surrounded by ‘junkies’ in the neighbourhood, the eye-opening experience helped drive his ambition to succeed. 

‘I grew up very poor and everyone was struggling financially. It shaped my mindset that I must take immediate action from a young age to learn how to get rich, set a plan and take action,’ he says. 

He bought his first unit at 18 and now has 150 properties under his belt.

1. Fortune favours the bold – be courageous

While Eddie got on the property ladder with a cheap apartment in his teens, he had no idea about the real estate market when he first started. 

Over the years, he taught himself everything he knows and opened a buyer’s agency in 2017 to help others get on the ladder. 

Today, when sourcing properties, he tends to buy where everyone else avoids.  

‘In order to create wealth, you need to constantly push yourself to grow,’ he says. 

‘A comfort zone is the most dangerous place to be. I’ve seen people that are much smarter, education-wise, than I am, had better grades in school and achieved more academically, but they were not bold or courageous. 

‘Making investments is scary and the definition of courageous is being not deterred by danger or pain.’

2. Fail fast

Eddie taught himself everything he knows about real estate by reading ‘every book’, watching YouTube and learning through trial and error.

Between the ages of 18 to 20, he jumped from job to job, including working at a McDonald’s and as an administrative assistant, before doing a stint as a real estate agent – but he never lasted longer than 18 months. 

He said failure should be expected with anything you do, but it’s important to fail fast – meaning don’t keep trying something that isn’t working.

Change tactics and move forward. ‘That’s how you fail your way to success,’ he adds.

3. Stay focused and don’t get distracted

Eddie used to think when he made enough money, he would want to retire. But that hasn’t been the case, because he keeps setting new goals.

But he stresses the importance of finishing the last thing properly before moving on to something else. Juggling too many ideas at once is a recipe for failure. 

‘It’s easy in life to get distracted with new opportunities, business ideas, jobs, and such,’ he says.

‘But most often the hardest thing to do is staying focused on the one that you should be doing.’

Eddie’s next goal is to own 2,000 homes, but for his students he has more humble ambitions, as demonstrated by the title of his book, 30 Properties Before 30.

EDDIE’S ‘GOLDEN RULES’ OF BUYING PROPERTY:

1. Buy under market value – Buy properties for a price that is less than what other comparable properties are selling for. This can be achieved by working directly with real estate agents or buyer’s agents

2. Buy properties with a high rental yield – This means the amount of rent received. Eddie said a healthy yield is about 6-7 per cent 

3. Buy in metro areas – he recommends buying no more than 50km (45 minutes) away from a major city

4. If you’re investing, look for properties that are already tenanted – This will eliminate competition at auctions  

IRIS SMIT – THE QUICK FLICK FOUNDER

She rejected a a $300,000 offer on Shark Tank for her innovative eyeliner ‘stamps’ in 2018, and since then Iris Smit’s brand The Quick Flick has gone from strength to strength.

The winged eyeliner queen went out on her own and turned over $10million within her first year.  

The 29-year-old from Perth agrees failure is ‘essential’ on the road to success. She also firmly believes in acting now, rather than waiting until you feel ‘ready’. 

‘My parents taught me that if I wanted something, I had to earn it. Nothing was ever just handed to me. That lesson stuck with me and absolutely shaped how I think about money,’ she says.

Iris rejected a a $300,000 offer on Shark Tank for her innovative eyeliner ‘stamps’ in 2018, and since her brand The Quick Flick has gone from strength to strength

The Quick Flick first made headlines in 2017 when Iris, then a student, launched her brand from her two-bedroom apartment and dropped off orders at the Post Office via a shopping trolley

1. Be scrappy and self-sufficient 

Iris started her business with just $10,000 of her hard-earned money – without any help from investors, connections or resources – and built it from the ground up.

‘Being scrappy means doing what you can with what you have and getting creative when resources are tight,’ she explains.

‘I taught myself how to build a website, design packaging, run Facebook ads, negotiate with suppliers – all through trial and error (and a lot of googling).’ 

2. Discomfort leads to growth 

They say growth occurs after stepping out of your comfort zone, and it’s true.

While it may seem terrifying at first, learning to grow and take risks is crucial not only to building wealth but for self-development.

‘The most valuable lessons I’ve learned came from moments that felt uncomfortable, scary, or like a failure at the time,’ Iris says.

3. Invest over saving 

While the middle and lower class teach their children to save every dollar they earn, the wealthy instead teach how to invest and start businesses. 

Rather than putting the money in a high-interest savings account, the rich invest in the stock market, start businesses or buy property. 

Iris chose the business route.  

‘I want them to understand the power of compound interest and how investing in assets builds long-term wealth. It’s not about how much you make, but what you do with it,’ she says.

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