The popular quote that we are sure many of you will be familiar with is: The average person will make £1,000,000 in their lifetime. But basing the theory on a working-career span of 40 years where a person let's say earns £50,000 per year, the end result would be more like £2 million! But even on the high end, $2 million in a 40-year span isn't a great deal to boast about. The chances are you don't wish to work your fingers to the bone in a regular job to only make a few million in your lifetime. So, is it really possible to become rich while doing something easy? The answer is yes! Well...it could be just down to dumb luck, but some of the following people have become millionaires with hardly any effort at all...
10 - Inherit Your Fortunes
This one is a no-brainer. If you are married to someone who is rich, or a family member has built up some doh in their lifetime, the chances are it may be passed on to you when they die. Lily Safra, 75, who inherited her wealth from her late husband who happened to be a billionaire banker. Edmond Safra died in an apartment fire back in 1999, and now Lily Safra is the third wealthiest person in Monaco. Deaths in the family are never easy and money shouldn't be your first priority when someone does die, but plenty of people have made their fortunes in this way.
9 - Search for Gold with a Metal Detector
You will probably have come across middle-aged men with metal detectors before scanning up and down on beaches and although a hobby, there is always that chance to find riches just like Terry Herbert. Terry Herbert discovered the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure in history while searching on a farm which date as far back as the 7th century. Terry ended up with £3.3million after sharing his loot with farmer Fred Johnson back in 2009. Although Terry Herbert ended up with £3.3million, him and Fred Johnson have had their falling outs due to the greed of Mr Herbert wanting more.
8 - Create a Killer Mobile App
Okay, so you will need a few years of programming under your belt to be able to create your own mobile app. But the fact of the matter is some people are able to code with ease and to them it's a hobby. If you are then able to create an app that people want, you can then sell it or charge a small fee for downloads. Rovio Entertainment Ltd, a Finnish company, made $194.8 million in 2012 and the year before made $98.4 million; with over 1 billion downloads of their franchise of games. And their most popular game which you may have heard of: Angry Birds.
7 - Start Making YouTube Videos
Own a digital camera and know how to use a computer? Well, start making videos and get your ass over to YouTube and start uploading them. You can then apply for ads on your videos and YouTube will pay you and its exactly what a guy called Ray William Johnson did. Although personally, I am not a fan of Ray William Johnson his videos just consist of him reviewing future viral videos which wouldn't be hard for you to do, would it?
6 - Sell Your Old Things on eBay
If you have any old toys, games or even comic books lying around in the loft then now is the best time to see how much they could fetch on eBay. You may be surprised how much some collectors are willing to pay for certain pieces so they can finish their collection. Back in 2007, a California woman did just that and auctioned her collection of 275 Transformers toys that she had been collecting with her late husband and made $1 million. The couple started with the one toy back in 1984 when Anthony (the husband, who was recovering from a motorcycle injury) was in a Toys R Us store - he promised her it was just the one.
5 - Become a Professional Gambler
In itself a game of poker isn't the most sophisticated game; if you are able to distinguish which hands are worth what then you have the basic game down. It's now just a matter of luck (being dealt good hands) and having a good poker face (knowing when to bluff). But take Phil Ivey for example, who is an American professional poker player - yes, he earns his living while playing poker. The guys is worth over $100 Million which he earned via poker tournaments. You need to remember: The 37-year-old, who has won nine World Series of Poker bracelets, plays poker games where stakes are in the millions mark.
4 - Invent Something
When you think of inventions you immediately think of something revolutionary such as a TV or the light bulb. But you will be pleased to know that some of the dumbest inventions that shouldn't have made a single penny actually end up making millions. Take Gary Dahl for example: Within 6 months Gary Dahl took an idea and turned it into $15 million. And the idea: A pet rock. Yes, literally a rock in a box made a guy a millionaire within 6 months back in 1975 - which would be estimated at $56,166,419.02 today.
3 - Participate in Yard Sales
Depending on where you live in the world will depending on what you call these things: car boot sale, yard sale and garage sale just to name a few. But the chances are if you go to them you might end up picking up a gem. You need to think that people throw things out all the time and aren't aware if what they are throwing out is worth something. Rick Norsigian bought two boxes at a garage sale for $45. He then forgot about his purchases for ten years before looking into what he had bought. He later found that the contents of his boxes were worth a staggering $200+ million. In the boxes bought by the painter were in fact 65 glass plates of photographic negatives created more than 80 years ago by Ansel Adams
2 - Donating Sperm
Okay, donating sperm won't turn you into a millionaire. But making money which doing something you do anyway isn't half bad! The only flaw with this plan is sperm banks generally look for people with a clean bill of health and high intelligence - oh and good looks is also another trait that would work in your favour. Assuming you pass screening tests with flying colour, it's possible to make around £10,000 a year!
1 - Registering Domain Names
On 25th December 1990 Sir Timothy John implemented the first successful communication between an HTTP client and a server via the Internet. But who would have known that his invention of the World Wide Web would have been the phenomenon it is today. Domain names (website addresses or URL) are ways of distinguishing websites apart and are a must for the internet to work. However, the chances are most common names (especially generic) have been registered. But if you were lucky enough to register some domains back in the '90 then the chances are you probably laying on a beach somewhere. And there are still chances to buy domains via auctions and waiting a few years. The website Pizza.com was first registered in 1994 for $20 by a guy called Chris Clark. Then in 2008 the domain was auctioned for $2.6 million.
Just remember: You don't have to work your way up the corporate ladder working 40+ hours a week. There are other legitimate ways to become the next millionaire. You just need to be a little...creative... or very lucky.