(Forbes) -- The self-help genre is littered with books telling you how to get rich or become successful in easy, manageable steps.
But this vast publishing industry, now worth $800 million and growing six percent per year according to Marketdata, has a major flaw. It rarely studies those that have actually become rich and successful.
In introducing The Wealth Elite: A groundbreaking study of the psychology of the super rich, Rainer Zitelmann notes that while there have been plenty of studies of the merely 'economic elite', "one gap in the research relates to the group that will be referred to in the book as the 'wealth elite'".
These are people worth at least €10 million ($11.3 million). And in his second doctoral dissertation, the research that underpins The Wealth Elite, Zitelmann interviews 45 of them in Germany.
Does Your Background Make You Rich?
“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me," wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. However, it actually turns out the rich are quite different from one another.
This shatters common perceptions that most rich come from wealthy backgrounds, excelled at school and went on into lucrative jobs.
These generalizations are misleading, Zitelmann believes. For starters, most of the super rich earned their money not through a job but from starting a business, in other words, entrepreneurship.
Neither does school account for much, Zitelmann's research shows: "Those who performed best at school or university did not typically later rise to the absolute peak of wealth...academic qualifications do not play the decisive role in wealth creation".
As for the backgrounds of the super rich, most of those Zitelmann spoke to, among them some of Germany's wealthiest, were neither poor or rich growing up. "A clear majority grew up in middle class households".
What Are The Common Traits Of The Super Rich?
If their backgrounds do not unite the super rich, what about their personalities? Here Zitelmann finds common traits that go some way to explaining why these people became extremely wealthy.
They are optimistic, more so than any other personality trait. According to one millionaire interviewed, this means "that as a result of your own abilities, or the network you have built, or your intellect, you are always able to identify solutions."
Such a belief in your own abilities means making decisions on 'gut instinct', another trait that unites the super rich. Despite Germans being stereotyped as rational and analytical, over half the 45 Zitelmann spoke to made decisions primarily on gut instinct. Just one third said analysis played the primary role in their decision making.
If this goes against the grain of German society, do the rich care? Practically all agreed with Zitelmann's statement, "I would describe myself as someone who prefers to forge my own path."
"Swimming against the stream", it seems, unites the super rich more than anything else.
The Strange Habits Of The Super Rich
Do you set goals in life? If so, you might reconsider them after hearing some of the goals the super rich keep.
"For many years now I have been going on a fasting retreat every January; that's where I formulate and write out my goals," was the response of one.
Another said he would "immerse myself so deeply into things that I totally burn them into my brain so that they would physically appear before my eyes." And one multimillionaire went further, hiring a feng shui consultant to redesign his house: "The consultant created a 'wealth corner' for me, where I spent a minute or two praying every day".
What Makes The Super Rich Tick?
While The Wealth Elite comes with a health warning - "the traits of UHNWIs described in this work are by no means a formula for success", says Zitelmann - self-help books can certainly feast on the results.
"Your background does not matter", they might say in a guide to becoming super rich. "Be optimistic, trust your gut and don't be afraid to swim against the current..."
Drawing on Zitelmann's findings, some might even go so far as to recommend setting up a 'wealth corner', so you can pray to the god of the money.
However, what comes across in The Wealth Elite, is that there is more that divides the super rich than unites them. If that is the findings from those in Germany, imagine what contrasts a global study would unearth.
This research should, therefore, be seen as an antithesis to any self-help guide to becoming wealthy. Zitelmann ends with a warning against any such emulators: "The same behavioral patterns and personality traits (i.e., very high optimism, high risk tolerance, gut decisions) could also lead to failure."
