WEALTH
"It’s strange to contemplate my good fortune. I worked hard when I had to and was willing to take calculated risks, but others were more driven and grasped new disciplines more easily. I suppose my greatest strength was efficiency — I was often lazy and took short cuts. Hence I had an advantage over the more industrious who were apt to stay the entire course.
I was also distrustful. I don’t remember being cheated by anyone specific, but I had the sense I might be at any moment. And not nickle and dime-level cheating like someone skimming from a tip jar, but that an abyss might drop out from under my feet. Maybe I would lose my job and wind up homeless. Or my savings would be wiped out in a market collapse. Or the authorities would find some tax I had inadvertently neglected to pay, some clerical error I made, some form I didn’t file.
My mission became clear: I needed to accumulate sufficient wealth with tolerably little effort in a short enough time and without risk of ruin. Then I needed to store that wealth securely and with minimal risk of seizure or confiscation.
I could recount how I accumulated the trove of gold and precious jewels, the shrewd investments I made, as well as the mistakes, but it’s not especially interesting. Others were more successful, visionary and tolerant of risk. Instead, I want to describe how I preserved my wealth, though for reasons of operational security, obviously I cannot be as specific as I’d like."