As my financial planning career is winding down, I often think about the characters that I have met along the way. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from life, so I thought I would share a few stories that I have picked up along the way. This story is about a carnival employee (i.e., a “carnie”) - one of my favorite clients. George (which is a false name) was one of my first clients. When I met George I was in my early twenties. I was just married. I had just graduated from college. My wife had a year to go on her degree. We were living in Dallas. I interviewed and accepted a job with a solo practitioner financial advisor in Houston. I didn’t know at the time that this fee-only advisor was a pioneer, as I really just wanted a job. The job didn’t pay much. I was paid on a “eat what you kill” pay scale.

My wife decided to stay behind in Dallas to finish up her degree, so I moved to Houston by myself. That is where George came in. I hired a moving company to move my belongings from Dallas to Houston. George was a temporary worker for that company - and he was the only mover of the three that bothered to show up that morning. Due to the no-shows, George and I deiced that we would both just make the move ourselves. I was lucky enough to get to hear George’s story during the three hour drive from Dallas to Houston.

George was a carnie. His parents were carneys, as were their parents. George’s job was to put together and take apart the mechanical components of carnival rides. He had been doing this for over twenty years. George was never married, but he speculated that he had at least two kids (according to the courts). George doubled as a mover between his carnie gigs.

I never told George anything about my situation or what I studied or what career I was embarking on. When we got to Houston, we both unloaded the scant furniture and once that was done George started unloading the boxes. Being a college student, I had a lot of books. I started unboxing those books and putting them on my bookshelf. Those of you that know me, know that I love classic literature.

Each time that George would walk in with a new box, he would stop and pick up a book and comment on the book. His comments were complex and insightful. It was apparent that George was very very well read. That is when George picked up Thoreau’s book Walden. George made one comment. It was something like, “I succeeded where Thoreau failed.”

That was all I expected to learn about George as the move was completed. George was such a nice guy that I gave him a business card with my personal phone number on it (the business cards had just arrived at my new place that very day).

I started my new job and I didn’t ever expect to hear from George again. George called me two months later. George explained that his parents had built one of the largest carnival contracting businesses that ever was and that they passed away when George was a child. George had inherited more than ten million dollars from his parents (which was a lot larger amount of money at that time that it is today). That money was held in trusts that were set up by his parents. George had no idea how much he had, but he had heard that it was a lot. George wanted to give it all to charity, so he hired me to do that for him.

We gave that ten million dollars to charity. When the funds were gone, I couldn’t help buy ask George why he would give everything he had to charity. George responded by telling me that his parents never had any money. George had earned the ten million himself. George explained that he succeeded where Thoreau failed in that he lived in a time and country where one could work hard and amass millions if they spent next to nothing. That is what George had done. He did it by living off of nothing and saving everything (even money that he begged for, by pretending to be poor.).

I assumed that I would never hear from George after that, but I did hear from him nearly twenty years later. George was working in California. George had saved two million dollars and he wanted to give it away. George wanted my help to structure the gift. We gave that money away. I haven’t heard from George since then, but I assume that he is still out there somewhere.

In all of the years that I have worked as a financial planner, I wonder what life would be like if the rest of my clients were “George’s.” Thoreau taught the principle of thrift, a principle that most of us do not subscribe to these days.

By: Robert Klein
Klein & Klien Insurance Consultants
1811 Santa Fe
Houston, Texas 77703