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“Money — once you get it, it’s easy to get a lot more.”
That’s the biggest and surprisingly simple money lesson from Dave Portnoy, the outspoken entrepreneur who built a media empire out of hot takes and hustle. He shared the lesson during a candid conversation with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay.
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Portnoy, who sold his company Barstool Sports to Penn Entertainment for about $500 million only to buy it back for $1 a few years later, says it took him a decade to accumulate his first million. But once he did, making money became significantly easier. He now claims to be able to make $5 million in a week.
"Once you get over the hump it just comes to you," the 48-year-old online influencer said.
Here’s why wealth creation can accelerate after you hit certain milestones.
The ultra-rich rely on the snowball effect to build wealth
There’s a reason the wealthy seem to get wealthier — and it’s not just luck. Often, the trick is the power of compound growth, or the “snowball effect.” Charlie Munger, legendary investor and longtime partner of Warren Buffett, described it as a snowball rolling downhill: The longer it rolls, the bigger it gets.
Compound growth explains why wealth tends to grow faster after reaching certain financial thresholds. For example, an investor starting from scratch who invests $1,000 per month in an asset earning 10% annually would hit $100,000 in about 6.5 years. But thanks to compounding, that same $100,000 could double to $200,000 in just four more years — and hit $300,000 only three years after that.
This acceleration happens because returns are being generated not just on new contributions, but also on interest. As the base grows, so does the impact of each percentage-point gain.
This is where the snowball method can turn into an avalanche for the wealthy. Someone with a $100 million net worth could make $5 million with a weekly return of 5% — without lifting a finger.
Portnoy highlighted this during an interview, saying he once spent five hours just marveling at the interest he was earning on his cash after becoming wealthy.
“I couldn’t believe it," he said. "I was making money not doing anything."
That’s why hitting your financial goals early is so crucial. The sooner you start investing meaningful amounts, the more time you give compound growth to work its magic.
But here’s the thing: You don’t always need millions to get started.
One way to kickstart this snowball effect is by automatically saving your spare change with Acorns. When you make everyday purchases, Acorns rounds up the price to the nearest dollar and invests the difference for you in a smart investment portfolio.
Imagine you grab a rideshare that costs $22.30. Acorns will round it up to $23.00 and invest the extra 70 cents. It might seem like pocket change, but over time squirreling a little bit away can add up. Saving just $3 a day could grow to over $1,000 in a year, helping you build your savings effortlessly.
If you want to be directly involved with investing, Acorns has you covered with flexible, automated recurring investments starting with as little as $5 a day. Any dividends are automatically reinvested to keep your money working, and your portfolio is rebalanced as needed to stay aligned with your long-term goals.
Plus, if you sign up with a recurring contribution, you can get a $20 bonus to kickstart your investment journey.
Read more: You don’t have to be a millionaire to gain access to this $1B private real estate fund. In fact, you can get started with as little as $10 — here’s how
How to set clear targets to build wealth
If you want to reach that tipping point where wealth builds itself, you need a strategy, and that starts with setting smart, achievable goals. Think of your first major milestone — like acquiring $100,000 in assets — as the start of your personal snowball.
However, it’s essential that you consider your age, lifestyle and location while setting financial targets. A 60-year-old in San Francisco might need far more than a twenty-something living in a lower-cost city like Detroit.
Once you have a target, the next step is making sure your money is working for you. Keeping a large sum in a savings account earning low interest won’t get you anywhere. And stuffing it under your mattress would be even worse. After all, inflation will eat away at your purchasing power every year.
To help build your wealth, it can be worthwhile to keep a cash cushion in a high-yield savings or checking account like one offered by SoFi. They offer up to 3.80% APY — that’s about 10 times the national return — and don’t charge account, monthly or overdraft fees.
The best part? You can get up to $300 when you sign up with SoFi and set up a direct deposit.
Investing in alternative assets such as art is another creative way to grow your wealth and diversify your portfolio. Art investment has emerged as a substantial asset class. The global art market size was valued at $552.03 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $585.98 billion in 2025, according to Straits Research.
In the past, only the ultra-wealthy could invest in art, but now services like Masterworks have opened the door to art investing. So far, over one million members have joined the platform.
Here’s how it works: Instead of spending millions on a single painting, you buy fractional shares of blue-chip paintings by iconic artists such as Pablo Picasso, Basquiat and Banksy. From 23 exits so far, Masterworks investors have realized representative annualized net returns like +17.6%, +17.8% and +21.5% among assets held for longer than one year.
All that’s left is to choose the number of shares you want to buy, and Masterworks handles everything else for you.
See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd.
If you’re drawn to real estate, modern investment platforms are opening the door to easier and more flexible ways to get started.
For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $34.9 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors.
With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.
With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
