It began with a student who said I was wrong.
I am an entrepreneur. I have built several businesses, and I have taught thousands of students, many of them hoping to build businesses of their own.
One afternoon, a student stayed behind after class. He builds websites, and good ones. “The rich never hire me,” he said. “They look, they nod, and they go to someone else.”
I told him the problem was not his work. It was that he did not understand who he was selling to. Most people think the rich want to be flattered. In my experience, they want something much harder to fake.
What the rich actually value, and how this website answers
- 1 Honesty. They are intelligent. They see through sales talk in seconds. HereWe tell you exactly what you are buying: a title, and nothing more.
- 2 Quality that speaks for itself. They worked hard, and rarely talk about it. HereNo hype. A gilded frame, a quiet page, and the work.
- 3 Something unique. They are seldom impressed by what everyone else already has. HereOne website, one portrait. There is nothing else quite like it.
- 4 Real giving. Not the kind done for the photographs. HereHalf of the profits go directly to people in need, given personally and quietly.
- 5 A sense of humour. Life is too short to be solemn about money. HereA Certificate of Magnificent Extravagance, and a fair warning about jealousy.
- 6 Appreciation. They are human, and they earned what they have. HereThe most honoured guest this website has ever received, and everyone can see it.
- 7 Being seen. Visibility brings opportunity, and opportunity lets them do more good. HereYour portrait on the homepage for the whole world, then a permanent place in the Hall of Fame.
He listened politely. Then he told me it was nonsense.
So I stopped explaining, and built this.
Richest Visitor is an experiment, run in public.
If I am wrong, nobody will pay, and I will have built the most beautiful empty frame on the internet.
If I am right, every portrait that hangs here proves it, and half of what it earns goes to people who need it.
My student is watching. So, I suspect, are you.
— The founder