“The top 1%, when we looked at narrow industries, the industry generating the most profits for their owners was doctors' offices. And so it's like, oh, doctor's offices, that doesn't feel like a capital-intensive business at all.”
Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing · October 2026
The economist describes what surprised him most while researching his book on who America's top earners really are. Rather than gilded-age industrialists, the typical top-1% household owns a mid-sized private business, and medical practices led the list.
Transcript
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…just by nature of their relationships with some of these big players. When you were writing this book, as we get to the end of our time here together today, I'm curious, what surprised you the most in your research as you were learning about these main street entrepreneurs and their businesses?
…it's sort of like you actually meet these people that are in the top 1% and see what they're doing and get a little bit about their stories from their own mouths. And you're like, oh, this is not the typical 1% or even 0.1%er is not like the money bags, monopolist, gilded age person. It's like a private business owner with a mid-market business. Like, you know, there are tons of these people. The top 1%, when we looked at narrow industries, the industry generating the most profits for their owners was doctors' offices. And so it's like, oh, doctor's offices, that doesn't feel like a capital-intensive business at all. That's really just they are running practices they've structured as businesses so they can you know pay themselves a bit lower wages but higher profits get better tax treatment but also scale the business up and sell some of the services and so on um that that doctors do but there's just a ton of doctors and uh healthcare is 18 of the economy and you know a big chunk of it is not hospitals or…
and one final question for you as well um you know just as investors who are hearing all of this and and drawing on the lessons that you've uh showed us today i i also wonder what are some key elements metrics we can be looking at tracking the health of the economy tracking the health of markets…
that's good i mean so thinking about these everywhere millionaires right some of the more aggregate tangible retail sales consumption kind of data right like sort of these businesses are often selling you know say like the fast casual dining right so you're like looking at those kinds of metrics…
Thank you so much for that, Eric. It's been so great to speak with you today. And for those who are listening or watching, check out Eric's new book co-authored with Owen Zeidar, the everywhere millionaire who is really rich in America and how they got there. Thank you so much, Eric.
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