A 12-year-old’s decision to invest in Bitcoin turned him into a millionaire.
Indeed, looking back, Erik Finman has zero regrets about his choice to invest in Bitcoin when he was just 12. While his peers might have been spending their allowance on toys and snacks, Erik was plotting a financial revolution.
Back in 2011, instead of squandering his cash, Erik made a pact with his parents: he would attempt to build his wealth without following the traditional educational path, in exchange for skipping college.
But what was Erik’s strategy for wealth accumulation? Fortuitously, Bitcoin had launched in 2009, with data becoming accessible the next year. Gifted with $1,245 from his grandmother, Erik opted to invest in the burgeoning cryptocurrency.
At that time, Bitcoin was valued at about $12 per unit, giving Erik roughly 103 BTC.
While it’s likely that many kids his age would have been baffled by how to invest in such a novel online currency, Erik’s gamble certainly paid off.
By December 2017, when Erik was 18, Bitcoin soared to approximately $20,000 per unit, ballooning his initial $1,245 investment to an astonishing $2.07 million.
Looking back on his lucrative decision, Erik, now an adult, mentioned, ‘people didn’t really get what I was trying to do’.
He shared with the Business of Business: “I really didn’t like high school. People didn’t really get what I was trying to do, get what I was searching for or what I was dreaming of.
“I had one teacher tell me, yeah, drop out, work at McDonald’s since I’ll never amount to anything more in life.
“I dropped out of high school and made a bet with my parents: if I make a million dollars by the time I’m 18, I don’t have to go back to school or go to college.”
Erik didn’t rest on his laurels after his first million. He managed to increase his holdings to 341 Bitcoins, which were valued at over $4.8 million by mid-2020.
Now 25, Erik finds himself disillusioned with his fame as the ‘Bitcoin kid’ and has expressed a strong desire to diversify his investments. Recently, he’s been channeling his funds into the aviation sector, which he claims has been profitable.
Whatever makes you happy, champ. More power to you.