Millionaires, possibly.

I know a car dealer in Greater Vancouver, he has a few EM pins, many many vintage cars. Asked him once, "Have you considered adopting a new kid". He just laughed and laughed, then said, his grandkids will get it all.

There's a lot here, except we're all just waiting on the lottery

Kinda related. As a high school kid, Warren Buffet operated EM games.

"In high school, he and a pal bought a pinball machine to put in a barbershop. With the money they earned, they bought more machines until they had eight in different shops. When the friends sold the venture, Warren Buffett used the proceeds to buy stocks and to start another small business. By age 26, he’d amassed $174,000 — or $1.4 million in today’s money. Even a small sum can turn into great wealth".

http://www.warrenbuffett.com/warren-buffett-10-ways-to-get-rich/

David Copperfield has some rare Penny Arcade stuff. I mean hundred of thousands to $1,000,000 rare..
But he's only 80% of a billionaire.. Close..

The key is whether or not the rich people also have that special gene
that causes the collecting and addiction to want to find and buy more.

One of the assholes from AIG that recieved a huge bonus from American tax payers when his company was bailed out in 2008 has a compound near me with a few EMs in it . He is almost never there and I am sure the games never get played .

A friend of mine locally is worth a few billion dollars (my guess as we don't discuss those things). He collects EM's as well as new games. He also has some very cool, older PM machines (Pure Mechanical)

He plays regularly at home and also has machines available at his business for his employees to play. He and I have traveled to many pinball shows together and some of you have unknowingly stood in line next to him to play. He's unpretentious about his wealth unlike some upper middle class people that pretend to be rich.

Sensing the drift of this thread I will add this. He's not stupid with his money, he researches pinball prices, negotiate with sellers and will walk away from a pinball deal if its too expensive. He also repairs and shops out his own games.

Don't let television or the prevailing attitude towards rich people invade your consciousness too much. For a realistic view read the book, The Millionaire Next Door.

The wealthiest person I knew collected all kinds of pinball machines including old woodrails and EMs. Unfortunately he passed away a few weeks ago. Not sure if he had a billion dollars or not, but he sure lived like he did.

sounds like nate

our buddy wasn't quite a billionaire but he was well off but NEVER acted like a rich Ahole . he was down to earth and a good guy.
he will surely be missed

one of my biggest pet peeves.

I know one billionaire personally, and like some have said, you would not even know it (well you would maybe guess if you knew his last name). But he is one of the most down to earth people I know. He likes to go to garage sales/flea markets and sell stuff he buys on ebay for the hell of it.

but I know a couple doctors that blow money on the dumbest stuff . but you cant take it with you and they don't have families.

Most people I've known seem to get a little snobby once they start making over 6 figures. Not all but we have all seen someone like that.

Most millionaire's I've known aren't aholes, well until they shoot down my fool-proof investment idea's, then they are A-holes

Yeah, one of my pet peeves also. A friend once named them, Fifty Thousand dollars a year Millionaires.

** I hope no one misunderstands my comment. My pet peeve is anyone spending beyond their means no matter how much they make and pretending to be more.

I wouldn't want a pet peeve even if it was given to me for free!

I sold a Wade krause playfield a couple years ago (Kings and Queens) and the zip code was 90120 and the city was Beverly Hills. Didn't recognize the name or ask what he did for a living. Obviously a wealthy person who collects and restores EM's.

Whoa whoa I have one of those in the basement...you got anymore Beverly Hills deep pockets on speed dial?

Thailand?
http://www.datapedia.co/postcodes/thailand-postal-zip-codes/sa-dao-postal-zip-code-90120-details_733191

90210, give me a break! It's Monday. Didn't sell the playfield for a profit. Probably could have. Sing Along is just as good(or better) than Kings and Queens.

I know. If it's the same guy I sold him my K&Q where it sat un played just like it had at my house for months. But it was a nice one!

Mystery man in Beverly Hills, wonder who it is? I've sold several WK playfields, usually because I've changed my mind but never for a profit. That would be wrong.

I don't know if it's the same guy or not, but he was a friend of mine.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rip-donald-margolis-terapin99

Oh my, now that's sad. Sorry to hear the news. Recognize the name now.

Not a billionaire, but ex MLB pitcher David Wells had, or still has a collection of EM pins.
He said his favorite was Bally "Amigo" (???) Go figure!

I remember many years ago there was a show on the YES network where they were walking through his home. He was showing the pinball machines. He called the cameraman over to have him film the castle being destroyed on medieval madness.

I've heard in Texas they say "Big hat - no cattle"

There are millions of Americans who don't have $500 in the bank but are willing to dish out more than that on a cell phone, and then are stupid enough to make monthly payments that ultimately end up being far higher than $500 to protect their purchase... which they clearly couldn't afford in the first place.

You don't have to be a billionaire to enjoy good old fashioned pinball. But the more you have to spend, the better it probably gets.

K&Q (resized).jpg

Unless you wait around. People ask me how I'm so consistent at getting good deals, the secret is being so poor that the only deals you get have to be good deals or you're not getting a machine... Makes for a pretty damn good ratio! (Some people snipe CL deals to save money and stay within their "pinball budget" and not "overspend", I do it as the only way to get games that would otherwise normally cost more than I physically have to my name)

If I was a billionaire collector I'd say...buy a 50k mg

I don't need to be wealthy to keep my own games in tune. And I don't feel the need to work on billionaire's machines so they can experience that too.

there are doubtless thousands of "millionaires" into pinball, and indeed certainly a bunch of posters on Pinside who meet that criteria. if the definition of a millionaire is someone whose assets minus liabilities total more than a million dollars, that's really not all that rare of a thing.

Its a good thread, man. Don't worry about it.

Heck, 45 years of working straight time makes one a millionaire these days if based solely on wages produced. Even I could become one someday.

One of the keys to wealth, as told by Mr. Steve Martin on SNL:

https://vimeo.com/41152287

People collect all sorts of things
does not matter if you are rich or poor

If you sit around for too long, you'll collect dust!