My Taiwanese immigrant friend worked in Walmart for minimum wage and retired at 87 with $2 million. What was her secret?

MW My Taiwanese immigrant friend worked in Walmart for minimum wage and retired at 87 with $2 million. What was her secret?

By Quentin Fottrell

'She owns two houses and lives with a disabled son'

"Her husband also had mental-health issues, so she couldn't rely on him." (Photo subject is a model.)

Can you work a minimum wage job and retire with $2 million?

A gentleman reader asks this question: "We read news about some people making six-figure incomes while living paycheck to paycheck. My Taiwanese friend moved here, couldn't read or write English, married an American GI, moved to Texas, worked at Walmart for minimum wage - worked for almost 60 years - and retired a few years ago only because her husband got sick. At 87, her stock portfolio is about $2 million. She owns two houses and lives with a disabled son. Her husband also had mental-health issues, so she couldn't rely on him." It's possible she did this with seed money from her husband and, yes, it's possible that she did this without it.

Living paycheck to paycheck means different things for different people. For someone earning $100,000 or $200,000 a year who is living paycheck to paycheck, they are probably balancing their books (tightly) every month because they are also contributing 6% of their salary to their 401(k) or IRA; 30% on mortgage payments (rather than rent) so they will benefit from the increase in value of their property over the lifetime of the mortgage); and thousands of dollars into their children's tax-advantaged college 529 plans - in addition to the monthly food, transport, vacation, leisure, gym and utilities expenses.

As Americans try to navigate (or wait) their way out of the current "affordability crisis," six-figure earners are making up for a much larger share of consumer spending. In fact, the top 10% of earners - those households making about $250,000 a year or more - have made huge gains in recent years because of the prolonged bull market and increases in their real estate and other assets. They account for nearly 50% of all spending, up from 36% three decades ago, according to Moody's Analytics data published by The Wall Street Journal.

If she moved here in her 20s, and saved $200 a month for 60 years, she could have over $2 million after 60 years.

His Taiwanese friend, given what he says about her early years and the fact that she could not rely on her husband to boost her financial security, could have been one Walmart $(WMT)$ pink slip away from being on the street, if she did not have a wealthy family as a social safety net. What's more, she may also have been sending money home to her own family of origin. This is the stuff that the American Dream is made of, but first-generation immigrants also have language barriers that can restrict their work-life prospects.

So how did she do it? A penny at a time, and a lot of sweat, sacrifice, patience, stamina, and, probably, not much time for "poor me." But it was possible. If she moved her in her 20s, and saved $200 a month for 60 years and invested that money gradually, with the value of compounding (where the interest and principal both increase as stocks go up) and a 7% typical long-term stock-market return after inflation, she would have just over $2 million after 60 years. It's more than it sounds. Here's the secret: More than 90% of the money she earned is from compound interest.

Of course, that's a lab-experiment outcome. There's so much we don't know about her circumstances, and luck she had along the way. If she was earning the current federal minimum wage of $1,160 a month they would find it nearly impossible to consistently save $200 or more over 62 years while covering basic living expenses like food, utilities, transport, clothing etc. If her husband was drawing Social Security disability and/or she had other family windfalls along the way (to help invest in real estate, for example), it would help speed the plow. Most financial advisers recommend saving at least 20% of your income ($232, in this case).

People who began investing money in the stock market in the 1960s and 1970s also enjoyed some spectacular (that is, double-digit percentage) returns. A modest $50,000 house in California in the 1970s could easily be worth $500,000 today. Owning two houses would add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the reader's friend's net worth without her Walmart wages. Being able to get on the property ladder early can be one of the biggest rocket boosters to financial independence later in life.

Here's the secret: More than 90% of the money she earned is from compound interest.

The perils of minimum wage

Peter C. Earle, director of economics and economic freedom and a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Affairs, offers some sobering thoughts on the minimum wage. "At its core, a minimum wage law establishes a legally binding floor on wages, meaning employers cannot pay workers below a certain hourly rate," he writes. "Certain employers may be exempt from minimum wage laws, such as small businesses with fewer than a specified number of employees, those hiring seasonal or agricultural workers, and family-owned businesses where only immediate relatives are employed."

This Taiwanese lady may have started out in Walmart earning minimum wage, but I'm betting that improvements in her experience and language skills allowed her to progress, further her education and/or find a role at a higher salary. Or she moved into a new sector. Multimillionaires - it's always multimillionaires who make it look easy - sometimes like to give advice to low-wage workers to dream beyond their shifts. In addition to their primary income, they recommend side hustles and/or setting up their own businesses, dividends, rental income, capital gains on investments, etc. The advice can be predictable, if not exactly inaccurate.

The minimum wage can keep you in poverty, as Walmart is one of the top companies receiving federal aid in the form of Medicaid and food stamps. "The intent, as typically stated, is to ensure that even the lowest-paid jobs provide a basic standard of living," Earle adds. "The minimum wage does not operate in a vacuum, however. Its effects depend on broader economic conditions, labor market dynamics, and the relative bargaining power of employers and employees. When a minimum wage is set above the market equilibrium rate - the wage at which supply and demand for labor naturally balance - it can lead to unintended consequences, such as reduced employment opportunities and increased automation."

Roughly 25 million households earn less than $30,000 per year. Minimum wage amounts to about $15,000 a year.

This Taiwanese lady is a miracle of human dignity and perseverance. "One of the most concerning effects of high minimum wages is their disproportionate impact on marginal workers - those with the least experience, lowest skill levels, or the greatest barriers to employment," Earle adds. "Individuals with limited education often struggle the most to secure jobs when wage floors are high, as employers prioritize hiring more experienced or highly skilled workers. This can create long-term economic disadvantages, as job seekers are unable to gain the experience necessary to move up the career ladder."

Wealth is also relative. Americans believe it takes $839,000 to be "financially comfortable," according to Charles Schwab's $(SCHW)$, up from $778,000 last year. That figure was $2 million, give or take a few hundred thousand dollars, over the last five years. Respondents cited the impact of inflation, a weakening economy and higher taxes among the reasons they believe it takes more to feel wealthy. Higher interest rates and their impact on the ability to borrow money took their toll. (As the reader's friend would tell you, the 30-year mortgage rate surpassed 16% in the early 1980s; it's just over 6% now).

Roughly 25 million households in the U.S. earn less than $30,000 per year. Minimum wage, for the record, amounts to about $15,000 a year. The share of U.S. adults living in middle-class households has fallen over the past five decades, to 51% in 2023 from 61% in the early 1970s. Inflation clearly plays a critical role in defining wealth, particularly when it comes to housing. The average home value in the U.S. is $363,932, unchanged from last year, according to Zillow. In California, however, it's $763,288. In New York City, it's $806,834. Building wealth is helped by longevity and diversity.

Oh, and one more thing. His Taiwanese friend may have gotten tenants for her rental and, I presume, avoided getting mired in credit-card debt while she was raising her family. She may have avoided those potholes by working overtime and by relying on her immigrant community when it came to childcare and other homefront duties. She did it singlehandedly, but she probably didn't do it alone. Friends, neighbors, extended family, and those small, daily rewards turned her into the example she sets for us now.

Related: My mother is selling my late father's multimillion-dollar California real-estate portfolio - must I stand idly by?

The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

'Where are we vulnerable?' My husband and I are in our 50s. Our $450K mortgage is paid off. We have $500K in IRAs.

My mother-in-law, 81, is guilting us into paying for her 'bucket list' trip to Italy. Do we say no?

'It's a perilous choice': I've been offered a part-time job. Do I file for Social Security at 67 or 70?

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-Quentin Fottrell

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December 11, 2025 05:15 ET (10:15 GMT)

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