In the past most people became rich by owning and controlling natural resources. But thats been changing for a few decades. Many have become rich by owning the rights to intangible assets.

The Richest men in the world will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be people who own corporations or are in somekind of business management of assets like Warren Buffett. Bill Gates started Microsoft of course. Another great name that comes to mind is Rockefeller who owned Standard Oil. Real Esate is profitable there is just no 5 billion dollar house you can buy and make money on. However, you can easily buy 500 billion in any stock if you have resources and your business can thrive as long as you have customers.