The Man Who Got Rich by Walking Away
Discover why saying “no” to the AI gold rush could be the smartest investment decision you make.
Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
Hello, Reader.
Sometimes, the best way to play an investment boom is to walk away from it.
The success story of “Wheelbarrow Johnny” makes that case.
John Studebaker arrived in California during the gold rush – with $65 sewn into a belt, three changes of clothes, and the same dream as everyone else: find the precious yellow metal. But he looked around and changed his mind almost immediately. Lots of prospectors were searching for gold; few of them were finding any.
So, he abandoned that dream and pursued a different one.
As a kid from a family of Indiana wagon-builders, he knew a little something about attaching wheels to wood. So, he set up a small shop to construct and sell wheelbarrows to miners for $10 each.
When the gold rush wound down five years later, Studebaker went home to Indiana with $8,000 in savings – a small fortune at the time.
Back in South Bend, his brothers Henry and Clement had been quietly expanding their family wagon business. John wanted in. So, he invested his $8,000 into what would become the largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles in the world.
At the height of westward migration, half of the wagons crossing the continent were Studebakers. The company also built carriages for Presidents Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, and Harrison.
When the automobile age arrived, the Studebaker company made the transition to “horseless carriages” without breaking stride – becoming the third largest producer of automobiles in America. John died a wealthy man in 1917.
“Wheelbarrow Johnny” didn’t strike it rich mining gold. Instead, he amassed his riches by first saying “no” to the most over-hyped, get-rich-quick opportunity of their day. His story contains timeless insights about investing in the age of artificial intelligence.
I’ll share these insights below. But first, let’s take a look back at what we covered here at Smart Money last week, where we also explore how the biggest fortunes often come from refusing to chase whatever everyone else is chasing.
Including…
- Buying when the crowd overreacts.
- Choosing value over hype.
- Avoiding overpriced expectations.
- Owning the companies behind the boom.
Smart Money Roundup
These Seasonal Trends Take the Guesswork Out of Buying and Selling
July 12, 2026
Timing is important for us as investors. It’s tempting to leave buying and selling decisions to gut instinct. Now, the research team at TradeSmith has developed a way to track seasonal patterns, giving investors an edge in today’s chaotic markets. TradeSmith CEO Keith Kaplan explains how this system works and shows you how to access it in Sunday’s issue.
What My 200,000-Mile Mazda Taught Me About Value Investing
July 11, 2026
Value alone hasn’t been enough to satisfy portfolios… especially not since the mid-2000s. Over the past decade and a half, growth stocks have dominated headlines and delivered some incredible returns, leading many investors to believe growth has permanently beaten value. But Tom Yeung explains how that’s not the case.
Where to Invest When Great News Isn’t Enough
July 9, 2026
As we saw with Samsung Electronics Co.’s recent earnings, stocks don’t move solely on results – they move on the gap between results and expectations. This dynamic is especially clear in today’s AI-focused market. Discover why expectations can be detrimental and how investing in less popular companies might protect your portfolio.
The 3 Stocks Quietly Benefiting From the SpaceX Shakeup
July 8, 2026
When nothing but excitement surrounded the SpaceX IPO, my colleague and veteran trader Jonathan Rose insisted that investors not give in. He explains why the IPO isn’t the main story and how it may instead reshape the communications business, creating significant investment opportunities. Click here to find the names of the companies that could benefit.
The Real Fortune in the AI Gold Rush
The AI gold rush is underway… and almost no one wants to say “no” to the opportunity. The financial markets are teaming with “prospectors” of all types – from individual investors to trillion-dollar tech companies.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) will collectively spend about $725 billion this year to build AI data centers — up more than 75% from last year’s already-staggering total.
For now, however, investors care little about the soaring cost of building AI dreams; nor about their uncertain profit potential. They care only about the dreams themselves… and will pay almost any price to be part of them.
That’s why investors are lavishing many AI companies with valuations that would have made Pets.com blush during the peak of the dot-com bubble.
Meanwhile, lurking on the fringes of the market, we find the overlooked “AI Survivor” companies that have as little to do with AI as a vegan with steak tartare. These companies are the providers of “future-proof” goods and services that can survive the onslaught of AI, or even thrive because of it.
They make sandals or sneakers. They sell coffee. They bottle water. They thrift clothing. They discover drugs and dispense medications.
However, because of their expressly non-AI pedigree, the market has been ignoring them, punishing them, and in some cases repricing them as if they were broken businesses rather than durable ones.
That collective myopia is creating some compelling investment opportunities.
Click here to learn how to access my favorite AI Survivor companies.
Regards,
Eric Fry