On the occasion of the 25th installment of Forbes annual 400 Richest American’s the filthy stinking rich got even filthy stinking richer (for the fifth consecutive year!)  In their 25th annual edition of The Forbes 400, the collective net worth of the nations wealthiest climbed from $120 billion to $1.25 trillion. A trillion dollars! (a ginzu knife set for the first person who tells me how many zeros in a trillion). Also notable, for the first time ever, everyone on the list is a billionaire. That’s with a B!

In fairness to Forbes, some of the people they profile are wonderfully generous. Bill Gates are Warren Buffett are certainly prime examples as are Google founders. There are others to be sure. What they support indeed has far reaching impact all over the globe.  I probably could have written about what difference they are making and how they are inspiring other wealthy Americans to give even more.  But they get lots of attention and their giving is easy – they have so much money it would make your head spin.  What about the everyday person.  The couple that lives in your neighborhood, you kids school teacher, the single mother one step away from welfare, the waitress at your favorite restaurant, and local civic group.  These are the people deserve the press and attention given to the mega wealthy (and you’ll meet some of those people occasionally in this blog).

Note:  I read recently that Bill Gates, founcer of Microsoft, said he wishes he wasn’t the richness man in America. Provided it wasn’t some urban legend, you could even write him and plead your case for financial help.  I went to Seattle to plead my case to Mr. Gates (actually, I just hoped I’d bump into him while giving a motivational speech to leaders in the credit union movement). I did interview some multi-millionaires for this book. I wanted to readers to see that it may not be everything it’s cracked up to be. One person I interviewed sold his internet company for well over 100 million dollars. He told me he really hated being rich. “The day I became rich, people around me changed,” he said. “I was still the same person but now everyone wanted a piece of me. I had ‘relatives and friends’ coming out of the woodwork”. He gave most of the money away to literacy programs noting that if you can’t read, you have no future. He said it’s so much more enjoyable to be a “regular guy” (granted he’s a regular who probably still has a few mil tucked away somewhere). Now he is living rich as a professional photographer and author. The week after Forbes released their list, I scanned the business magazines’ cover stories. Here’s what I saw on the covers as I quickly scanned them: two had Retire Rich! one featured Young Millionaires, another mentioned How Poor Nations Became Rich. Then as I walked out of the store I saw a book title Why We Want You to Be Rich. That was just a quick scan. When I Googled How to be Rich recently, I got about 240 million responses. Compare that with stories of people creating richness by investing in the lives of others. With the exception of one story in a column entitled “Do-Gooding”, the business publications I scanned seem intent to focus on how good (or rich) you could be, not on what good you could do. And Forbes and other publications only further perpetuate it.So, if you really want to be rich, richer than most on the Forbes list, trying giving. It cost nothing and produces the biggest return on investment ever measured. Here are some thoughts:

1. Inventory Your Interests – Matching your hobby or interests to a need, may fulfill a passion you already have though often experiencing something totally new will create a new interest. Whatever your interest, there is a need.

2. Find a Cause – When you start looking (and sometimes when you’re NOT looking) you’ll see, read, or hear about something that will stir your soul. If you have a bent toward complaining about how bad things are in (fill in the blank with a place in the world or your community), why not use the complaining energy volunteering in that area.

3. Start Close to Home – While I admire and respect the great work many are doing in all corners of the globe, there’s a lot to do in our back yard. Call your local United Way, church or synagogue, or a community outreach organization. You don’t have to travel far, to have far reaching impact.

4. Leverage Your Knowledge - Do you like computers? Photography? Web work? Sewing? Horticulture? Music? Some organization needs what you have.

5. Involve Your Friends and Family – If you have used age of children, size of family, or lack of time with friends as an excuse, participate in a volunteer project together.

6. Actions produce more richness than donations – Here’s some proof:

Ken Behring made a ton of money in his life. He also gave away a lot. But it wasn’t until he gave of himself that it made all the difference in the world (literally). His organization Wheelchair Foundation (www.wheelchairfoundation.org) has donated more than a half million wheelchairs to over 140 countries helping to eliminate immobility for an estimated 100 to 150 million people worldwide. “I spent too much of my life pursuing things money can buy. I’ve always given money to charity, but in the past I didn’t give myself with it. When you actually get an opportunity to personally help somebody, it changes your life. “ ‘Nuff said.

Question: Who is richest person you know and why?

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com