There are many ways to become nouveau riche. Start by investing in your most important asset: Your mind. Doing well in school and getting an education in a high-paying profession such as doctor, lawyer, economist, etc. will give you a head-start and a safe economic position. Learn about basic economics such as Compound interest and investment strategies. Develop yourself all your life. Increase your professional skills, leadership skills, financial skills, social skills and general life skills. Making yourself valuable will increase your chances regardless of your path to nouveau riche.

Start investing as early as possible. Do not wait until you have "enough" money to invest. You will end up with a larger account in the end if you start investing a small amount early and keep adding more regularly. Then make smart investments. It is always better to be an employer than an employee, if you are disciplined and able to devote time and money. Learn all you can about running a business. Take a class. Ask an experienced business owner for advice. Be careful, though. Many businesses fail, especially in their first year. You could end up with considerable debt, no savings, and no benefits.

Learn about budgeting, credit, and debt. Learn how credit cards work! If you get into debt early it can sabotage your progress. If you are in college and can't afford an apartment and don't like those nasty dorms, then gather with 3 or 4 people, and buy a good sized house while splitting the payment. It'd probably cost less than a apartment. Better yet, buy yourself a home using a mortgage and pay yourself instead someone!

Listen to your instincts and don't be afraid to go against the flow. If someone tells you that they have found a sure-fire opportunity to make you nouveau riche, it usually means that they have found a sure-fire opportunity to make themselves rich by convincing you to buy their product. So stop and think, there are millions of great opportunities out there. You just have to filter out all the background noise to find those opportunities because, in the real world, no one else is going to find them for you.