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World War II ended in 1945, and the world faced a massive challenge – rebuilding devastated economies. Growth was especially strong in the United States and Western Europe. This period is often called the “Golden Age of Capitalism,” marked by powerful economic expansion and rising living standards.

Why was it possible to get rich quickly?

Economic recovery and growth in countries affected by World War II.

Reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure and industry. Growth in industrial production, agriculture, and the service sector.

Technological progress and innovation.

Active implementation of new technologies derived from military research (aviation, electronics, chemistry).

Development of mass production and automation.

Growth of consumer demand.

A mass consumer market emerged: cars, household appliances, housing. Rising incomes fueled demand.

In the United States, the Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe, creating new markets. Millions of people rose out of poverty and gained stable jobs and income. This created a new class of consumers and workers.

Who could get rich and how?

Entrepreneurs and business owners.

Companies producing cars (Ford, General Motors), household appliances, building materials.

Construction and real estate developers, driven by a boom in housing construction.

Investors and shareholders.

People who invested in rapidly growing companies and the stock market.

Engineers and inventors.

Creators of new technologies and products that captured the market.

Financiers and bankers.

Lending to businesses and individuals, expansion of the mortgage market.

Key features of the period:

Relative economic stability, increased social mobility, strong government regulation and social programs (insurance, pensions).

The post – World War II period was a time of stable and rapid economic growth, when people could become wealthy thanks to industrial expansion, new technologies, and rising consumer demand. It was one of the most favorable periods for business in the 20th century.

6. Technological Boom (1990—2000) – The Dotcom Era

The Dotcom Era was a period of rapid growth for internet companies and technologies, especially from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. The internet began to penetrate the lives of millions of people, and the first mass web services, online stores, and platforms emerged.

Why could people get rich quickly?

Explosive growth of the internet. The internet became accessible to the general public. New business opportunities emerged: e-commerce, online advertising, digital services.

Rapid increase in internet company valuations. Dotcom company stocks surged in price, even without sustainable profits. Investors poured money in, hoping for quick growth and high returns.

Easy access to venture capital. Venture funds actively financed internet-themed startups. Young companies received large investments for development and scaling.

Creation of new business models. Platforms for e-commerce appeared (Amazon, eBay). Search engines were launched (Yahoo, Google), as well as internet service providers and online services.

Initial public offerings (IPOs). Many startups quickly went public, allowing founders and investors to get rich almost instantly.

Who got rich? Founders and investors of internet companies: Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Peter Thiel (PayPal), Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google). Funds that invested in the right projects. Traders on the stock market. Speculating on dotcom stocks brought huge profits.

Risks and the dotcom crisis:

The collapse of the dotcom bubble in 2000—2002. Many companies turned out to be unprofitable and closed, and investors lost billions of dollars. But for those who invested in the right projects (Google, Amazon), the Dotcom Era became the start of immense wealth.

The Dotcom Era was a period of incredible growth and opportunity, when rapid wealth was possible through innovation, investment, and going public. It was a time that showed how new technologies can transform the economy and create new market leaders.

7. The Cryptocurrency Boom (to this day)

The cryptocurrency boom is the rapid rise in popularity and value of digital currencies, starting with the emergence of Bitcoin in 2009 and continuing to the present day. This market is characterized by high volatility, innovation, and opportunities for significant profits.

Why could one get rich quickly?

The emergence of Bitcoin (2009): The first decentralized cryptocurrency, opening a new era of financial technology. The opportunity to buy bitcoins early at very low prices. The growth in cryptocurrency values. Increasing interest from institutional and private investors.

Development of blockchain technologies and DeFi: The introduction of smart contracts (Ethereum, etc.) and decentralized financial applications.

Opportunities for passive income through staking, farming, and lending.

ICOs and token sales: Mass initial coin offerings (ICOs) allowed buying new tokens at their launch.

The rise of NFTs and the metaverse: Digital collectibles and virtual assets opened new paths to earning.

Who got rich?

Early investors in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Founders of crypto projects.

Creators of new blockchain platforms and applications.

Traders and speculators.

Users who entered and exited the market wisely.

Venture capital investors who backed promising projects early.

Risks and problems:

High volatility – huge price swings.

Regulatory risks and uncertainty across different countries.

Scams and fraudulent projects.

Technical risks and security issues.

The cryptocurrency boom is not just another trend. It is a modern era of change, comparable to the Industrial Revolution or the gold rush – and it is still ongoing. The main thing is: you are already living in it. What will you tell your children years from now?

“I’m sorry, son… I was afraid. I didn’t see the opportunity, even though it was right in front of me. We are not rich because your dad thought like a poor man. I trusted the crowd too much – those who always arrive last and always leave empty-handed.”

But it can be different! You can take a broader perspective. Stop seeking approval from the majority, who are always late. Start learning, experimenting, analyzing. Understand that times of change are not a reason for fear, but a window for growth. You don’t have to be a genius to seize the opportunity. You need to be open. Have the courage to ask questions, think for yourself, and most importantly, act before it’s too late. Awaken!

Chapter 3. How Your Capital Is Taken Away: A Story of Stealthy Robbery

“Capital extraction is the art of convincing you that money is dangerous and poverty is a virtue.”

The middle class is an educated, independent, and relatively self-sufficient layer of the population. They read, think, and analyze. They have the time, money, and energy to ask questions, participate in politics, create businesses, and organize. They can influence: vote, invest, change the rules of the game. A system built on inequality and control does not want people to think and unite. It wants consumers, not investors; workers, not employers; dependent people, not free ones.

The middle class as a mass stratum is disappearing; it is being mercilessly erased. You are either given pseudo-stability (a mortgage, loans, a survival job), or you wake up and climb upward, against the system. The richest keep getting richer (capital works on capital). Assets (stocks, real estate) rise in value – those who have them win. Those who don’t fall behind forever. Wages don’t grow at the same pace as prices and the cost of living. Central banks inject money into the system this drives up prices, but not ordinary people’s incomes. The rich know how to minimize taxes; the poor pay everything. “Benefits” keep you on the edge of survival but prevent you from moving up.

What is the expropriation of capital in the modern world? It is a systemic process in which resources – money, assets, time, energy – are taken from the population, small businesses, or inexperienced investors without visible violence. This can happen through economic mechanisms, informational influence, financial illiteracy, psychological and behavioral traps.

Who does this, how, and why?

1. States and central banks

Why? To redistribute resources, control inflation, and bail out major players.

How? Inflation: printing money reduces the purchasing power of the population. Increasing taxes. Pension reforms, where you pay but don’t receive. Devaluations and currency restrictions.

2. Corporations and banks

Why? For stable profits, maintaining power, and controlling consumers.

How? Pushing loans, mortgages, and leases with appealing promises. Subscription services where you never truly own what you pay for. Complex investment products with deliberately unfavorable terms.

3. Stock and crypto markets (including major players)

Why? To enrich themselves at the expense of retail investors.

How? Creating hype → attracting the crowd → dumping → selling assets at the expense of newcomers. Manipulation through media and influencers. “Pump and dump,” insider trading, false news.

4. The education system itself

Why? To keep you an obedient worker and consumer.

How? Financial illiteracy – you don’t know how money works. Propaganda of “stability” and fear of risk. Social programming: “wealth is not for you,” “money corrupts.”

How does this look in practice?

You spend 30 years paying off a mortgage – for an apartment the bank can take away from you. You keep money in the national currency – and watch your savings shrink. You are afraid to invest – and inflation eats your capital. You work for someone else your whole life – and retire with pennies.

What to do about it?

Increase financial literacy. Think strategically, not emotionally. Diversify: don’t keep everything in one basket (currency, assets, knowledge). Learn to spot risks and manipulations before you fall into them.

You are not poor because you have no money. You are poor because someone convinced you that you cannot keep it and do not deserve to be wealthy. Before we move on to crypto specifically, you must understand: no one is genuinely interested in your well-being neither the state, nor your friends, nor your boss. On the contrary, everything around you wants to take what little you have, or what might appear in the foreseeable future. You live in a system where, by default, you are a resource, a slave. You are not taught to earn you are taught to obey, consume, spend, and fear losing your job. You are given the illusion of stability: a salary once a month, a 30-year mortgage, a “free” healthcare plan. But it’s all a trap. The longer you stay in it, the harder it is to escape. And if you suddenly decide to break free start asking questions, studying finance, exploring investments or crypto – you will be called naive, greedy, strange, “too smart.” This is the system defending itself against the crowd. You must understand: the path to freedom does not go through seeking others’ permission. You will not get approval. You will not wait for the “right moment.” You will not be saved by telling yourself: “I just need to endure a little longer.”

Crypto is not just an investment. It is a protest. It is an exit from subjugation. It is a tool that works for you if you are ready to think independently. In the future, people will divide into those who understood and those who laughed and walked past. The only question is which group you will be in.

Mechanisms of Capital Expropriation from the Middle Class and Elites at Different Stages of History:

1. Antiquity (up to roughly the 5th century AD)

How capital was taken:

War spoils and plunder. Victors in wars seized lands, livestock, valuables, and slaves from the defeated.

Debt slavery. If a person could not repay a debt, their property could be confiscated, and they themselves could be enslaved.

Taxes and obligations. City-states collected taxes from the population, taking a portion of wealth.

Example: In Ancient Rome, emperors often confiscated the property of executed or exiled opponents. In Athens, debtors unable to pay lost both freedom and property.

2. Middle Ages (5th – 15th centuries)

How capital was taken:

Feudal system. Land belonged to feudal lords; peasants worked it and gave part of the harvest (rent) or labor (corvée).

Church taxes. Tithes claimed a significant portion of income.

Confiscations for “crimes” against the lord or king. Property could be seized, and titles revoked.

Inquisition and heresy. The Church could confiscate property from those accused of heresy.

Example: In England, after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror confiscated land from Anglo-Saxons and gave it to his vassals. In Russia, peasants had to pay rent or work for the landowner, effectively losing property rights.

3. Early Modern Period (15th – 18th centuries)

How capital was taken:

Colonial plunder. European powers (Spain, Portugal, England, France) seized lands, resources, and people (slavery) from indigenous populations.

Religious confiscations. During the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, church property was often seized in Protestant countries.

Revolutionary confiscations. After 1789, the French Revolution confiscated aristocratic and church property to finance the revolution.

Example: The Spanish conquest in the Americas seized gold, silver, and land from the indigenous peoples. In France, revolutionaries confiscated noble estates to fund the army.

4. 19th Century

How capital was taken:

Abolition of serfdom. Peasants were freed but often had to buy land, sometimes losing capital in the process.

Nationalization and land reforms. Some reforms redistributed land, sometimes forcibly.

Colonialism. Resource expropriation from colonies continued.

High taxes and levies. States imposed taxes to fund industrialization and armies.

Example: In Russia in 1861, peasants were freed but had to buy land from landlords. In India, the British confiscated lands and resources from local principalities and communities.

5. 20th Century

How capital was taken:

Socialist revolutions. In the USSR (1917), China (1949), and other countries, land and enterprises were nationalized, and private property was abolished.

Repressions and deportations. In the USSR, property was seized from kulaks and other repressed groups.

The Great Depression. In the US and Europe, taxes and regulations redistributed wealth.

Postwar reforms. Nationalizations of strategic industries in Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Corporate takeovers. In the 1980s—90s, transitional economies often experienced raider attacks.

Example: In the USSR, property was confiscated from landlords, capitalists, and church officials. In China, the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution involved mass expropriation.

6. Modern Period (21st Century)

How capital is taken:

Nationalizations and privatizations. Some countries nationalize large enterprises, while others experience corruption and corporate raiding.

Financial sanctions. In international politics, assets of countries or individuals may be frozen or seized.

Anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. Assets are confiscated from those suspected of corruption.

Cybercrime. Capital can be stolen by hackers and fraudsters.

Example: Nationalization of the oil industry in Venezuela. In 1990s Russia, corporate raiding of enterprises was widespread.

If you’ve ever wondered how it’s possible to have so many generations behind you and yet today not own a single piece of property as inheritance – not a key, not a corner of land – here’s your answer…

Expropriation of Capital and Savings in Tsarist Russia (approximately until 1917)

Main methods and mechanisms:

Serfdom and corvée labor. Until 1861, peasants were serfs and belonged to landowners. They did not own land and were obliged to work for the landowner, giving a significant portion of their labor (corvée) and harvest (obrok). This effectively limited their economic freedom and prevented them from accumulating capital.

Redemption payments after the abolition of serfdom (1861). When serfdom was abolished, peasants were officially granted freedom, but the land was not given to them for free – they had to pay redemption payments to the state and landowners. This created a form of debt bondage and limited their economic opportunities.

Taxes and obligations. Peasant communities and merchants paid high taxes – poll taxes, trade duties, and military conscriptions. The state extracted a significant portion of their income.

Confiscations and fines. In cases of accusations of treason, uprisings, or other crimes, property could be confiscated. This particularly affected political opponents.

Economic dependence on landowners and state monopolies. Monopolies on salt, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as control over trade and industry, restricted opportunities for accumulation and free disposal of capital.

In Tsarist Russia, capital was expropriated through the system of serfdom, taxes, redemption payments, and strict control by the state and nobility.

Expropriation of Capital and Savings in the USSR (1917—1991)

Main stages and methods:

Nationalization and confiscation after the 1917 Revolution. After the October Revolution, all private property of large capital (land, factories, banks) was nationalized. Landowners and the bourgeoisie lost their property without compensation.

Dekulakization and confiscation from peasants. In the 1920s—30s, during collectivization, so-called “kulaks” – peasants with relatively large farms – were dispossessed, their property confiscated, and many were sent to labor camps or exile.

Repressions and seizures from “enemies of the people.” In the 1930s—50s, during Stalin’s purges, all property of those accused of “sabotage” or political crimes was confiscated: apartments, houses, and savings.

State control over all economic resources. Private property was almost entirely eliminated; all enterprises, land, and housing were state-owned. People could use property and housing only with official permission.

Taxes and mandatory contributions. Although there was formally no private business, the state levied taxes on collective farms, state farms, and workers through centralized planning and distribution.

Personal savings and restrictions. Bank deposits and personal savings were strictly controlled by the state, and depositors often had no freedom to dispose of their capital.

Inflation in the USSR. Although the USSR officially claimed price stability and controlled the economy centrally, inflation still existed in hidden forms. Due to the planned economy, shortages of consumer goods often occurred. People stood in long queues, and the real purchasing power of money fell because it was difficult to buy necessary items.

Devaluation of savings. Due to shortages and control over the money supply, people could not effectively preserve their money, and their savings effectively lost purchasing power.

Denominations in the USSR. The USSR conducted several official currency redenominations, which were often perceived as a way to partially “take away” the accumulated funds of the population. Key cases:

1947: After World War II, the government carried out a monetary reform with a 10:1 redenomination. This meant old money was exchanged for new money at a ratio of 10 to 1. The goal was to fight inflation and the black market, but the population effectively lost 90% of their savings.

1961: Another 10:1 redenomination, but less severe. It was mainly for simplifying currency circulation. Many perceived it as a loss of part of their capital, but the impact was softened because wages and pensions were indexed.

Denominations reduced the nominal value of savings and could lead to the actual loss of part of one’s capital, especially for those holding cash.

In the USSR, capital was expropriated on a mass and systemic scale: nationalization, dekulakization, repressions, complete state control, and elimination of private property.

The Erosion of Capital and Savings in Modern Russia

1. Denomination and Inflation (1990s)

What happened: hyperinflation after the collapse of the USSR (around 2,500% in 1992). People were losing purchasing power literally within weeks. Deposits in Sberbank and other state banks became almost worthless. The 1998 denomination (1,000 old rubles = 1 new ruble) did not compensate for these losses. Millions of Russians, especially the elderly, lost all their savings.

2. Financial Crisis of 1998

What happened: a technical default was declared on government bonds (GKOs). The ruble collapsed – from 6 to 21 per dollar in a matter of weeks. Banks froze accounts. Companies went bankrupt. Savings in rubles disappeared, and dollar assets became inaccessible.

3. Crisis of 2008

Not as destructive, but still: the stock market crashed by 75%. Assets of citizens who invested in mutual funds and stocks depreciated. Unemployment rose, and real incomes fell.

4. Ruble Devaluation in 2014—2015

What happened: following events in Crimea and the imposition of sanctions, the ruble plummeted (from 30 to 70 per dollar). Savings in rubles lost 2—2.5 times their value. Imported goods became more expensive, and inflation increased.

5. Currency Control and Restrictions (2022—2023)

Against the backdrop of the special military operation and sanctions: restrictions on buying foreign currency were introduced. Some banks froze foreign currency deposits. Problems arose with transferring capital abroad. Ruble depreciation: the exchange rate exceeded 100 per dollar.

6. Constant Inflation and Price Growth

Even in “peaceful” years, inflation eroded savings. Official inflation figures were often understated. Real purchasing power declined. The ruble remains one of the most unstable currencies.

7. Pension Reform and Freezing of the Funded Pension Portion (since 2014)

Citizens lost their future pension savings. The retirement age was raised, yet pension amounts remained minimal.

Modern Russian history shows that monetary savings in rubles are not a guarantee of security, and often a path to disappointment. Mechanisms of “taking away” savings are not always direct (confiscation); they can be hidden through inflation, devaluation, freezes, and government reforms.

At all times, there are both opportunities for wealth and risks of losing everything. I want to emphasize this aspect in the book and convey the main message: “Wealth should not be gained quickly, but permanently!”

The goal of the first part is to awaken you. To shake people out of the financial slumber in which millions live when they spend more than they earn, do not know where their salary goes, and believe that “everything will somehow work out on its own.” Awakening is not about advice on where to invest money. It is about an honest look at your life: how you make decisions, why you postpone important things, why you live beyond your means, and where the belief comes from that “money is evil” or “you can only get rich dishonestly.”

As long as a person lives on autopilot spending, earning, taking loans, fearing investments, and hoping for luck no advice will work. Real change does not start with spreadsheets or budgets, but with awareness. Awareness of why you live the way you do. What beliefs control you. Why money slips through your fingers, why you fear large incomes, or sabotage financial goals.

To awaken means to see that your current situation is not a coincidence but the logical result of countless small decisions and habits. And that is where your power lies. Because if you created your current reality, you can create another. A more conscious, sustainable, and financially free one. Everything begins with this awakening.

I ask you: “Awaken!” Put the book down, digest what you have read, and come back a little later. In the second part, we will talk about why most people lose money in crypto, how the “hamster” mindset forms, behavioral patterns, and financial psychology.

If you have read this far and already started feeling disappointed, thinking, “Where are the Lambos? Where’s the money button? Where are the glamorous success stories?” – I’m afraid I will disappoint you even more. Ahead lies no glossy motivation, but food for thought.

If you truly want to succeed financially, you will have to do serious work on yourself. It will not be easy. But if you are ready it will be worth it. No illusions. Only you, your mind, your reactions, and your power to take control into your own hands.