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The Secret History of Great Wealth, a free history course on Tomo

The Secret History of Great Wealth

Ever wonder how the world's richest families actually built their fortunes? Go behind the scenes of history's biggest bank accounts to see the moves they made and the systems they used.

Like Duolingo, but for The Secret History of Great Wealth. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

170 levels across 8 sections, about 340 minutes end to end, roughly 68 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Spotting the Big Opportunity, Building a Business Empire, Making Money Work for You, Keeping it in the Family, The Power of Connections, Winning During Hard Times, The Dark Side of the Fortune, and The Science of Staying Rich. It starts from scratch.

170 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Monty the Money-Mogul, the guide who teaches the Secret History of Great Wealth course
The Secret History of Great Wealth
with Monty the Money-Mogul
170
Levels
8
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in The Secret History of Great Wealth

  • A market gap requires a high frequency of the problem across a large population
  • Wealth is created by capturing value in 'white space' where no competitors exist
  • Profitable gaps involve a high 'willingness to pay' to save time or effort
  • Iterating on existing products leads to price wars rather than massive wealth
  • High competition with low customer satisfaction indicates a poorly served market
  • A truly crowded market has high satisfaction and optimized solutions
  • Wealth is created by capturing value in white space
  • Validation must happen before significant capital is invested in a product
  • Identifying if a market is crowded or poorly served
  • Customer commitment (money or contact info) is the only true validation
  • The process of validating a gap before building a solution
  • Customer complaints are raw data for specific types of market gaps
  • Different complaints require different business model solutions
  • Boring problems are often essential 'utilities' that businesses must pay for
  • Flashy trends attract too much competition and have shorter lifecycles
  • Friction is the unnecessary time, cost, or effort in a transaction
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives The Secret History of Great Wealth the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

The Art of the Market Gap

Where do the wealthiest founders usually look to build their massive fortunes?

Get it right to open this lesson and 169 more in the app.

Course map

How to learn The Secret History of Great Wealth, step by step

Go in order. 170 short levels across 8 sections, about 5 hours 40 minutes in all, five minutes a day.

  1. 1

    Spotting the Big Opportunity

    • Finding a gap in the market
    • Betting on a new invention
    • The power of being first
    • Turning a hobby into a dynasty
  2. 2

    Building a Business Empire

    • Controlling the whole supply chain
    • Buying out the competition
    • Scaling up to go global
    • The art of the deal
    • Protecting the family brand
    • Hiring the smartest people
  3. 3

    Making Money Work for You

    • The magic of compound interest
    • Investing in land and buildings
    • Owning a piece of other companies
  4. 4

    Keeping it in the Family

    • How inheritance works
    • Setting up a family office
    • The role of trust funds
    • Training the next generation
    • Avoiding the 'rags to riches' cycle
  5. 5

    The Power of Connections

    • Networking in high places
    • Marriage as a business move
    • Influencing laws and rules
    • Exclusive clubs and secret circles
  6. 6

    Winning During Hard Times

    • Buying when prices are low
    • Profiting from wars and crises
    • Staying safe during market crashes
  7. 7

    The Dark Side of the Fortune

    • Monopolies and unfair play
    • Exploiting workers and resources
    • Tax loopholes and offshore accounts
    • The 'Robber Barons' of history
    • Cleaning up a reputation
  8. 8

    The Science of Staying Rich

    • Diversifying to lower risk
    • The psychology of old money
    • Philanthropy as a strategy
    • How wealth changes over centuries

8 sections · 34 units · 170 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

Questions

Questions about The Secret History of Great Wealth

  1. How do I learn The Secret History of Great Wealth?

    Go in order: start with Spotting the Big Opportunity, then Building a Business Empire, then Making Money Work for You, then Keeping it in the Family, and 4 more sections after that. On Tomo that's 170 short levels, about 5 hours 40 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.

  2. Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Secret History of Great Wealth?

    Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Secret History of Great Wealth is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.

  3. Is The Secret History of Great Wealth free?

    Yes. The Secret History of Great Wealth is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.

  4. How long does it take to learn The Secret History of Great Wealth?

    170 levels across 8 sections, about 5 hours 40 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.

  5. Do I need any background to start The Secret History of Great Wealth?

    No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.

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How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Bestie

The Secret History of Great Wealth is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

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