#102: Building a $2M Net Worth Over 9 Years as an Air Force Officer

Hey all, it’s MMV.

This post is the FIRST Pro member-only post and I’m proud to highlight the success of one follower who has been following my journey for years while he was building his own version of a dream life.

In 9 years, he went from a net worth of $86,000 to $2,000,000 while raising a family! He is living proof that being obsessed with your goal truly pays off in the end.

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I’m 35 years old. I currently reside in Florida and I’m a federal civilian employee who recently left the Air Force as an active duty officer. I grew up in a low-income home in a family of five living in a cramped 2-bed, 2-bath condo with parents who aspired for me to enlist in the military to follow my step-dad’s footsteps.

During my time in the Air Force, I was able to hit financial milestones going from a net worth of $86,000 to $1,000,000 in 6 years and as a federal civilian, I was able to reach the $2,000,000 milestone in 9 years.

My parents dressed us in thrift store finds and garage sale hand-me-downs. Lunches were tough; sometimes I had to steal food from the cafeteria because I didn’t have enough money to eat and was even caught. That early scarcity shaped my awareness of finances.

After dedicating eight years to military prep (four years in high school JROTC and four in college AFROTC), I proudly commissioned as an Air Force officer, seeking a better life. But my first assignment brought conflict with leadership that made me rethink my path and realized I needed a financial escape plan. I began seeing the “rat race” for what it was: a cycle of endless work with no real freedom.

A seminar by Fortune Builders in Daytona Beach (though clearly designed to sell a dream) lit the fire. I didn’t buy into their program, but their motivation got me moving. I launched a real estate side hustle by purchasing my first primary residence (4 bed/2 bath) with $0 down VA loan and all closing costs covered by lender & seller in March of 2014 and 7 months later bought my first duplex with the little cash I saved as a down payment for the primary residence while working full-time and I was driven to build passive income that could replace my monthly expenses. That’s how I began crafting my own financial independence. I was purchasing properties with 25% down that met the 1% rule.

That’s 3 sales this quarter. 26 sales total. 

And the performance?

14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8% → The three most representative annualized net returns.
(See all 26 at Masterworks.com)

Masterworks is the biggest platform for investing in an asset class that hasn’t moved in lockstep with the S&P 500 since ‘95.

In fact, the market segment they target outpaced the S&P overall in that time frame.*

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_{*Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance not indicative of future returns. Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd}