Todd Baldwin with his wife, Angela, and their two children.
Courtesy of Todd Baldwin
Todd Baldwin got an early start on investing, buying his first property at 23.He put $19,000 down on a $506,000 six-bedroom house outside Seattle, moved into the primary bedroom with his girlfriend at the time, now his wife, and rented out the remaining rooms. The rental income covered his mortgage and utilities and generated about $1,500 a month in additional cash flow, he said.By 25, Baldwin's net worth crossed $1 million, mostly thanks to rental income, he said. At 28, he became a multimillionaire and felt comfortable leaving his six-figure corporate job to double down on real estate.Real estate helped Baldwin accumulate wealth — in 2019, he added a second property, a duplex that he turned into a short-term rental — but he has also used the stock market to grow his wealth without taking on more work.In 2021, he invested a little over $1 million in Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF, VOO. By the time he spoke with Business Insider five years later, the position had gained about $800,000, according to a screenshot of his Vanguard account."It almost feels like a loophole," said Baldwin.The Seattle-based millennials' results are exceptional. He started investing unusually young, earned a high income, and bought property in the Seattle area during a period of strong appreciation and lower interest rates. He also acknowledges that his market played a major role in his success.
