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Family businesses making seven figures in small Southern towns
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Date: January 29th, 2026 9:09 AM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria This is an incredibly chill world if you can somehow break into it. You're not just running a business, you're a community leader, to whose ideas and judgement lots of people defer. Shit is cheap so you can have a country estate, lake house, basically wherever we want. And the population distribution in the South is such that there are small or mid sized cities spread out pretty regularly. So you can probably be within 1-2 hours of some city life while running your rural demesne.
But perhaps the best part is the tiny presence of the UMC or anyone other than your fellow chill oligarchs who might try to one up you. The doctors, lawyers, plant managers and other educated professionals frequently live on the edge of the nearest city and reverse commute out into the country.
All in all, it's an incredible life, if you can appreciate it. The standard patriarch of a manufacturing business with a $2 million EBITDA 1.5 hours outside of Birmingham is probably happier than the average centimillionaire in New York. |
Date: January 29th, 2026 8:03 PM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49631694) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 8:05 PM Author: Massive Locale Gunner (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49631701) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:38 PM Author: Sepia lay It’s OK in Kiryas Joel of course (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632219) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 8:15 PM Author: Galvanic set The standard patriarch of a manufacturing business with a $2 million EBITDA 1.5 hours outside of Birmingham is probably happier than the average centimillionaire in New York.
lol no everything else is spot on but not limited to the South |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 8:23 PM Author: balding theater stage windowlicker the only thing that seems questionable about that claim is how wildly understated it is. i would be willing to bet the modal nyc centimillionaire enjoys below-median happiness. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49631738) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 8:40 PM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria I heard a speech at a conference several years ago from one of those guys. It was really sad, even disturbing. The whole speech was about how great he was. He was desperate for validation. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49631791) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 8:48 AM Author: big headpube becky The average centi millionaire in NYC is a jew who out-jewed all the other jews but still can't step to Richard lefrak (if a real estate jew) or bill ackman (if investor jew) so of course he's miserable (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632462) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 8:59 AM Author: beady-eyed knife Dated a girl that was the daughter of a Japanese finance centamillionaire. He had apartments in SF, Tokyo, NYC and Paris and each was worth $10M and was like something out of Succession (admittedly I only saw the SF one). He was semi-retired and basically dicked around with some VC stuff and spent most of his time going to dinners and events with other rich people and skiing in Tahoe and he went to Vegas once a month. He left his wife (daughter’s mom) when daughter graduated from high school and had dated women 20-30 years younger than him for 15 years after that before he found a work wife shrew that didn’t want kids to be his wife/personal assistant. Daughter hated her mom and was delighted that her dad left her. He seemed pretty happy and didn’t seem to have any ambition whatsoever to get any richer unless it somehow fell into his lap. The ex-wife was apparently a miserable drunk/pill popper though. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632480) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 6:13 PM Author: Grizzly Internet-worthy Church (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49634202) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 8:40 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested Anyone who actually believes this has never lived in a small Southern town. Any cheap Southern town is full of dindus and methheads with nothing to do. And the public schools (which are the only schools that exist) are extreme thunderdomes. I have known some wealthy families in these types of towns, and in each case, their kids ended up working some McJob while spending all of Mommy and Daddy's money on drugs. When all your friends are dropping out of high school and getting high, you want to do the same thing.
To be clear, there are some nice Southern towns (usually in suburbs/exurbs or in tourist areas). But those towns are not cheap, and you will not be the only wealthy person in town. I think I remember reading an article saying that Cashiers, NC has one of the highest number of people with nine figure net worth per capita in the country or something like that. If you live in a town where you are one of the few wealthy people, it's probably because the town you live in is SPS, so nobody with money wants to live there. |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:21 PM Author: Marvelous station halford Cashiers NC is the southern mountain town equivalent to Martha’s Vineyard. And it’s 180! (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632185) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:28 PM Author: soggy ticket booth water buffalo Cashiers is ok, Highlands NC nearby is the real draw to the area and where all the money is (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632198) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 8:53 AM Author: Up-to-no-good Athletic Conference Kitty Cat Doodikoff speaks true (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632471) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 9:40 AM Author: Marvelous station halford I’ve never stayed in either but spent lots of time visiting. Tend to hang out at Fontana and Nanatahala more off-grid and then go to Franklin, Cherokee, Cashiers, or Highlands for town amenities. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632600) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 9:58 AM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested I had never really looked, but it looks like there are basically no houses for sale in either city for less than 7 figures. I saw a couple 8 figure houses outside Cashiers. The broader point, though, is that if you want to live in a rural Southern city that is not SPS, you are going to have to pay. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632649) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 10:00 AM Author: soggy ticket booth water buffalo a family member has a house in Cashiers, I go several times a year. Its really nice, but not much there. We got a flat tire and the spare was bunked, and some dude had to deliver a tire from like an hour away lol. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632653) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 12:15 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested Yeah, that area is 180 if you enjoy outdoors stuff, but it's in the middle of fucking nowhere. The closest cities of any size are Asheville and Greenville, and they are both about 1.5 hours away. I guess that's part of the reason it has become popular for the ultra-wealthy who want to escape from civilization. The summer temperatures are surprisingly mild for the South, as well. It seems like a 180 location for a summer home if you live in the South and have unlimited amounts of money. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49633028) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 3:30 PM Author: soggy ticket booth water buffalo that's basically what this family member is.
I just wish it were closer - 2:45 drive. Highlands is like a half hour closer, and Highlands is a lot more of a real "town" |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 3:41 PM Author: lake irate temple blood rage cr but I prefer the Rosman, Brevard, Balsam Grove area, you know, where actual southerners live (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49633742) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 5:02 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested I have always said that Brevard is the most underrated city in NC (if not the entire South). The city itself is myeh, but it's a short distance from some of the most spectacular hiking/nature on the East Coast. Asheville gets all the hype for touristy NC mountain towns, but Brevard shits all over Asheville unless you really love craft breweries and art galleries (and shitlibs). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49634000) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 5:46 PM Author: Marvelous station halford Life Pro Tip: The century old shit smelling paper mill in Canton NC just closed. The town’s going through a rough transition, but it’s going to turn into one of these hidey-hole gems over the next 10-15 years and the RE is still dirty cheap. Right on the Pigeon River and SO MUCH closer to Asheville and the highway than the areas further south. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49634110) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 10:36 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested Interesting. Canton seems like it's just a slightly cheaper (and much shittier) version of Asheville, though. Most of the best hiking destinations are on the Brevard side of the Parkway (DuPont, Gorges, Panthertown, Nantahala, etc.) And it has the other big drawback of Asheville when it comes to second homes, which is that it gets fucking hot during the summer. I understand the appeal of a summer home in Cashiers/Highlands, where it rarely goes above 80 degrees even during the hottest days of the summer. But Asheville routinely hits 90. If you want a second home in the mountains to avoid summer heat in the South, Asheville is not a good place to buy. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49634765) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 8:43 PM Author: Grizzly Internet-worthy Church tp. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49631801) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:04 PM Author: soggy ticket booth water buffalo I know multiple dudes exactly like this. They are basically like the princes of their hometowns. Im talking centimillionaire generational wealth. One family is worth over a billion. In small ass towns in georgia and alabama and shit. Most of them love their situation, thrive in it, one or two are miserable and moved away from their towns and did random jobs (Social work, etc). These dudes tend to not have a great grasp on reality though (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632157) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:43 PM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria 180. DESCRIBE their lack of grasp on reality. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632226) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 6:13 PM Author: Grizzly Internet-worthy Church (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49634203) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:51 PM Author: Magenta razzle-dazzle public bath they're called plantations and they no longer operate (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632232) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:54 PM Author: slap-happy codepig (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632237) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:54 PM Author: stirring smoky trump supporter Interesting. I've read that car dealership owners are usually the wealthiest individuals in these kinds of places. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632239) |
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Date: January 29th, 2026 11:55 PM Author: Magenta razzle-dazzle public bath and the most famous, they are on tv with zany commercials 24/7. usually have fat blonde mommy wives with enormous DD fake tits. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632243) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 8:51 AM Author: Flesh Chest-beating Church Building People Who Are Hurt https://x.com/butt_watermelon/status/1977805427250446492 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632466) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 8:56 AM Author: Up-to-no-good Athletic Conference Kitty Cat Xo poas casually breaking into small Southern million dollar manufacturing enterprises (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632476) |
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Date: February 1st, 2026 8:18 PM Author: Grizzly Internet-worthy Church Dare I say:
tp? |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 9:59 AM Author: arrogant rehab boiling water Lmao at this chink fan fiction, this is like a vintage JJC poast (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49632650) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 11:56 AM Author: razzle friendly grandma “Small manufacturing businesses” net like $280k imo. You really should only be “making stuff” if you have IP or 3rd world labor. How much profit so you think there is in $399 AR15s made by palmetto state armory or something. BigSmallTown exists though and there are more apt examples. GCs are alpha and high-prole and exist everywhere. |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 12:16 PM Author: Provocative Gay Wizard Range quite a bit because some PSA stuff is made in the Phillipines iirc (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49633029) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 12:19 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested Yeah, in my experience, the upper class in small Southern towns usually consists primarily of doctors, shitlaw kings, and successful small business owners. I knew a dude who had a successful landscaping company that lived in a $4M house with a collection of sports cars.
But like I said, proledom is contagious. These people's kids were going to collage at places like ECU if they made it to college in the first place. Most of them either worked some bullshit job (or didn't work at all) as they got high using their daddy's money. |
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Date: January 31st, 2026 1:18 PM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria Thus the importance of boarding school. Woodberry and McCallie have tons of these guys.
Woodberry->UGA->taking over the family farming operation is definitely different than Scarsdale HS->Brown->GULC. But if you look at the big picture, I think it's better. |
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Date: January 31st, 2026 3:49 PM Author: Grizzly Internet-worthy Church (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49636202) |
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Date: January 31st, 2026 5:54 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested Yeah, your kids will you love when you send them to boarding school to grind while their friends are all getting drunk and smoking weed on the weekends. Your kids will probably be really successful at boarding school, too, when they have never put any effort into school their entire lives. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49636483) |
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Date: February 1st, 2026 9:10 PM Author: Bateful vengeful office Multigenerational wealthy family versus self made car dealer dad with new money. The boarding school boys come from the former, not the latter. These families know what to do to keep the kids on track. Class is very real. The kids know why they're going to boarding school and look forward to it.
All the comments about proledom in small towns is very true. You'd be a fool to idealize living in a small town. But there is also a nearly invisible elite. You're either of them or you don't know them at all. Wife has relatives in rural eastern NC who fit in this category. Family owns substantial acreage and commercial interests in a particular county but do all their banking in Raleigh so no one knows how wealthy they really are. They drive slightly old pickups and Chevy Suburbans but are well traveled, have tasteful houses which 99% of the local community never see, summer houses on the outer banks, ski. The people in the towns know who these families are, and the families are established, but at the same time there's minimal interaction between the families and the everyday hoi polloi. The families have large networks of friends in upper class Atlanta and Charlotte and Charleston. I've always found it weird and third world. But that is also what much of the deep south is. |
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Date: February 1st, 2026 10:00 PM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria Going to take a wild guess..... Lenoir County? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49640029) |
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Date: January 30th, 2026 3:46 PM Author: Submissive psychic community account Your scenario is more common with blue collar service businesses like HVAC or landscaping.
Not talking about tiny towns here, but there are plenty of family owned HVAC companies in towns of <100,000 with 8 or 10 trucks making $1m+ in EBITDA and with a son who graduated from Southern Western Northern Buttfuck State University acting as the "COO" etc. |
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Date: January 31st, 2026 4:06 PM Author: Fragrant school cafeteria And he's married to an age adjusted 9/non-age adjusted 8 popping out three athletic sons. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49636264) |
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Date: January 31st, 2026 5:56 PM Author: puce unholy parlor idea he suggested More likely, he is spending all of the family money on opioids until the business goes under. They say that 70% of family fortunes are gone by the second generation and 90% are gone by the third. (See: RSF) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49636488) |
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Date: February 1st, 2026 8:30 PM Author: bat shit crazy center hunting ground Pretty idiotic to drag me into this considering my net worth goes UP every year even after paying for my life and I don't touch any of the professionally managed family $, but stay MAF! (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49639799) |
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Date: January 31st, 2026 5:58 PM Author: passionate abnormal toilet seat property all the Big Family Money is in private manufacturing facilities in the Midwest
i do business with one in suburban Chicago and theyve never taken a penny for loans, prob doing somewhere btn 80-250mill no clue
another is not flame Mormon Koreans in Provo they are 18000000 and have full basketball courts in their warehouses |
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Date: February 1st, 2026 8:20 PM Author: electric seedy national security agency I grew up with several doods like this and in most instances the boomer parents have sold out by now so their families will suffer for generations just so they don't have to let their kids have as good a life as they had, although the kids do seem to usually get a one time payout (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49639756) |
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Date: February 1st, 2026 10:10 PM Author: slap-happy codepig i actually know a lot of people doing this. one is from work, being exposed to a common service business (and seeing the owners). the other is a guy i worked with in nyc biglaw, switched to ibanking, decided it was all flame, became CFO at a service business, and then quit and moved across the country to found his own. seems pretty 180. it's a lot more delegation than a typical lawyer (or a typical person, for that matter) to be comfortable with. hiring and firing a few key employees and managers is a big deal. and you're taking on risk. but that said a lot of these businesses trade for pretty low multiples (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5828238&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=3986969#49640049) |