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Not so long ago, Mario Kelly was homeless and sleeping in his van in Detroit, parked outside the kind of expensive homes he dreamed of owning one day.
Now the self-made millionaire lives in one of those homes, and was featured as 2024’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Beautiful + Machine Magazine.
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He tells his story — and how it all started with a $6,500 fixer-upper and $27 worth of cleaning supplies — in his book, The $27 Millionaire.
From homeless to high-value entrepreneur
Kelly shared his story with Fox 2 Detroit.
Once married with a job at Ford, Kelly eventually found himself divorced, unemployed and living in his van. He told Fox 2 that what kept him going was his belief in a better future.
One day, he noticed police placing an abatement notice on a run-down house, warning of hazards inside. Kelly learned more about problems with the home and believed he could tackle them himself.
He tracked down the owner and bought the home for $6,500. Room by room, he fixed it up, building skills along the way.
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You can get started with just $100, not $6500, and you don’t need Kelly’s cleaning skills or passion for DIY. Browse their curated selection of homes, each vetted for their appreciation and income potential.
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From $27 to a fortune
Kelly soon put the skills he learned to work on a larger scale.
While touring a Shinola factory, Kelly overheard an employee complain about the poor job their current cleaning service was doing.
Seizing the moment, Kelly said he had a cleaning company. In fact, all he had was $27 worth of cleaning supplies. He landed the Shinola cleaning contract and 313 Cleaning was born.
“I’m the cleaning guy,” he said. “My whole journey started with cleaning, so let’s show them where it started at, where the $27 started at.”
If you think it sounds impossible to turn $27 into a million, you might be underestimating just how far a few dollars can go. Acorns is an automated investing and saving platform that simplifies the process of growing your wealth, starting with your spare change.
By signing up and linking your bank account, Acorns automatically rounds up the price of each of your purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into a smart investment portfolio for you.
Let’s say you purchase a doughnut for $2.30. Before you’re done licking the sugar off your fingers, Acorns will round the amount to $3.00 and invest the 70-cent difference for you. Look at this math: $2.50 worth of daily round-ups add up to $900 per year — and that’s before your savings earn money in the market.
In fact, just $27 per month invested in the stock market can turn into $61,053 in 30 years, assuming an average rate of return of 10%.
Plus, if you sign up now, you can get a $20 bonus investment.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
