Did you know the popular Monopoly game had leftwing, communist origins? Here’s the real truth about monopoly trade. In 1903 a feminist named Lizzy Magie didn’t like what she saw as problems during the latter half of the 1800’s with income inequalities. She wanted a board game to play that would reflect her political views.
True Story of Monopoly – Rea Capital
Believing the system of “land-grabbing” had bad consequences, she named her new board game “The Landlord’s Game”. The version Magie originated did not involve the concept of a monopoly tricks; for her, the point of the game was to show the potential exploitation of tenants by “greedy” landlords. Here’s what it originally looked like:
Luckily, a man named Charles Darrow sold a similar version of the game rebranded to “Monopoly” in the 1930’s to Parker Brothers, and it became a phenomenal success, eventually making him millions.
In fact, Monopoly became the best-selling privately patented board game in history.
But would this game have been successful if the goal of the game were to redistribute the property and the money to less fortunate players? Could you imagine… playing the game where your properties got seized if you got too rich, or paying ridiculous high taxes so that all your income got redistributed among the other players? Nobody would play that, because nobody likes to work hard only to let others enjoy all the benefits of their labors. This is why all board games have a winner, it gives players a goal to shoot for.
You want to win, right?
And here’s the deal— sometimes life isn’t all that different than a board game.
If the object of your game right now is to accumulate wealth, then good for you. That’s a noble ambition. Play to win! Some people will criticize you for it, but last I checked, we live in a capitalist society in the United States. There’s nobody stopping you from getting Park Place or Boardwalk.
In the game of Monopoly, if someone lands on this spot late in the game, when you have a hotel, the rent is $2,000. Game over. There’s a reason why places like Baltic Ave. are cheap—it’s a low level property and you cannot set your winning strategy around it.
It’s a simple concept and everyone can understand: Expensive properties yield higher rents, cheaper properties yield lower rents.
The more expensive a property is, the more valuable it is.
What gives a property value? Cash flow.
Do you want to own the Boardwalk or Baltic Ave.?
That’s why at Rea Capital we go for high end, luxury, multifamily apartment buildings. Because we’re not playing with Monopoly money—we’re playing with our own money, and we’re playing to win. And when you invest with us, you can win too. Because your monthly distributions won’t be sent to others—that monthly check will come to YOU.
