Information

If you know things that others dont, dark things, bad things, things that are twisted and gnarled, you have value. You have the greens and you have the power. Why else do you think the investment banks are so powerful. If I tell you that the oil industry is what it is today because a few investment banks want it to be so, it would sound incredible. They are the Barbarians at the Gate, guarding your destiny of corporate existence. And you thought it was all about how innovative your firm's strategy is!

Information flows very slowly. And as it flows further downstream, it loses value. The earlier you capture it, the richer you are. By the time you and I go long based on the information available in the public domain, those smart people there are selling the same assets and raking in all the moolah!

So the bottomline is: You dont need capital. You dont need foresight. You dont need to have that elusive business idea that would create wealth for you or thousands of people around you. All you need to be is smart to read between the lines or to have the right contacts.