Ruth & Jeff Elliott
There was a book written a few years ago entitled,
The Millionaire Next Door. The premise was actually quite unique: follow a substantial number of millionaires around the country, and see how they spend their money. Interestingly enough, there was little written about chauffeured limousines, or descriptions of lunches where Don Perignon and Beluga caviar covered the table. Rather, the book told a story of how your very own neighbor — you know, the one with the used car, who shops at Target for all their clothes — spends their time. The unassuming individuals. The inconspicuous. The almost ordinary people, if it weren’t for the fact that they have more zeros at the end of their bank statements than 99% of the rest of the country. But who are these millionaires, and where do they live; and how in the world does one get an audience to ask them a few questions?
Luckily, we got just that opportunity.
Ruth and Jeff Elliott are perhaps some of the most down-to-earth, pleasant people you will ever meet in this life. They have a habit of smiling and engaging in interesting conversation — the kind that makes you wonder if you’ve actually heard them right. For instance, when we showed up on their doorstep initially, and mentioned how they would be on camera, Jeff looked at Ruth and said, “Well, if you need some new outfits, we better head to Target.”
Like we said, the Millionaire Next Door.
And make no mistake about it. The Elliotts are not millionaires by chance definition — i.e., people who can show a seven-figure statement by amassing every asset they have ever owned in their entire lives (don’t we all have something worth at least $100,000 in our basements when watching the Antiques Roadshow?). No, these are people who have made money, and then saved, and made money again, and saved, so much so that you begin to wonder if they have an aversion to spending it. However, when we did meet up with them, we had the opportunity to do so in their first-ever vacation home, paid for in cash, built near a few modest amenities they like to enjoy. During a tour of the condo’s interior (no more than 2,000 square feet, perhaps), they are quick to mention how they were fortunate enough to buy it at the “bottom of the market,” paying only a fraction of what it would have originally cost.
But before we go on, one thing must be made clear — Ruth and Jeff are by no means “cheap,” or whatever synonym you might use to describe what we have just illustrated. They are, in fact, some of the most generous people you will ever find — a couple who’s spent vast amounts of wealth building communities in third-world countries, and helping individuals to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars without the realistic expectation of ever getting paid back. They are, quite literally, a paradox of sorts, hard to fit in any kind of box one might use to write a script for a movie.
But did we mention that a movie is being made of their very lives at this moment?
Again, another curve ball, but there is some method to the madness — if being kind and decent with your resources can be called so. In fact, the story which we will all soon be watching at our local cinemas began when their 13-year-old son, Eric, suffered an exceptionally rare brain tumor. The moment of identification seemed to happen in an instant, even thought the tumor itself had grown gradually over time. But there Ruth and Jeff were, in the middle of winter, far from any real hospitals on an open road when suddenly their son grabbed his head, wailing in unbearable pain. Unsure of what was happening to their “perfectly normal” son, they find themselves in a race against the clock, doing all they can to get him the specialized medical attention he needs — all with the feeling of death looming over them every step of the way.
And if this isn’t enough, less than a month later, Ruth and Jeff find themselves rushing once more to the emergency room as they learn how their daughter has somehow contracted spinal meningitis — an infection known if for nothing more than its devastatingly high mortality rate. It is times like these when you realize some people are tested in life, perhaps more than all the rest of us, as they feel the reality of what it means to lose nearly everything. First their son, and then their daughter, and as time goes by, nearly every cent in their bank account as they try to keep their children alive. It is a type of moment rarely seen in everyday life, which, perhaps, is why it’s so fitting for the story to be told on film. But the reality of it is, Jeff and Ruth are real people, who have seen real challenges. And you don’t come back from things like that without being changed a bit.
In describing all of this to us, it is understandable when we see the tears begin to flow: we have opened a wound accentuated by the sheer volume of blessings they have received since. Eric, their son, went on to perform a miracle — earning a scholarship and a starting position on his college basketball team. Their daughter Jennifer beat all the odds as well, and not only made it through her bout of spinal meningitis, but has been fortunate enough to start a family of her own. But as we said before, you don’t go through trials like that without being changed, and we’re happy to say that the Elliotts have been changed very much for the better.
Over an afternoon lunch (for which they paid), Jeff and Ruth begin to describe how terrifying it was to have their life turned upside down, and the aftermath of what an experience like that does to one’s psyche. Having nearly lost their two children, and actually losing all their income, they seem to have padded their lives now for the unexpected; amassing enough income to weather any kind of storm. But on a fireman’s salary (Jeff’s former career), one might ask just how they went about doing that, which is when they’re quick to tell you about network marketing.
“Jeff originally told me about something a friend introduced him to called network marketing,” Ruth begins to explain, “which I was a little offended by initially, because I understood that to mean ‘you need to go get a job.’ But as he explained it, network marketing seemed to be something I could do while watching the kids — a way to make a few extra dollars that could help our situation.”
Call it desperation, the Law of Attraction, or simply a blessing from on high, but Ruth went to task at building a business, finding the process rewarding for the fact that she was being paid to help people. “You make money in this business by helping others,” she explains, “and we’d been the recipients of a lot of help with our children. It seemed only fitting to spend the future we’d been given doing the same for others as well.”
Jeff also became part of the business, but admittedly has taken on more of a movie producer role as of late. However, each one is quick to tell you just how much Vemma has changed their lives, if for no other reason than they can look forward to a future with more security than they ever had before. The tragedies they have already experienced are more than enough for any family, but Ruth and Jeff seem determined to be prepared for whatever may come.
Of course, if there is a lesson to be learned, it may very well be that none of us really knows what the future holds, or how easily it can seem to untangle and fall apart. But how often do we fret because we are already stretched too thin? How often do we wince when our bank statement comes in the mail atop a pile of bills waiting to be paid? How often do we feel the effects of stress and worry, and think, “Next week, I’ll get around to exercising.” You see, it isn’t that the Elliotts are preparing for an onslaught of catastrophes — even they will be the first in line to tell you of the statistical improbability of what they’ve experienced. But by preparing for the worst, they seem to live for the best, which is why there is a feeling of confidence and gratitude in their countenances. They seem to know that, as a family, they can face whatever life may throw at them, and emerge stronger for having done so. But in the meantime, they will appreciate what they have together, never forgetting those who may be struggling in their own moments of personal affliction. Yes, they could have splurged and gone to Gucci for their interview wardrobe, but that wouldn’t be Ruth and Jeff’s way — not these two millionaires next door.
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