Where are high-net-worth individuals? All around us.

The wealthy are everywhere. You just have to know where to look. And how to estimate wealth. Use these basic tips and tricks to get started:

• Look for owners of mundane businesses. The guy who owns five dry cleaning stores. The woman who owns the local mall. The brothers whose father founded two truck stops. The Donald Trumps and Jerry Jones of the world aside, usually wealth is not glamorous.

• Remember the number one rule of wealth: true riches generally accrue to ownership and not salary. Sure, a lawyer or doctor can pull down a tremendous salary but unless they take that salary and do the difficult thing - save it and invest it in assets - generally speaking, they won't be truly wealthy. (Some athletes might be exceptions to this rule)

• Come up with a value. Once you've found the aforementioned gal that owns the mall, you can put a rough value on it pretty easily. Check its appraised value with the local appraisal district (this figure will usually be way too usually, but it's a start). Call local real estate brokers or appraisers to gauge its true market value or check local media to see what other malls have sold for. Pretty soon you've got a reasonable ballpark value (before debt).

• Use caution. Be conservative. How do you build a small fortune? Start with a large one. Jokes aside, there are many ways to fritter away wealth. Debt and leverage. Divorce. Mismanagement. Fraud. That lady that owns the mall? Maybe she mortgaged it and put the proceeds in a hedge fund that went belly up. You never know. So always do your homework and calculate conservatively.

Happy Hunting!

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