America has long been called the land of opportunity.

And with good reason, considering all the innovation and wealth it’s fostered over the centuries.

Even in our nation’s colonial days, people came here to seek their fortunes.

Some of them failed. (There are no guarantees, after all.)

But many succeeded – some enormously – which paved the way for others.

We know some of their names: Benjamin Franklin with his bifocals and other innovations. Isaac Singer with his fast, affordable sewing machine. Robert Fulton with his commercially successful steamship. Alexander Graham Bell with his telephone. Henry Ford with his mass-produced automobile.

The list goes on.

Yet it’s important to recognize that our current comfortable existence came about because of so many unrecognized names as well.

Today, I want to talk about one of them: Roger Milliken.

My First “Billion-Dollar” Meeting

Milliken was a reclusive billionaire when I knew him back in my hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Despite his fortune, he lived in a middle-class neighborhood and drove a 10-year-old Cadillac with a vanity plate that read “BUY USA.”

I only knew who he was because my father-in-law worked for his firm for four decades.

And even then, all my father-in-law would say was that the guy was a shrewd businessman who made a fortune selling intellectual property.

As it turned out, I bought my first house just two blocks away from this Milliken.

I would purposely walk by his house and try to glance sideways inside – wanting to know how to tap into his secret success story.

When being a neighborhood busybody didn’t work (shockingly enough), I decided to write a letter to him instead, asking if he would discuss a real estate project I was working on.

I didn’t actually expect a reply. So imagine my surprise when he not only wrote back…

He was willing to meet!

That’s how I learned that Roger Milliken was born in Maine in 1915… graduated from Yale in 1937… and went right to work in the family textile business. When his father passed away 10 years later, he took over the business at the relatively young age of 32.

It must have been intimidating, but Milliken took that business and ran with it.

After Milliken married, he moved operations to Spartanburg, creating the world’s largest private textile company.

Milliken & Company went on to:

• Originate over 2,300 patents

• Produce 19,000+ textile and chemical products used in everyday items like tennis balls and Jell-O pudding

• Span across 47 international locations

And yet, global businessman or not, he still had that BUY USA license plate.

As it turned out, Roger Milliken was a huge advocate of American manufacturing.

He even spearheaded 1984’s “Crafted with Pride in the U.S.A.” advertising campaign and lobbied Washington for fair-trade policies.

Believe it or not, Milliken was adamant that “BUY USA” was the secret to his success.

Made in the U.S.A.

Milliken died at 95, having only retired just five years earlier.

As far as I could tell, the man lived out his beliefs till the very end. And he succeeded enormously in those patriotic efforts, as proven by his personal and company’s achievements.

His steadfast success certainly influenced my career.

As he wrote in his will:

“I believe quality people, quality products, quality management, quality tools, quality service, quality research, and the careful husbandry of capital can produce comparable benefits to stockholders over the long-term future.”

I’ve never forgotten those words.

Milliken’s principles have guided me many times, helping me build Wide Moat Research into one of the most quality-focused research firms made in the U.S.A.

So on this celebration of the founding of our country, remember what makes America so great: That drive to build a better future for ourselves and pave the way for future generations.

I couldn’t be prouder of the country I live in and the innovators – and wealth-building opportunities – it’s produced. That’s something always worth celebrating.

And I hope you also have a wonderful July 4^th celebration with your families.

Happy SWAN (sleep well at night) investing,

Brad Thomas
Editor, Intelligent Income Daily