Today, there is a massive opportunity to build wealth with AI. Throughout history, wealth came from land and labor. The industrial revolution shifted value towards machines, factories, railroads, and later financial assets. Then technology pushed us into an era where software, networks, data and intellectual property became the primary wealth engines. The internet and later social platforms democratized distribution. Suddenly, a single creator or entrepreneur was able to reach millions with little to no capital. Early adopters who understood these technological shifts built substantial income. Those who stayed disciplined turned that income into lasting wealth.
We are now in the next phase: artificial intelligence. Like every prior significant shift, those who learn to use AI as leverage will build wealth with AI faster than those who ignore it. AI is still in his early stages, and agentic AI is just emerging. Those who use it now to improve decision-making, efficiency, and scale will build wealth faster than those who wait.
The Agentic AI business showcases at the Amazon Web Services booth at the 2025 WAIC in Shanghai, China, on July 27, 2025. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Wealth Follows Technological Advancement
Technology has created enormous wealth across generations. Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk built fortunes by seeing where the future was headed and leaning into technology. Early investors in their companies were also able to accelerate their wealth. Nvidia crossed the $5 trillion valuation this year. A $10,000 investment in Nvidia a decade ago is now worth millions. The AI story is still unfolding, and it will create more opportunities to build wealth.
Some worry AI will replace their jobs. That concern is real, yet history teaches an important lesson: disruption creates opportunity to build wealth.
John Imah, a former Tech executive at Meta, Samsung and Amazon, and now founder and CEO of SpreeAI, told Forbes. “Some jobs may shift, but just as with the industrial revolution, new industries and opportunities will emerge. Regulations will evolve alongside adoption to create balance. The real value lies in freeing human creativity while AI handles repetitive work.”
Imah’s story proves the point. At seven, Imah took apart and reassembled his family’s first computer. By sixteen, he had launched and sold two tech companies. His latest venture, which uses AI to transform how people shop, is valued at $1.5 billion according to AfroTech, with Naomi Campbell as a board member. His story reminds us that those who see where the world is heading and embrace it early benefit financially, and that you can build wealth with AI.
John Imah Founder of SpreeAI
Courtesy of SpreeAI
The Democratization Opportunity To Build Wealth With AI
“AI is a powerful lever, especially for communities historically locked out of capital. It can democratize access whether that’s to launch a business, optimize resources, or create new forms of income,” says Imah.
Knowledge, processes, and execution once belonged to people with capital, connections and institutional access. AI has lowered those barriers dramatically. But AI doesn’t replace capability, it amplifies it. You still need highly skilled individuals who know how to use AI to get better results, exercise sound judgement, and have the discipline to verify outputs rather than blindly trust them. The difference now: talented people can compete with established players and build wealth with AI.
How To Build Wealth With AI Today
AI accelerates wealth creation by handling repetitive tasks that drain productivity. With AI, your decision-making becomes faster. Administrative gets automated. Output scales without adding headcount. Risks and opportunities become visible sooner. Financial patterns surface in real time. You reclaim hours for strategy and execution activities that drive revenue and give you an opportunity to build wealth.
Where To Start To Build Wealth With AI
Stop overthinking. Start with one tool. Imah’s guidance is to: “Start with simple platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini as entry points. Treat them like a personal assistant. Give them precise prompts, test different scenarios, and learn how they respond. YouTube is also an underrated resource with countless tutorials on how AI can support everything from launching a restaurant to managing finances.” AI can coach you through AI without a computer science degree.
There are countless AI tools that can help accelerate wealth building if used properly, but here are a few practical tools to explore:
- For financial intelligence, finance-focused tools like FinChat or AlphaSense give you almost instantaneous valuable insights from company earnings reports and earning calls.
- For research, Perplexity and Chat GPT handle market research and analysis and act as a personal assistant.
- For communication, Otter, FireFlies, or Gemini transcribe meetings and create summaries to keep track of action items or decisions.
- For organization, Notion and Click Up Brain manage projects, prioritize work, and manage deadlines.
- For contracts, Contract Reader or Luminance review agreements and flag risks.
- For design, Midjourney, Ideogram, or Runway create professional quality visuals that previously required designers.
- For content, Synthesia converts text into professional videos. Descripts edits audio and video content for marketing or social media.
- For presentations, Napkin or Gamma build decks from outlines.
- For writing, Jasper crafts and edits copy and blog content.
- For financial planning, Fyle manages spending and shows exactly where money goes in real time.
Pick one workflow and automate it. Master that tool, then expand. Knowledge compounds over time.
ANKARA, TURKIYE – JULY 15: In this photo illustration, the logo of ‘Perplexity’ is seen on a mobile phone screen and the logo of ‘Coinbase’ displayed on a computer in Ankara, Turkiye on July 15, 2025. (Photo by Cem Genco/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
How to Position Yourself To Build Wealth With AI
Tools don’t build wealth, but people do. AI rewards those who pair technology with strategy, discipline, and good judgment. AI can solve problems fast but can’t solve them alone. Critical thinking and nuance judgement will help position you as a leader, which will allow you to build wealth with AI. Whether it is a lawyer using AI to create contracts in minutes to serve more clients, or a real estate investor using AI to analyze comparables and predict prices to evaluate more properties and read the market faster to close more deals.
Start Small and Build Momentum To Build Wealth With AI
AI can cut projects and delivery time in half. That can double your productivity without doubling costs. For business owners, AI can automate the repetitive work that drains your day and free up some of that time to redirect it to revenue-driving activities. For corporate employees, AI gives you the opportunity to position yourself as the person who makes the team ten times more productive, which can position you for promotions.
Discipline Matters
The real risk isn’t AI taking jobs. It’s staying stagnant while others use AI to accelerate their knowledge, productivity and ultimately their wealth. AI does not replace ambition and productivity. It amplifies them.
We are in the early stage of the artificial intelligence era. The competitive advantage will go to those who remain consistent and are willing to learn. Imah said it clearly “aspire before you expire.” Wealth is more than financial assets. It has always required knowledge and execution. For the first time advanced knowledge is accessible to anyone with a computer and internet connection. The question is not whether there will be opportunities to build wealth with AI. The question is whether you will use it intentionally to turn capability into wealth. Follow the author at the top of the page next to her name to be notified once her next article goes live.