Homeless man who slept on park benches becomes millionaire

A Romanian man who used to sleep on park benches has become a millionaire now.

Nick Mocuta, 37, moved to the US from Romania with $500 (Rs 37,000) in his pocket when he was 21 years old.

Nik was unable to find an apartment and having no contacts in the country, he spent weeks sleeping on benches in public parks and was barely able to buy food to feed himself.

He is now a US citizen and has bought homes for his family.

“The first cab I took to the city cost me about $100 which left me with $400 to myself – it was a culture shock, I will never forget that part. I found myself homeless in LA, slept on benches in the parks and ate on a very tiny budget. I’d go to buy a dollar burger at McDonald’s and tell them ‘no cheese’ so that I wouldn’t get charged extra,” Nick was quoted as saying by Mirror.

He managed to find small jobs such as parking cars as valet to save money for a small flat.

Over the next few months, his English proficiency improved and he gained his real estate broker license.

In 2013, Nick decided to experiment with selling imported electronics on eBay. Within six months, he was earning $3,000-$4,000 a month. After seeing the success he could make online, he decided to quit his job as a broker to focus on his own business in e-commerce.

“I grew up in a family where my dad was an accountant and my mum was a teacher so school was the number one thing that I was focused on growing up, but after graduating I emigrated to America with a burning desire to do more and become more. I always thought that online is the future and I wanted to be part of it,” he said.

Now, Nick has multiple online stores on sites such as Amazon and Walmart. He has raked in $40 million in revenue and also has hundreds of partnerships with clients.

He owns 100 flats across US and Romania and has four luxury cars. He bought a flat each for his father and brother.

Nick said, “I think the reason I am successful is because I was never afraid to lose, just of not trying. I’m very perseverant and never give up. I fail seven times, I get up the eight. And I love the fact that I can work from home and all I need is a laptop and internet and I’m in business.”