Find out why saying no to the AI gold rush may be the smartest investment decision you make.
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Hello reader.
Sometimes, the best way to deal with an investment boom is to stay away from it.
The success story of the movie “Wheelbarrow Johnny” illustrates this case.
John Studebaker arrived in California during the Gold Rush—with $65 sewn to his belt, three changes of clothes, and the same dream as everyone else: to find the precious yellow metal. But he looked around and changed his mind almost immediately. Many prospectors were looking for gold. Few of them found anything.
So, he gave up that dream and pursued a different one.
As a child of a family of wagon makers in Indiana, he knew a little something about attaching wheels to wood. So, he set up a small shop building and selling wheelbarrows to miners for $10 each.
When the Gold Rush ended five years later, Studebaker returned home to Indiana with savings of $8,000, a small fortune at the time.
Back in South Bend, his brothers Henry and Clement were quietly expanding their family wagon business. John wanted to join in, so he invested $8,000 in what would become the world’s largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles.
At the height of the westward migration, half the wagons crossing the continent were Studebakers. The company also built carriages for Presidents Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, and Harrison.
When the automobile era arrived, Studebaker made the transition to “horseless carriages” without much progress—becoming America’s third-largest automobile producer. John died a wealthy man in 1917.
“Johnny the Wheelbarrow didn’t get rich in gold mining. Instead, he made his fortune by first saying no to the most overrated get-rich-quick opportunity of his day. His story contains timeless insights about investing in the age of artificial intelligence.”
I’ll share these thoughts below. But first, let’s take a look at what we’ve covered here Smart money Last week, we also discovered how great fortunes often come from refusing to chase what others are chasing.
Included…
- Buy when the audience overreacts.
- Choose value over noise.
- Avoid exaggerated expectations.
- Owning the companies behind the boom.
Smart money round up
These seasonal trends take the guesswork out of buying and selling
July 12, 2026
Timing is important to us as investors. It’s tempting to leave buying and selling decisions to intuition. Now, the research team at TradeSmith has developed a way to track seasonal patterns, giving investors an edge in today’s chaotic markets. TradeSmith CEO Keith Kaplan explains how this system works and shows you how to access it in Sunday’s issue.
What my 200,000-mile Mazda taught me about value investing
July 11, 2026
Value alone has not been enough to satisfy portfolios… especially since the mid-2000s. Over the past decade and a half, Growth stocks It has dominated headlines and delivered some stunning returns, leading many investors to believe that growth has permanently outpaced value. But Tom Young explains how this is not the case.
Where to invest when great news isn’t enough
July 9, 2026
As we saw with Samsung Electronics Co.’s recent earnings, stocks don’t just move on results, they move on the gap between results and expectations. This dynamic is especially evident in today’s AI-focused market. Find out why forecasts can be harmful and how investing in lesser-known companies can protect your portfolio.
All three stocks are quietly benefiting from SpaceX’s changes
July 8, 2026
When there was nothing but excitement surrounding SpaceX’s IPO, my colleague and veteran trader Jonathan Rose insisted investors weren’t giving up. He explains why an IPO is not the main story and how it can instead reshape the telecom business, creating significant investment opportunities. Click here to find names of companies that could benefit.
Real wealth in the AI gold rush
The AI gold rush is underway… and almost no one wants to say “no” to this opportunity. Financial markets cooperate with “prospectors” of all kinds – from individual investors to trillion-dollar technology companies.
Amazon.com Inc. (Amzn), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (dead)and Alphabet Company (Google) They will collectively spend about $725 billion this year to build AI data centers — an increase of more than 75% from last year’s already staggering total.
However, at the moment, investors are not paying much attention to this rally It costs Building AI dreams; Nor about uncertain profit potential. They only care about the dreams themselves…and will pay almost any price to be a part of them.
That’s why investors are lavishing many AI companies with valuations that would have made Pets.com blush during the height of the dot-com bubble.
At the same time, on the margins of the market we find what has been overlooked “AI Survivor” Companies that have nothing to do with AI are like vegan companies that serve steaks. These companies are providers of “future-proof” goods and services that can withstand the onslaught of AI, or even thrive because of it.
They make sandals or sneakers. They sell coffee. They bottle water. They provide clothes. They detect drugs and dispense medications.
However, due to frankness not– Relative AI, the market was ignoring them, punishing them, and in some cases re-pricing them as if they were broken companies rather than durable ones.
This collective myopia is creating some compelling investment opportunities.
Click here to learn how to access my favorite AI Survivor companies.
It is considered,
Eric Fry
