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Key Takeaways

• A Roth IRA is a retirement savings account that allows individuals to contribute already taxed dollars. The investments grow untaxed and can be withdrawn tax-free once the account owner is 59 ½ years old.
• Tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel was able to build a $2,000 Roth into a $5 billion tax-free retirement account.
• If interested in a risky investment strategy, an average person could concentrate their Roth into a single security that they believe has massive potential for significant growth.

Tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel opened a Roth IRA with a $2,000 contribution in 1999, according to a report from ProPublica. Using his Roth IRA contributions, he purchased 1.7 million shares of PayPal Holdings, a company that he cofounded, for $0.001 per share, bringing his total purchase to $1,700.  Because of the tax-free growth and withdrawal feature of the Roth, Thiel will be able to get his $5 billion Roth IRA funds without paying any taxes if he doesn’t withdraw until after age 59 ½. Here are the top articles on how an average person can maximize Roth IRA success.

Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank

Roth individual retirement accounts were intended to help average working Americans save for retirement, but IRS records show tech mogul Peter Thiel and other ultrawealthy investors have used the retirement plan to amass vast untaxed wealth.

Via Propublica

How Your IRA and Retirement Savings Could Be Upended By Peter Thiel’s $5 Billion Roth IRA

In wake of Peter Thiel’s $5 billion ROTH IRA, legislation is being considered that would limit the amount of money that could be accumulated in tax-favored retirement accounts and  limit the use of retirement accounts.

Via Forbes

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I asked financial advisors how everyday people can build wealth in a Roth IRA, the account PayPal founder Peter Thiel used to turn $2,000 into $5 billion

For the average person to achieve significant growth in a Roth IRA, they’d likely have to concentrate their Roth into a single security that they believe has massive growth potential. While this is a risky strategy, a concentrated single stock position is one of the most common ways fortunes are made.

Via Business Insider

After-tax Contributions to a 401(k)

The ability to make large after-tax contributions may provide the opportunity to do a “mega backdoor Roth,” converting those contributions out of the plan and into a Roth IRA. While this option will provide you with greater flexibility as to how you invest and manage your funds going forward, they will not be ruled by the plan any longer. But the devil here is in the details.

Via The Street

3 Lessons You Can Learn from Peter Thiel’s $5 Billion Roth IRA

Although accumulating a billion-dollar Roth IRA windfall is probably out of reach for the average person, it’s still a perfect time to take a deeper dive into Roth IRAs and determine how you can supersize your portfolio. Here are three lessons that you can take away from Peter Thiel’s Roth IRA investments.

Via Motley Fool