9 Ways To Build a Passive Income Wealth Empire Without Lifting a Finger (2024)

Thanks to the numerous ways to make passive income, it’s possible to put in little to no effort after the initial setup of a smartly crafted business empire and continue to bring in profits.

From investing in real estate to buying already profitable websites, there are several ways you can invest your money and minimal time.

Now is the time to learn nine ways to build a “set it and forget it” empire that provides multiple streams of passive income.

Individual investors can buy shares in a REIT just like you would a public stock. You can also purchase shares in REIT mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. In addition, you can invest in public, non-listed REITs and private REITs.

If you’re building an empire, you could invest in different REITs and different types of REITs. Consulting with a financial advisor or broker could help you choose the best REIT investments for you depending on your goals. Although you might need to shift your investments periodically, for the most part, you won’t have to lift a finger to keep the returns flowing in.

In March 2023, the overall yield for tax-qualified real estate investment trusts that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq National Market List was 3.49%.

You can get even greater returns if you’re willing to take more risks, with some REITs offering returns of 16% or more.

The real estate crowdfunding industry is still relatively new — before the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act went into effect in 2013, this type of real estate investing didn’t exist — but several platforms have emerged in recent years that enable individual investors to buy into large investment properties.

Some of the top real estate crowdfunding platforms are RealtyMogul, Yieldstreet, EquityMultiple, DiversyFund and Fundrise. The minimum investment required varies from site to site, and many require you to be an accredited investor.

You can invest with different platforms and in different types of properties, or in multiple properties through a single platform, to build a real estate empire that will bring in annual income.

According to Forbes, some of the most reliable REITs based on their high dividend yields are Blackstone Mortgage (BXMT), Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) and Medical Properties (MPW).

Blackstone Mortgage invests in commercial mortgages and has a forward dividend yield of 12.1% as of March 4, 2024. Omega Healthcare Investors focuses on senior care facilities and has a forward dividend yield of 8.5%. Medical Properties invests in hospitals and has a forward dividend yield of 13.7%.

Financial expert Chris Hogan outlined six steps to investing in real estate as a rental property:

1. Pay in cash. When you pay in cash, you save on interest, don’t have to worry about foreclosure and can keep 100% of the money you make from rental income.
2. Don’t invest more than 5% of your net worth in real estate. The real estate market is volatile, and keeping your investments diversified will help to minimize risk.
3. Buy property in your area. Even if you hire a property manager, it’s ideal to be able to check on the property regularly yourself to assess anything that needs repairs or upgrades.
4. Be financially prepared. There can be gaps between renters — sometimes for months — so you should not depend on rental income to make ends meet. You should also have the financial cushion to pay for upkeep and repairs.
5. Start small. Hogan recommended renting out a spare bedroom or guesthouse at your home to get an idea of what it’s like to own a rental before buying any property.
6. Hire a real estate agent. A real estate agent can help you find the best areas to buy a rental property, flag any potential hurdles and help you get a good deal.

Once you’ve secured the property — or properties if you’re building a rental empire — you can be pretty hands-off, aside from having to pay for the occasional repair. Hiring a property manager will cut into your profits, but it will make the process of maintaining your rental empire much easier.

The amount you make will depend on several factors. Your net profit will be your revenue minus any expenses, and these can vary from property to property. Sources of revenue include the rental income and additional equity from an increase in property value. Expenses include financing — if you took out a mortgage — homeowner’s association fees, property insurance, property taxes, maintenance and repairs.

If you took out a mortgage, you likely will not turn a profit right away. But investing in rental properties can certainly pay off over time.

Storage facilities are normally massive, so you might not be able to buy one outright, but you can invest in a self-storage REIT for a small amount of money. Currently, there are five self-storage REITslisted on the FTSE Nareit U.S. Real Estate Indexes, offering direct investment opportunities. Alternatively, individuals can choose to invest in these REITs through mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

If you make enough returns from investing in self-storage REITs, you might one day be able to buy a whole facility.

The current return for this category as a whole is 3.5%, according to Real World Investor. The reason self-storage is such a good investment is that it is basically recession-proof.

Owning a self-storage facility is also a great way to make passive income if you can afford to buy the whole facility. The overhead costs are very low since they don’t require the upkeep that other properties do, such as landscaping and maintenance. The average pretax profit margin for leasing mini-warehouses or self-storage units is 11%, according to Forbes.

You can start a vending machine business for as low as $1,500, according to Business Insider. The first step is deciding what type of vending machine you’d like to buy: a food or drink machine, a bulk vending machine or a specialty vending machine.

Bulk vending machines, which sell items like gumballs, stickers or rubber balls, require the least amount of capital, as well as the least amount of maintenance, so this is your best option if you want to be hands-off. Other types of vending machines need to be restocked more often, but if you don’t want to lift a finger personally, you can hire someone to restock your machines.

Once you’ve figured out the type of machine you want, you will need to figure out a location and work out an agreement with the proprietor. Then, purchase your vending machine. You can purchase machines from manufacturers, wholesalers, secondary market retailers or online resellers. Find out whether you need a loan or equipment financing before you buy.

The next step is to purchase inventory for your machines. Consider what your potential customers will want and be careful not to over-order. Once your machine is up and running, invest in a Vending Machine Management System that can record inventory and track revenue.

The regular tasks that come with owning a vending machine empire include collecting money, purchasing inventory and restocking machines. You can outsource these tasks to keep your role in the business hands-off. If you choose to invest in a bulk vending machine, these tasks typically only need to be performed every four to eight weeks, according to Fundera.

Companies like ATM Money Machine sell ATMs that you can buy for as little as $1,399. Once you pay off the machine, all of the surcharge fees are yours to keep as profit. You choose how much to stock the machine with, so your initial stock could be as low as $500. However, the larger your stock, the less often you — or someone you hire — has to refill the machine.

A typical machine lasts seven to eight years, according to ATM Money Machine. In addition to buying and stocking the ATM, you will have to find a business to place it in and negotiate the business owner’s commission.

The amount of money you make will depend on where the billboard is located, as advertisers will pay more for premium placements. Costs for a physical billboard are $750 per month on average in rural areas, according to Fit Small Business. In small to midsize cities, the costs are $1,500 to $2,000. In larger markets, you’re looking at $14,000 or more.

Digital billboards can cost over $15,000, depending on the location. The more billboards you have in your empire, the more passive income you can bring in from them.

BrandBuilders does not show estimated earnings for the premade sites advertised on its site. Instead, it stresses that it matters a lot what niche your site fills and how much work you put into growing the site.

According to Niche Pursuits, one customer who bought a pre-made site from BrandBuilders is making $550 a month. In general, the profitability of an affiliate marketing website is based on quality content, strong SEO, differentiation from other existing sites, a profitable niche and diversified income sources, according to Entrepreneur.

The amount you can earn depends on the number of visitors to the website and its niche. Websites featuring investing, insurance or real estate, for example, tend to make more ad revenue than, say, websites featuring gardening, crafting or video games, according to Medium. That’s because financial products usually command more money than hobby-based products.

When utilizing a premium ad network, anticipate generating earnings ranging from $5 to $50 per thousand page views. For instance, with 50,000 monthly page views, this translates to an annual income of $3,000 to $30,000.

Laura Beck contributed to the reporting for this article.

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