Once in a lifetime we have the good fortune to get to know someone early in their lifetime before they become famous and successful. For Paris High School’s Jesse Wells, that time may be now. In fact, after you read his story you may agree with me….one day…in the next few years, we may wake up and see Jesse on a cable network television finance or investment show. And when we do, we will be saying, “We knew him way back when.”
Paris senior Jesse Wells will graduate with the other members of his senior class on Sunday. He will attend the University of Arkansas, and on the surface, he seems just like any other graduating senior who plans to attend college in the fall. But, this phenomenal 18-year-old is not your typical high school graduating senior.
Jesse is a talented young adult that has a very high IQ coupled with great drive, determination, and work ethic. Simply put, Jesse has always been willing to work extremely hard, and often behind the scenes and out of sight from others as he follows his dreams.
Well before the age of 18, Jesse began investing his money that he earned doing various jobs, and his investing eventually led to owning several homes in the Paris area.
Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jesse at a local restaurant and recorded an interview with him for this story. As a reporter, there are stories, and there are stories. In his case, his story was captivating and one that I could have listened to for hours. I don’t think I have ever known a young person to have accomplished so much before his 18th birthday and to have the depth of knowledge of finance and investing that Jesse has today. But enough of that, here is his fascinating story.
As we began our conversation, I asked him where all of his financial accomplishments began. Jesse began to tell his story by saying, “January of my sophomore year of high school is when I incorporated “JCW Holding LLC”, and that was the beginning of my business. About a year before that, I spent time doing research and kind of figuring out what I was going to do. I always had an entrepreneur spirit since I was really little. I tried a lot of stuff, like my freshman year, I convinced my grandparents to let me open up a brokerage account in my name, and I put my savings in there and I started trading stocks and eventually taught myself how to option trade. I had some initial success with it and built up a pretty good size portfolio. But eventually, it came crashing down, much harder and faster than I could handle, and I lost everything. All of my savings plus the thousands of dollars that I had made…lost everything. I ended up losing everything by August going into my junior year of high school.”
After losing all of his investments between his freshman year and start of his junior year of high school, Jesse went to work mowing lawns and working at the municipal pool in Paris. “I worked that entire summer, making $6000 and immediately invested every buck I made into my brokerage account. I put every single dime into my investing thesis, and it ended up that I was wrong, and I lost everything…again. I had lost everything (again) by that August before I started my junior year of high school.”
So, in the true sense of entrepreneurial business, Jesse found himself in a similar pattern of others who had preceded him for many generations who had losses and failures before they achieved the success that they were noted for. But the unique factor with Jesse is his age; he had experienced all of this before his senior year of high school.
Jesse knew he had to change his financial plan and strategy. “I had to try something different. I had been interested in real estate and I had read a ton of books and had educated myself, along with watching YouTube videos. So, I decided that this has got to be the only thing I have left. It was really kind of out of desperation to make back what I had lost. So, I started doing more research and dug into it. By January of that year (junior year of high school) I was ready to start looking to buy my first house. So, I got incorporated, formed my LLC (limited liability corporation) …fast forward to August of my junior year, I made an offer on the first property that I bought. So I bought two houses together. I was actually going to mow the person’s lawn and I ended up making an offer on his house. He accepted it; he is great guy and it just really helped me get my start. It has just grown from there.”
Jesse Wells, 18 years of age, owns “about a dozen” houses, and he is just a few days shy of walking with his senior class at graduation.
As you talk to Jesse you realize that he is a person of great depth and intellect. Many people know Jesse as an outstanding high school basketball player for the Eagles over the past four years. Jesse always played with great energy, and to most people who do not know him well, may have had the impression over the past four years that his life has revolved around basketball. Many may have thought we would hear about him playing college basketball next year. But with all respect to college athletes, Jesse played the game for the pure enjoyment. His goals and aspirations were much different than that I have observed to be the traditional interests and goals of a high school athlete.
Jesse Wells was a standout player for Paris for four years (RNN Sports File Photos / Jim Best)
Making Jesse’s story even more remarkable is the fact that as he maintained a 4.00 grade point average in high school, played varsity basketball for four years for the Eagles, played travel basketball on weekends all over the region…all of this going on in his life, and he was able to work, read, research, and invest his money in a plan that would be remarkable for any adult. And he did all of this well in advance of his 18th birthday.
But the story does not end here. In just a couple of months, Jesse will begin the next phase of his life as a student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. And in true Jesse Wells fashion, he will not be your ordinary student on campus this fall.
Jesse will major in finance with a real estate concentration at the Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas. His intent is to remain in real estate after college and that will be his primary business focus. “This degree will give me credibility, and ideally, my success in business and my business track record should be all of the certification that I need, but that is often not the case in a practical sense. Many people aren’t going to take an 18 – 19-year-old kid seriously. However, this (college degree) just gives me an added layer of credibility and will give me the opportunity to meet new people, network, and grow.”
If you close your eyes and listen to Jesse talk, you may think you are listening to an older adult. In fact, his maturity and depth of thinking is greater than a lot of people, especially among others in his peer group.
Jesse had previously considered attending school at Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is an Ivy level, private school located in Nashville, Tennessee. It has very high admission criteria, and Jesse’s high school academic credentials would have been a good fit for Vanderbilt. When I asked him about Vanderbilt, he responded by saying, “I gave it a lot of thought and contemplation, just kind of figuring out what made sense for me. Vanderbilt is a great school, but the area where I have the most influence is where I am at right now. Nashville is great, but it is not necessarily a market that I could get into (real estate market) right now. The other (Northwest Arkansas) may be an area where I can get a higher rate of return right now in the real estate market over the next few years. I think my expertise in Arkansas will compensate for me; especially in Northwest Arkansas.”
Jesse will grow his financial empire in Northwest Arkansas as he attends the University of Arkansas. “I will probably step back a little as far as allocating my time as I attend school at Arkansas, but four years from now I will probably be worth more. And by going to college, I think the long-term return will be much higher with that credibility and connections.”
Jesse is in the process of getting his Arkansas real estate license and plans to be licensed by this summer. “So hopefully I will be a licensed real estate agent by the end of June.”
Jesse’s personal initiative and drive is not only very impressive, but rare among most people, and extremely rare among people his age. I asked him where he thought this drive came from, and he answered by saying, “I think it is just something intrinsic with me that I like to be able to grow stuff and to build something that is larger than myself. I think a lot of the drive came initially from necessity. The necessity to provide better for myself financially and to not have to rely on any other person. To be able to provide for myself and my family has always been a motivator for me. At the end of the day, I just enjoy it. I love business; it is one of the only things that really fascinates me, and I think I could be passionate more about business for my entire lifetime and never get burned out.”
Jesse has been raised by his grandparents, Carla and Jamie Wells, for his entire life. I have watched them as they have attended every game and event that Jesse has participated in over the years. So when I asked him the next question, I knew what the answer would be, but I wanted to hear his thoughts.
Remarking on what his grandparents have meant to him and his success, he said, “Instrumental, every step of the way. The first real estate deal that I made, I took on $70,000 of debt. I had no credit at the time, and so they were the guarantors on the loan. They didn’t have $70,000 to back me, but they trusted me and believed in me to give me that opportunity. And I don’t believe many parents would do that.” All of this speaks volumes about Jesse, as well as the love and support of his grandparents.
In August of this year, Jesse Wells will step foot onto the University of Arkansas campus, both as a freshman business major, and as a Fellow of the Boyer Scholarship from the University of Arkansas Walton School of Business. Jesse described the benefactor of this prestigious fellowship by saying, “Tommy Boyer was an All-American basketball player at Arkansas in the early 60s, and after graduating, he went into business. He did very well for himself, and he gave back to Arkansas. He is on the Board of Trustees for the University and endowed the Boyer Fellowship. It is the single largest fellowship awarded at the University of Arkansas; only one fellowship is awarded every four years. So, to receive the Boyer Fellowship, it is the most difficult one to get. To qualify, applicants have to have a minimum ACT score of 32 and a 3.90 grade point average. In the original application phase, there were 900 applicants for 90 spots. After 150 were selected for interviews, 90 were selected for the total number of fellowships being awarded by the university. I and four others were interviewed as finalists for the Boyer Fellowship. Out of that I group, I received the Boyer Fellowship. We had a luncheon a couple of weeks ago in Fayetteville to honor the Boyers and the past Boyer Fellows. It was an awesome experience to meet them and the chancellor, Chancellor Robinson. The dean of the Walton School of Business was also there, and he put it (the fellowship) into perspective for me. He told me that there are 8000 students in the Walton School of Business, and there is only one Boyer Fellow in the School. That was incredibly cool.”
Yes, Jesse’s story is incredibly cool. And as an alumnus of the University of Arkansas, I am proud that Jesse has chosen Arkansas to continue his education. Jesse is a personable young man who is a deep thinker and is mature beyond his years. And for young people that may read this story, he is yet another example of how taking care of your grades in school can help pave the way for an exciting future. It is also the story of his grandparents’ unconditional love and support that showed Jesse that they believed in him. His story is truly remarkable.
The selection committee for the Boyer Fellowship can be proud of their selection of Jesse Wells as a Boyer Fellow. He will make them proud of their selection. And one of these days in the not so far future, I will wake up, turn on the morning television finance shows, and there will be Jesse Wells, sharing his story of success with all the world.
Congratulations to Jesse and his grandparents, Carla and Jamie Wells, on his upcoming high school graduation and the very bright future that awaits him!
