Millionaire gives up wealth to prove anyone can earn $1 million in a year. It did not end well

A man who made himself homeless to make a comeback and reportedly earn $1 million quit midway. While millionaire Mike Black cited personal and health issues for quitting his "Million Dollar Comeback" project, he clarified that he was wrongly depicted in the media. Black said his goal was vastly different from the viral claims and it had nothing to do with homelessness or making money.

Here's how the "Million Dollar Come Back" challenge went

Back in April, Black's social experiment went viral when a user named Eddie Cheng on X made a thread about him. It was Cheng who spread the word that Black had the goal to make $1 million in 12 months using nothing but his phone.

Meanwhile, Black also documented the project's journey on his YouTube channel. In his videos, Black shared that he started the project at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. He walked away from all his possessions and began sleeping on the streets.

He shared a post on Craigslist where he explained he was looking for work in exchange for a place to get his head down. He soon got a reply from a stranger who offered to let him stay in his van.

He then started working and devised a plan to sell furniture on Craigslist and Facebook Market Place, acting as a middleman. He also did odd jobs of telemarketing and delivery.

By day two he made $250 in profit, by day five, he had enough to buy a computer and over the next couple of weeks he secured his own office space too. He then committed to rent hacking and co-signed a place for $2,000 a month. He then rented it forward for $3,600 making $1,600 a month.  

Mike seemed to be making serious moves with his coffee business and on track to achieving the goal.

However, by the end of month 10, Black could make only $64,000, suffering a number of setbacks in his business and personal life. In a video update, Black revealed that his father was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, thus he had to go live with his parents and dedicate his time and energy to his family.

He further added that he had been diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases as well, and a tumor was found on his hip. This is when the entrepreneur decided to quit the project and take care of himself and his family. 

Revelation time: the goal wasn't to make $1 million 

While the viral thread claimed that Black's goal was to make $1 million from scratch, he shared a series of videos clarifying that it was not. In a thread, Black explained that he did not know Eddie Cheng and had nothing to do with the viral claim. He alleged that it was a clickbait that most media outlets ran with.

“My response to everyone learning about me and the project I started 3 years ago called Million Dollar Comeback… Spoiler alert this project had nothing to do with homelessness and it’s 2024," Black wrote in the caption of his video.

Black clarified that his only goal for the project was to inspire people who were starting over after the pandemic. He even shared a story of a man who was going to end it all but changed his mind when he came across Black's project.

Furthermore, Black explained that it wasn't about making money at all and it was only about reinventing oneself with perseverance and hard work.