Once upon a time, over three years ago, Glauber Contessoto, before achieving his first millionaire status, borrowed $1,500 from his aunt Cristiane Almaraz. He used this money to invest in Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that began as a lighthearted joke about an internet dog meme. In return, he promised her a house once Doge reached great heights as he believed it would.

As of Late November: A Tale of Contrasting Fortunes

By late November when they had a Zoom conversation together, Contessoto had amassed $2.2 million in Doge. He also had significant holdings in other cryptocurrencies. He planned to sell some of the highly volatile Dogecoin in six to eight months when he thought the price would more than triple. However, Almaraz wanted him to sell immediately."Ultimately, at that point, I'll have $10 million. Even with a million-dollar house, it won't significantly affect my finances," said Contessoto."I don't need a million-dollar house," replied Almaraz."You live in Maryland. You do need a million-dollar house," Contessoto insisted.Almaraz is a housekeeper, and her husband works as an Amazon driver. They have two kids. After a car theft forced them to buy a new vehicle, they have only about $5,000 in savings. Part of her frustration is that she feels she's been through this before."Because Dogecoin is very unstable. How can you guarantee that in six months you'll achieve that?" Almaraz asked."Because I'm basing this on patterns. Trends, patterns, charts, and graphs. I now focus on crypto full-time. I study this," said Contessoto.In 2021, after investing his life savings in Dogecoin, Contessoto had about $3 million in the memcoin and became a sort of crypto celebrity. His YouTube channel and social media popularity made him the most famous Dogecoin evangelist after Elon Musk.But just a year later, as the buzz for Bitcoin and NFTs cooled and crypto winter set in, the "Dogecoin millionaire" became the "Dogecoin former millionaire.""I remember very clearly. I was in the parking lot of the gym I usually went to. I was sitting in the car watching it plummet. The amount in my Robin Hood account kept decreasing all the way to $200,000," said Contessoto.However, Contessoto stuck with the memecoin that got him here. He used the money from crypto-related endorsements to buy more Doge and other cryptocurrencies."There are days when I think, 'Oh, I kind of wish I had sold.' But ultimately, that's not what my heart tells me. I strongly believe in following my gut feelings on things," said Contessoto.His gut feeling proved correct. In 2024, Doge started rising again, partly in line with Trump's poll numbers. The former president had promised to ease regulations on crypto during his campaign.After the election, something extraordinary happened. It was one of those glitches in the matrix that made one question not only if they were living in a simulation but if it was a simulation designed specifically to mock them for prudently investing their retirement money in an index fund.Trump announced plans to create the Department of Government Efficiency - DOGE for short - an organization tasked with reducing the federal bureaucracy. Musk had half-jokingly proposed this before the election.Dogecoin soared. Since the election, it's up more than 120%."That's like perfect branding, right?" said Contessoto. "I couldn't have created that in a better way."Trump and his DOGE have been a significant financial boon for Contessoto. But there's another aspect of Trump's agenda that could be a major problem."I am currently undocumented. Yes, I don't have papers," said Contessoto.Contessoto came to the US from Brazil when he was 5. His mother has a green card, but he's still trying to obtain legal status."I have conflicting emotions about Trump. Financially, he's probably the best bet. But on the other hand, I could get a knock on the door next week and be deported. And everything I've worked for could go up in flames," said Contessoto.During the holidays, Contessoto is actually outside the US dealing with a family emergency. He's unsure if he'll be allowed back into the US without his papers.For the first time in years, he won't be spending Christmas with aunt Cristiane in Maryland. He said she can have anything she wants as a gift - short of a house.