She built her first $1 million by investing a divorce settlement in Apple stock

A 63-year-old advertising graphic designer in Avon Lake, Ohio, said she built her first $1 million after divorcing a husband she described as a poor stock picker and investing the resulting nest egg in Apple stock, which she bought in 2001, according to Kiplinger's "My First $1 Million" series. She said she spent years researching investing and listening to CNBC, losing money at times but turning each loss into a lesson.

Her first million remains invested, while a second million, which she says came much faster, is set aside for spending; she recently used some of it to buy a Porsche Panamera. She still spends one to two hours a day managing her money, works with an adviser at Charles Schwab she checks in with about once a year, and has started teaching her daughter to buy and sell stocks. She has no plans to retire early, saying she still enjoys her graphic design work.