Surely someone on HN has become a millionaire with a single personal laptop. I wonder if anyone has ever became a billionaire?
But I do make some, and many people make lots of money with simple tools all the time.
A recent HN thread asking about hourly billing rates [1] had some people charging $1500/hr with just a screwdriver.
What I consider more interesting is the circumstances leading to someone finding themselves in a position where they can command so much compensation using such simple resources.
And I'm afraid a lot of people won't share those circumstances, you included OP, and myself. That's because if you're able to make all that cash with just you and your laptop, that means anyone can, and the barrier to entry is pretty weak. The barrier is simply knowing something exists. Knowing about some niche, the opportunity, where to look, etc.
And as soon as someone finds your niche, someone else with a laptop will come along and crash your party. Who wants that?
HN-types love to parrot the meme, "ideas are worthless, it's the execution that matters". Except that's not true, because surprisingly often, the only barrier to entry is simply being aware of the existence of some opportunity, the idea, and not some deep arcane knowledge or skill or how magnificent your execution is.
This is true. However, when a large corporation with a near unlimited supply of money becomes aware of your idea and executes, you probably don't really have a chance as a single-person founder.
I didn't invent anything or start my own business. In that sense the barriers were low. On the other hand I benefited from being born in Canada and studying computer science in university - these could both be somewhat of a barrier to making money from a laptop.
My boss makes money. I'm a simple tool.
That netbook was awesome. I would frequently pack it my rucksack without care which would become palletized cargo under other peoples' gear on aircraft. It took coming home to my kids to break it.
Since I started out with machines with 64k of RAM (or less), my $200 phone is lightyears ahead of what I used back in my paid programming days in the 1980s/90s. Heck, I run a VAX 11-780/VMS System on it, just for fun.
I've made $XXYYZZ.WW while wearing these socks in 5 years.
2. $50 odd, but similar to 1, from affiliate marketing.
3. $80, from ads on a blog, but like 1.
4. $1500 plus, from an online software help platform. Member there, not creator.
5. $Tens of thousands, from software consulting and training.
Do you mean by writing code from the laptop? Building a product using the laptop? Does trading investments not count?
Not sure this is the amazing answer you are looking for :)
But I bought it in 2007. It is a Compal FL90. Currently running Windows 10 perfectly. That is actually amazing.