Your Uncle is wise and lucky. Not like just usual employees who work for forty years and still have nothing in savings.
Sometimes, I think that job is the biggest scam on earth. You work tirelessly and still get paid so minimum that at the end of month, you have to cut down your expenses to reach the payday with dignity.
People with financial literacy and intelligence always save money to buy assets. So, after some years, they can have cashflow from their assets that gives them financial freedom and a safety net when the rain comes.