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Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

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Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#161

Post by matty_makes »

Retire. You can live off the interest if invested in mostly stable stuff (so I've heard) assuming you don't have a larger tax bill looming.

You may read lots of "awesome coder, great bizdev person" stuff online but 95% of the people out there in Tech are just working on someone else's idea/company bringing home pay. You are free from that now.

Be bored for a while and your interests will emerge. Take up a hobby, be a stay at home dad, think back to what excited you as a kid and explore those things.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#163

Post by nathan_f77 »

alsothrownaway wrote: post #71

As someone who has been in your shoes to a lesser degree, here are some things I learned: It is best to not upgrade your lifestyle at all, but instead to use your position to bring broken people out of the pit. Here is why: - 1. It is better to end the suffering of someone else than to make your own already-awesome life slightly better. - 2. If you lose everything like I did, you will have actually lost nothing and o…

Sorry, that must be really difficult. If it's not too painful to talk about it, would you be willing to share how you lost everything? What would you have done differently?

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#164

Post by kgwgk »

phkahler wrote: post #152
freddie_mercury wrote: post #95

Unsurprisingly lots of people have been in similar situations, so there is a Wiki article on one of the Internet's best personal finance and investing websites: "Managing a windfall" https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Managing_a_windfall "Do nothing rash. Set aside one year's living expenses[note 2] and place the rest of the windfall into low risk investments (FDIC insured accounts, money market funds, treasury bills) f…

>> ...allows the recipient time to put together a team of professional advisers... Yeah, because it takes a TEAM of people getting paid to figure out what to do with money. I could accept one financial advisor though I don't know how to select one, but a team sounds a bit like vultures ;-)

Apart from investment advice you'll also need legal advice to know how to comply with your fiscal obligations and structure things in the best possible way (including estate planning). So you need at least an accountant and a lawyer. The investment part is much less urgent.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#165

Post by freddie_mercury »

phkahler wrote: post #152
freddie_mercury wrote: post #95

Unsurprisingly lots of people have been in similar situations, so there is a Wiki article on one of the Internet's best personal finance and investing websites: "Managing a windfall" https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Managing_a_windfall "Do nothing rash. Set aside one year's living expenses[note 2] and place the rest of the windfall into low risk investments (FDIC insured accounts, money market funds, treasury bills) f…

>> ...allows the recipient time to put together a team of professional advisers... Yeah, because it takes a TEAM of people getting paid to figure out what to do with money. I could accept one financial advisor though I don't know how to select one, but a team sounds a bit like vultures ;-)

Estate attorney, tax attorney, CPA, and possibly a financial advisor. Doesn't sound crazy for someone who just got $100 million from selling their business.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#166

Post by tinktank »

charliecat wrote: post #141

i invested close to the ETH ICO. just $10k or so, but that gave me a windfall of $3.5m (I sold in early to mid-December). im not super conservative with my money (i.e., i don't do t-bills, and other "super safe" investments). i am just dollar cost averaging into index funds, like ive always done. I anticipate that I'll get anywhere from 5% to 15% per year, compounding. i also have pre-tax income of roughly $500k. i s…

What are you doing that you have a take-home of $500K?

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#167

Post by pavlov »

Buy a sophisticated wealth totem, like a million-dollar painting from a canonical modernist artist (Warhol will do if you want to play safe).

Place the painting in a central location in your home. Don't spend on anything else extragavant. The painting-totem will act as a constant comforting reminder of your available wealth, and is also a solid diversifying investment in an asset class that's popular among the wealthiest 0.01% but unavailable through funds.

(Also, don’t take investment advice from strangers on the Internet.)

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#168

Post by imhoguy »

lesss365 wrote: post #113

To go against the current a little bit, hold off on investing in the stock market as of now. The market is likely to turn downwards within the next year or two. There are too many indicators pointing to this. Hold off and wait for the major indexes to lose ~40%-50% in value, then invest. During the 2008 crash, the main indexes and stocks lost ~40%-60%, and treasury bonds ~8%-10%. Save your money now and invest when m…

> The market is likely to turn downwards within the next year or two. There are too many indicators pointing to this.

I am all ears.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#169

Post by josefresco »

hguhghuff wrote: post #34

Put in in a range of safe investments and live a quiet life. You’re not rich, your very well off, it’ll last till your death in great comfort if you are careful. Don’t start giving it away or spending it.

#1 pet peeve of people with large personal wealth is their aversion to being called "rich". You're rich, embrace it, own it, even if you didn't earn it.

I was once hired to build a website that catered to people that I would call "rich". I remember the horror on their faces when I casually asked "do rich people do X?"

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#170

Post by edoo »

maaaats wrote: post #104
edoo wrote: post #99

If you are unsure then sit on it for a few years. That is barely enough money to retire comfortably the rest of your life. If you truly feel giving it away makes the world a better place then why not. Chances are though you using it to better your life and find your niche would further enrich those you came into contact with. Do not feel guilty about having money that you actually earned. It is not like you got rich…

> That is barely enough money to retire comfortably the rest of your life. Barely? Using the "safe withdrawal rate" of 4% after inflation if the money is invested, one could spend 320k a year and probably not run out.

I assume the OP has to be making about at least $130k salary, approximately $200k in total compensation. That gives 42 years at the current lifestyle at a lifespan of 85 years. That assumes wages track inflation. Lifespan should be higher by then too. I'd consider maintaining lifestyle as comfortable retirement.
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