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Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

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Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#51

Post by xeromal »

HWR_14 wrote: post #22
busterarm wrote: post #11

We have a real societal disconnect and it's clear that we don't communicate enough with our elder generations. While some people are content to retire and stay home in bed, not having something meaningful to do every day makes quite a lot of people absolutely miserable.

But that's not the option open to the uber-rich. Look at Tom from MySpace. He took a ton of money and is on a permanent vacation. He certainly seems to have a more enjoyable life than Zuckerberg. Although I guess he cannot afford the biggest yachts in the world.

Not everyone is a Myspace Tom and more enjoyable is your take on Zuck's situation. I bet Zuckerberg either likes creating new things more, accumulating power, or just keeping his baby moving. I'm sure he enjoys what he's doing.

Then you have pure engineers like Torvolds or Carmack that just like being in the trenches.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#52

Post by bko »

ericmcer wrote: post #19
OminousWeapons wrote: post #2

Because being somewhat of a workaholic or craving power / money / achievement is how they got to be wealthy in the first place. This is roughly akin to asking "why don't strong and fit people stop going to the gym?"

If people stayed fit after getting in shape one time I think most would stop, your metaphor only works if we made some kind of capital gains scenario for fitness.

I disagree.

I enjoy the act of exercising and the immediate effects following excercise. Most people that are very into fitness or exercise enjoy it as well.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#53

Post by DamnYuppie »

lake_vincent wrote: post #8

The answer is always classes, folks. Because once you become a millionaire for the first time, you leave the middle class and realize that you are actually quite poor amongst the millionaire class , so you have to keep working to climb through the ranks of millionaires. It's a recursive algorithm, you see.

I am not going to say there isn't some aspect to that but once you get $5,000,000-$10,000,000 in the bank the interest alone will dwarf almost any salary. So you could kick back and let compounding interest do the trick.

In my social circle I know of 3 people in that bracket and all of them are working. It isn't so much for the money they like being mentally and socially engaged while working on problems that interest them. Of these individuals their ages range from mid 40's to mid 50's. All of them had taken breaks from work and found not working to be incredibly boring.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#54

Post by randycupertino »

duxup wrote: post #39

I remember when I visited the CEO's office at my first "real" job. I was sitting with my boss waiting for the CEO to show up to his massive (quiet) office with comfortable furnature, secretary who was busy organizing his personal and professional life (she asked us about gifts for his grand kids since we "knew computers"), drinks and food at the ready nearby... I said something like "Man I would find work pretty dang…

So what gift did you recommend for the grandchildren?

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#55

Post by ttyprintk »

endisneigh wrote: post #7

A better observation to make would be if people who receive a sudden windfall of money stop working.

That’s right: This article is about millionaires who were raised by upper-middle class people. Either their parents or caregivers were not part of the leisure class. Some who were raised with money actually had influential child care providers who were obviously not millionaires themselves.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#56

Post by jcelerier »

HWR_14 wrote: post #22
busterarm wrote: post #11

We have a real societal disconnect and it's clear that we don't communicate enough with our elder generations. While some people are content to retire and stay home in bed, not having something meaningful to do every day makes quite a lot of people absolutely miserable.

But that's not the option open to the uber-rich. Look at Tom from MySpace. He took a ton of money and is on a permanent vacation. He certainly seems to have a more enjoyable life than Zuckerberg. Although I guess he cannot afford the biggest yachts in the world.

> He certainly seems to have a more enjoyable life than Zuckerberg.

heh, Tom's life (according to https://www.hellomagazine.com/travel/2020111645793/tom-myspa...) would have myself commit seppuku in three weeks. I can barely stand five days of "do nothing productive" vacations. Would definitely choose "testify in front of congress" instead.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#57

Post by afroisalreadyin »

lisper wrote: post #5

Because it's not working that sucks. It's having to work that sucks.

This is actually a great point. I would guess that once the pressure is off, you can work more creatively and elaborately, taking the time to understand what is puzzling for you or above your level. Which in turn makes you more eager to work, and much more effective at it.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#58

Post by soneil »

racl101 wrote: post #16

I find that rich people, like the millionaires and billionaires, are driven people and driven not necessarily only by money. Extreme financial success is but a side effect of whatever is driving them whether it be building a huge company or a revolutionizing and industry. And if getting rich is not the end game whether entirely or partially then the work is never done. They are still on a mission and there are more c…

Many years ago, I knew / worked for one of the co-founders of Waste Management. He retired (at retirement age), moved to our neck of the woods, and bought & expanded several working properties (farm, hotel, golf course, etc).

His wife was an absolute gem, so I asked her one day - why is he still working at his age. He's surely got enough to retire on. She explained that they moved there to retire, but he was "like a caged lion" and just couldn't stop. So he took up several ventures almost as hobbies. My job was his hobby.

tl;dr; I agree. I strongly suspect that for this type, getting rich is a side-effect, not an end goal. It's unimaginable for me - with that money I'd be on a 50ft sailboat doing endless laps of the planet with no real goal or ambition. It's just who they are.

Re: Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

#60

Post by OminousWeapons »

ericmcer wrote: post #19
OminousWeapons wrote: post #2

Because being somewhat of a workaholic or craving power / money / achievement is how they got to be wealthy in the first place. This is roughly akin to asking "why don't strong and fit people stop going to the gym?"

If people stayed fit after getting in shape one time I think most would stop, your metaphor only works if we made some kind of capital gains scenario for fitness.

I think you're missing the point though. These are people who aren't optimizing for quality of life as most people define it (i.e. work as little as possible and reap maximal rewards and time with people you care about). Work / achievement / solving problems / obtaining resources becomes the goal itself. It is never enough because you can always have more / there is always something else to do / there is always another problem to solve / there is always another company to start etc.

Its the same thing for people who are serious about the gym. You can deadlift 600 lbs? Cool, now its time to try to get to 650. If you hit 650 it is time to plan for 700.

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