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Why Don't Rich People Just Stop Working?

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131–140 of 152 posts

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

#131
post #25

I'm the type people might think is ambitious, I own a business with a high valuation, I've worked hard for a long time, I'm very skilled in my field. But I only work hard for the reward. Once I cash out and have FU money, I am done working forever. Life is so short, I just want to focus on family, health and pleasure. I understand that most other ambitious people aren't like that but personally I don't get it.

I doubt you're atypical. Based on the smattering of people I know who were able and wanted to retire in, say, their forties to some point on the FIRE spectrum, they pretty much were retired. Oh, they might do the occasional advising or angel investing, might teach a class somewhere on the side, but were mostly retired. (That said, I also know even not so young "retirees" who pop up here there and everywhere doing various consulting and so forth.

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

#132
post #31

They do. The three faces in the picture at the top of the article are famous billionaire outliers. Plenty of modestly wealthy people (say net worth of >$5M) lead lives of complete leisure.

Yes. There are likely a ton of people you've never heard of who received a fairly modest inheritance, won the startup lottery, or was just successful at the right Big Tech, finance, or law firm who decided to ride off into the sunset in their 40s. I know some of them. Some are quite well off. Others are just willing to live modestly, perhaps off some sort of early retirement pension.

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

#133

This article is stolen from another blog. OP is a serial content thief who rehosts other peoples content on Vocal.Media for ad revenue. They're now targetting HN with their spam and they were busted the other day: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28509445 and again last night: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28538985 Edit: and now this one too, pew pew! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28540643 Edit 2: t…

All: please email hn@ycombinator.com if you see abuse like this. Protecting the quality of the site is our #1 priority and we can't address problems we don't know about! Fortunately I randomly ran across this post and have done the needful.

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

#134
post #25

I'm the type people might think is ambitious, I own a business with a high valuation, I've worked hard for a long time, I'm very skilled in my field. But I only work hard for the reward. Once I cash out and have FU money, I am done working forever. Life is so short, I just want to focus on family, health and pleasure. I understand that most other ambitious people aren't like that but personally I don't get it.

Wait until you've been sitting on your butt not doing any work for a few months and see if you aren't bored as hell.

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

#135
post #133

This article is stolen from another blog. OP is a serial content thief who rehosts other peoples content on Vocal.Media for ad revenue. They're now targetting HN with their spam and they were busted the other day: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28509445 and again last night: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28538985 Edit: and now this one too, pew pew! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28540643 Edit 2: t…

All: please email hn@ycombinator.com if you see abuse like this. Protecting the quality of the site is our #1 priority and we can't address problems we don't know about! Fortunately I randomly ran across this post and have done the needful.

Thank you for the note! I'm not a regular user here and don't know how the moderation/administration of posts works here, so the email is greatly appreciated.

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

#136
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually a great argument for a strong social democracy/welfare state.

Sort of. If everyone does what they want - who does the jobs no one wants?

Automation and/or higher pay tends to make that not a problem.

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

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha. I can’t even bring myself to check that assertion. :) But for people in any domain at the top of their game, what else is as fulfilling?

Unless you are a member of the Detroit Lions....

"top of their game". ;-)

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

#139
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.

That's my goal. Get to 500k savings and then decompress for a bit and really figure out something to work on that seems worthwhile that i want to build my future identity around.

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

#140
post #5

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

If i could take care of my retirement, medical care, my kid's future, etc.... i'd work a very different job if i could. I'd probably work more than i do now. I'd love to run a simple restaurant like a BBQ restaurant or something like that. And i'd never sit at a desk ever again as part of my daily tasks. And i'd fuck-off on HackerNews and Reddit a lot less. I just got a job where I make more than double my last role.…

Im about to make the same leap as you and I know it'll be the same. What's your plan?

I think it would be worse to inflate your lifestyle with all the nice things and still have to work at that new big tech place for decades more

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