‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times

Post by darkerside » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 4:57 PM UTC

samatman wrote: post #26

pessimizer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you should have a pretty high rate of success. I'm pretty sure that multiple orders of magnitude more people spent their entire lives trying to become extremely rich than the few hundred it worked out for.

There are a great deal more people who think they're trying to become extremely rich, but aren't, than there are people who, for example, think they're trying to become extremely good at violin, but aren't. It's not a retrospective difference, one good way to spot the poseurs: they aren't violently allergic to spending money in a way that doesn't get them more, or at least make that possible. That's table stakes for…

Post by paxys » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 4:57 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #7

The flying private example in the first section misses the entire point (or 99% of the point) of flying private. Flying on a set schedule, arranged long in advance, with 30 strangers, from one major airport to another major airport, is not the point of flying private. Flying on your own schedule, to/from more conveniently located airports, bringing family pets along, having private conversations among the pax, having…

Post by darkerside » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #14

rufus_foreman wrote: post #6

>> Person A was born in 1930. Person B was born seventy years later, in 2000. They both start applying the Graham investing strategy at a very early age, let’s say when they were 15 years. >> Person A becomes Warren Buffett, once the richest man on earth, who experienced one of the biggest booms in value stocks when he was young. Person B loses half of their money because value stocks are out of favor in the 2010s Bu…

> you should have a pretty high rate of success. I'm pretty sure that multiple orders of magnitude more people spent their entire lives trying to become extremely rich than the few hundred it worked out for.

Post by jl6 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

PuppyTailWags wrote: post #28

rufus_foreman wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop. Within months, they owned several machines in three different barber shops across Omaha. They sold the business later in the year for $1,200 That's ~$20k in today's dollars in a few months while still in high school. >> At 15, Warren made more than $175 monthly deliver…

A 15 year old today cannot make ~$3k a month delivering Washington Post newspapers. I think the point still stands what much of wealth gain is lucky opportunity windows, such as being alive during a time where a job like newspaper delivery pays 3k a month.

Post by paxys » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 5:00 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #5

For me, rich and unknown would be way, way better than rich and famous. Even financially comfortable and unknown is better than rich and famous.