I don’t think anything will help the author as much as giving a bunch of money away. I grew up in a community where I met good number of very rich people with inherited wealth and every one of them is depressed or has some other issue—hypochondria, feelings of inadequacy, or some strange striving for significance through conspicuous consumption which is, of course, ultimately unfulfilling, etc. The root cause in all these cases, in my view, is the money. Just give it away and face the fear of engaging with the world again.
I am rich and have no idea what to do
571–580 of 1001 posts
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#572Therapy. Wealth and success is one of the most massive crutches there is. It can make it almost impossible to be truly in touch with your insecurities and pain because its simply too easy to hide in your victory. Your toughest challenge now is to, despite your wealth, find a way to contact the pain that drove you to your hunger for success. As the bible said, it's easier for a camel to get through the head of a needl…
"eye of the needle" refers to a small gate or passage in ancient city walls, used after the main gates were closed at night. A camel could only pass through this narrow opening if it was unloaded of its baggage and possibly crawled through on its knees. Not as hard or impossible as it first appears but still harder.
A common myth! No, no gate or passage was ever referred to as "the eye of the needle" in antiquity. [1] That verse is intended to be taken literally. Jesus Christ was quite outspoken on his feelings about the wealthy, but of course, wealthy Christians need a way for him to have meant something figurative when he told them to surrender their worldly riches.
[1]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studie...
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#573I can definitely sympathize with this guy. I imagine selling your company, coming into immense wealth, and losing your identity of ~10 years can really mess up an individual.
But at the same time... this seems rich coming from the dude who co-founded Loom. Calling his ex-coworkers NPCs and believing he's qualified to streamline the US government - all because he built a glorified screen recorder? Have some humility LOL.
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#574Been there, done that. General comments: - Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it within seven years. Check out what happens to lottery winners, jocks, and rappers. As a rule of thumb, you can safely spend 4% of your net worth per year. Pay yourself some fixed amount each quarter. - You don't have to get into complex investments. Half in some bond funds, half in some diversified stock funds will work…
> Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it within seven years
This is a commonly recited myth about lottery winners[1].
[1]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnjennings/2023/08/29/debunki...
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#575There are 739 comments in this thread and only one of them mentions emotion. That comment is suggesting the appropiate emotion is gratitude.
I'd go further and suggest you take your time and resources to learn about your emotional state and regulate your emotions so you can help others do the same. Find what you want to be a student of from that calm, content emotional state and with less attachment on how to live your life you will likely find more clarity.
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#576Same situation but 10 years ago. My advice would be to put all your money in stocks and live just like you always did. Find a normal job. Buy a normal house and car. Its great to never ever think about money. Live moderate. Don't show off. You stocks income will be roughly 2.5m a year btw.
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#577Just one idea for making a positive impact while meeting amazing communities of folks: Invest in early stage climate startups (and not just software ones). They’re struggling and they’re building stuff that we’ll desperately need to survive.
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#578> I should work for Elon and Vivek at DOGE and help America get off its current crash to defaulting on its own debt I’ve got an idea: take some good economics courses so that you learn how government spending actually works.
don't worry, he's starting with physics and will invent economics from first principles on his own because he's a genius
Those people are so exhausting. I work with one.
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#579Been there, done that. General comments: - Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it within seven years. Check out what happens to lottery winners, jocks, and rappers. As a rule of thumb, you can safely spend 4% of your net worth per year. Pay yourself some fixed amount each quarter. - You don't have to get into complex investments. Half in some bond funds, half in some diversified stock funds will work…
Assuming the "one guy [who] bought a nightclub" in question is jwz of Netscape fame, his blog is a trip:
https://refhide.com/?https://www.jwz.org/blog/
(routing through refhide because otherwise you'll get a testicle in an egg cup; jwz is a principled man of strong opinions and one of many things he loathes is HN)
Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do
#580Been there, done that. General comments: - Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it within seven years. Check out what happens to lottery winners, jocks, and rappers. As a rule of thumb, you can safely spend 4% of your net worth per year. Pay yourself some fixed amount each quarter. - You don't have to get into complex investments. Half in some bond funds, half in some diversified stock funds will work…
“The Simple Path to Wealth”might be another book recommendation on the wealth and investment topic.