8 ms·

Definitely disagree, there IS a difference between $10 - $20 Mil and $1 - $1.2 Bil

by espadagroup 13y ago

garybizzle 13y ago
massive difference. decent retirement money versus 'do whatever you want for the rest of your life' money
- clarky07 13y ago
  uh, pretty sure 10-20 million is in fact "do whatever you want for the rest of your life" money. Certainly do anything normal that you want. perhaps you can't buy a jet. damn. 10million * 3% dividend stocks = 300k per year just having it sit there. Maybe not entirely risk free, but not too risky either.
  - gaadd33 13y ago
    Lets say you want to get into automotive racing. Assuming you want to race in professional series such as ALMS or similar you could easily burn 5M a year. 20M is plenty to live a very well off life, but its not "do anything you want for the rest of your life" money. Look at how many professional athletes/musicians manage to blow many multiples of that amount.
    - clarky07 13y ago
      I included the caveat of "normal". Obviously that amount of money is "spendable." 300k a year though will service a very nice lifestyle though. You can live an upper class lifestyle most places in the world without doing anything. Also, perhaps I'm naive, but I expect tech startup founders to be better with their money than professional athletes. Yes, you could be an idiot, but that doesn't mean 10 mil isn't FU money. It is if you have even a little bit of a brain. You can spend nearly any amount of money, but that's not really the point. You can put your 3 billion all on red and dammit if it didn't come up black. Doesn't make it not FU money. (No casino in the world will take that bet, but you know what I mean).
      - kayoone 13y ago
        Well you might want to start another business and in that case, the more money you have in the back, the better.
  - BillyMaize 13y ago
    Exactly. I could never bring myself to use billions on super luxury stuff anyway and would wind up donating most of that money to a good cause (I wonder if the Gates foundation accepts donations?).
lelandbatey 13y ago
Probably, but I doubt you as a founder would get $1-1.2 Bil from a deal that was only $3b. On a much larger note, I don't feel like there's a big difference beyond $20 Mil if your goal is to continue living the life you're living now, but with total financial security. I know that given the chance, that's all I'd really ask for. Anything beyond that, and the only thing I can think of to spend the money on is philanthropy. However, I'll bet other people have different aspirations, so I guess I can't really speak on the subject. ... why am I writing this comment ...
- peterjancelis 13y ago
  I think the cutoff point is more like 100 million. With 20 million you're still having second thoughts about your NetJets use or the size of your yacht.
umsm 13y ago
The point was: There is a difference between being broke ($0) and having $20 million in the bank. That's a huge difference. At $20 million, there is nothing you can't do. At that point, with some wise long term investments, you wouldn't need to worry about finances.
- sk5t 13y ago
  With $20MM in the bank, there is plenty you cannot buy and subsequently maintain for very long: a shiny new Bombardier jet, a motor yacht, more than one vintage racing Ferrari... even blowing $5MM on a substantial estate would be highly ill-advised. But at this point, one becomes acquainted with people who can afford to keep such things, so it might start to seem less like "wealth" and more like "security" depending on one's desires and insecurities.
  - nilkn 13y ago
    Consumption of ultra-luxury items is one way to look at the difference, but another is your progeny. $20M, if spent frugally and invested well, could certainly ensure the well-being of your immediate children and probably grandchildren as well (not if you blow it on vintage sports cars and jets, though). But a billion or two could keep your family out of work for many, many generations
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
      - finnh 13y ago
        If you put it in a mattress, sure. But most (all?) people invest their money at a far higher rate of return than inflation.
        gaius 13y ago
        Not for a decade or more has this been true. Inflation in the UK is 2.2%. You would be lucky to get that without venturing into equities (which to be fair have done well this year) or property. But energy is up 8%, travel 9%, food 12%, etc. Real inflation is hard to outrun. And markets are prone to bubbles...

Definitely disagree, there IS a difference between $10 - $20 Mil and $1 - $1.2 Bil

garybizzle 13y ago

massive difference. decent retirement money versus 'do whatever you want for the rest of your life' money

clarky07 13y ago
uh, pretty sure 10-20 million is in fact "do whatever you want for the rest of your life" money. Certainly do anything normal that you want. perhaps you can't buy a jet. damn. 10million * 3% dividend stocks = 300k per year just having it sit there. Maybe not entirely risk free, but not too risky either.
- gaadd33 13y ago
  Lets say you want to get into automotive racing. Assuming you want to race in professional series such as ALMS or similar you could easily burn 5M a year. 20M is plenty to live a very well off life, but its not "do anything you want for the rest of your life" money. Look at how many professional athletes/musicians manage to blow many multiples of that amount.
  - clarky07 13y ago
    I included the caveat of "normal". Obviously that amount of money is "spendable." 300k a year though will service a very nice lifestyle though. You can live an upper class lifestyle most places in the world without doing anything. Also, perhaps I'm naive, but I expect tech startup founders to be better with their money than professional athletes. Yes, you could be an idiot, but that doesn't mean 10 mil isn't FU money. It is if you have even a little bit of a brain. You can spend nearly any amount of money, but that's not really the point. You can put your 3 billion all on red and dammit if it didn't come up black. Doesn't make it not FU money. (No casino in the world will take that bet, but you know what I mean).
    - kayoone 13y ago
      Well you might want to start another business and in that case, the more money you have in the back, the better.
- BillyMaize 13y ago
  Exactly. I could never bring myself to use billions on super luxury stuff anyway and would wind up donating most of that money to a good cause (I wonder if the Gates foundation accepts donations?).

lelandbatey 13y ago

Probably, but I doubt you as a founder would get $1-1.2 Bil from a deal that was only $3b. On a much larger note, I don't feel like there's a big difference beyond $20 Mil if your goal is to continue living the life you're living now, but with total financial security. I know that given the chance, that's all I'd really ask for. Anything beyond that, and the only thing I can think of to spend the money on is philanthropy. However, I'll bet other people have different aspirations, so I guess I can't really speak on the subject. ... why am I writing this comment ...

peterjancelis 13y ago
I think the cutoff point is more like 100 million. With 20 million you're still having second thoughts about your NetJets use or the size of your yacht.

umsm 13y ago

The point was: There is a difference between being broke ($0) and having $20 million in the bank. That's a huge difference. At $20 million, there is nothing you can't do. At that point, with some wise long term investments, you wouldn't need to worry about finances.

sk5t 13y ago
With $20MM in the bank, there is plenty you cannot buy and subsequently maintain for very long: a shiny new Bombardier jet, a motor yacht, more than one vintage racing Ferrari... even blowing $5MM on a substantial estate would be highly ill-advised. But at this point, one becomes acquainted with people who can afford to keep such things, so it might start to seem less like "wealth" and more like "security" depending on one's desires and insecurities.
- nilkn 13y ago
  Consumption of ultra-luxury items is one way to look at the difference, but another is your progeny. $20M, if spent frugally and invested well, could certainly ensure the well-being of your immediate children and probably grandchildren as well (not if you blow it on vintage sports cars and jets, though). But a billion or two could keep your family out of work for many, many generations
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
    - finnh 13y ago
      If you put it in a mattress, sure. But most (all?) people invest their money at a far higher rate of return than inflation.
      - gaius 13y ago
        Not for a decade or more has this been true. Inflation in the UK is 2.2%. You would be lucky to get that without venturing into equities (which to be fair have done well this year) or property. But energy is up 8%, travel 9%, food 12%, etc. Real inflation is hard to outrun. And markets are prone to bubbles...