145 Comments
 

After yesterday's news, put it all on GME.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

I fucking told y'all didn't I?

GME to the moon!

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

It wasn't a joke, I was quite serious. Kudos to anyone that listened, hope they enjoy the tendies.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Talk to an attorney about how to minimize my tax liability, pay off my debt, and then invest the rest? 

$5MM is a shit ton of money, but it isn't quite "retire immediately" money. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 
Most Helpful

CRE

Talk to an attorney about how to minimize my tax liability, pay off my debt, and then invest the rest? 

$5MM is a shit ton of money, but it isn't quite "retire immediately" money. 

$5MM invested properly should be at least $250k in yearly passive income. How is that not "retire immediately" money?

Array
 

BobTheBaker

CRE

Talk to an attorney about how to minimize my tax liability, pay off my debt, and then invest the rest? 

$5MM is a shit ton of money, but it isn't quite "retire immediately" money. 

$5MM invested properly should be at least $250k in yearly passive income. How is that not "retire immediately" money?

Depends where you live and what you want to do.  That 5% rate of return looks a lot worse once you tax it.  Living in NYC on ~125,000 a year is possible, but it's not an extravagant lifestyle.  Ditto somewhere in the suburbs.  If you want to move to New Hampshire then so be it, but assuming you don't have several million additional dollars in the bank, that's not an amount of money on which you can retire and do what you want.  If you're in a medium COL area you still should be living on a shoestring budget, because you should 100% be socking away 10% of that passive income to fund a rainy day account, because the last thing you want to do is touch the principal on it

 

BobTheBaker

$5MM invested properly should be at least $250k in yearly passive income. How is that not "retire immediately" money?

Because a lot can happen in life. Kids are expensive. Getting sick in this country is expensive. Tastes and hobbies change. People have lost a whole hell of a lot more than $5MM too. 

$5MM would not be retire immediately money for me. That doesn't mean it isn't a lot of money, as I said. That just means it isn't enough for me personally to call it quits. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Assuming after-tax dollars...

Pay off mortgage (~350,000)

Give some to family (100 to brother, 100 to sister, 100 to parents, another 50 split between cousins = 350)

Left with $4.3M. $1.5M in 1-3% bonds. $1.5M in blue chip / dividend-paying equities. $300k in yolo bets

$1M left to fool around. Take time off to do some traveling. Party vacation with the boys. Golf / surf / snowboard trips

 

Retire immediately because I'm not so out of touch with the common person to think that it's impossible to retire on $5 million....but then again, I'm not a limousine liberal so what do I know.

At most, I would consider doing a more laid back job at a non-profit or working as a part-time lecturer at a community college.

 

+1 SB. That's why I said "limousine liberal" which does not sound like you since you appear to be in touch with normal people and the amount of money that the average American will retire with in their lifetime. Cannot be said of all commenters on here.

 

I think I would retire immediately as well. I would save a lot on housing, considering that I, as a liberal, live rent-free in your head

LLoool

 

NoEquityResearch

Retire immediately because I'm not so out of touch with the common person to think that it's impossible to retire on $5 million....but then again, I'm not a limousine liberal so what do I know.

At most, I would consider doing a more laid back job at a non-profit or working as a part-time lecturer at a community college.

"Impossible" is not the same as "wouldn't".  By this logic, why does anyone bother working a job that pays more than a middle class salary in a low cost of living area?  This idea that we should all aspire to blend in to the average is absurd, and is something I've found absurd about conservatives for a long time.  Why is "someone I'd want to have a beer with" a qualification for higher office, for example (for those of us who remember the 2008 election)?

I'd like to excel at my chosen field.  I'd like to have the income to be philanthropic if/when I retire (and before). I can easily imagine a life in which I retire with income to spare on the back of a $5mm investment account.  That doesn't mean I want to.  Not sure what's wrong with that attitude, either.  

 

There is something inherently disingenuous about the attitude that you want to fight inequality but not for YOU....you should be allowed to live in NYC with a big yacht and plenty of disposal income.

By the way, nothing at all average about making $100K per year for 50 years, assuming you didn't even reinvest the money. That is also what's funny. You're one of the most liberal posters on here and apparently have NO FUCKING clue what the average person in this country actually makes and what they retire with.

Also, if you want to give it to charity, then say that instead of bitching about living in New Hampshire as your first response. Say, I'm 10x times more compassionate than everyone else on WSO.  I'm such a great person with all my great compassionate ideas and I'm giving it away with little thought of living an ultra wealthy lifestyle in NYC.

 

NoEquityResearch

Retire immediately because I'm not so out of touch with the common person to think that it's impossible to retire on $5 million....but then again, I'm not a limousine liberal so what do I know.

At most, I would consider doing a more laid back job at a non-profit or working as a part-time lecturer at a community college.

WSO is such a weird place sometimes. The same website that claims a $80,000 salary plus 20% bonus for a 23 year old in real estate is barely getting by because 23 year olds at Goldman or Blackstone make double that acts like $5 million dollars is some ungodly amount of money. 

I'm not sure what one's place on the political compass has to do with this and I never said "impossible" either. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

CRE

NoEquityResearch

Retire immediately because I'm not so out of touch with the common person to think that it's impossible to retire on $5 million....but then again, I'm not a limousine liberal so what do I know.

At most, I would consider doing a more laid back job at a non-profit or working as a part-time lecturer at a community college.

WSO is such a weird place sometimes. The same website that claims a $80,000 salary plus 20% bonus for a 23 year old in real estate is barely getting by because 23 year olds at Goldman or Blackstone make double that acts like $5 million dollars is some ungodly amount of money. 

I'm not sure what one's place on the political compass has to do with this and I never said "impossible" either. 

I think that if you're looking for intellectual credibility or a consistent moral center, reading into any conservative position is going to give you a headache.  Just as the GOP is a post-policy political party, conservatism is a post-intellectual political alignment.  It no longer stands for anything except retarding progress of any kind.  It's not preserving what is best, it advocates stagnation and fossilization.

 

$5 million after tax is almost $10 million of gross bonus money which is probably more than 10 years of an average MD's career. Average. 

Considering probably greater than 50% of MDs don't last 10 years, I would say $5 million post tax is a sufficiently large amount of money for even finance people to consider an "ungodly amount of money" or alternatively more than enough to retire on. It would put you squarely in the 97 percentile net worth bracket. Even in the finance bubble, not many W-2 folks reside in that territory.

 

At first - hire someone to help manage it and deal with any tax/legal issues. Then - as little as possible for a few months save maybe adding a small portion to a trading account for fun (I'm talking like ~50k or so). 

Otherwise - I'd want to leave as much invested as possible as, frankly, I just don't need much of it right now. I think it would largely give me piece of mind and flexibility to just not worry as much about random trips, expenses, etc. I would certainly look to take care of those I love - but try and do it out of the interest over time rather than diminish the principal. 

Job wise? I'd consider what I want to do but wouldn't quit immediately. Again this gives me the flexibility to really consider what matters and potentially take a slightly less paying job or start my own thing If I really want to with some safety net. 

I guess overall it just makes things easier, right? Assuming I don't develop a bad habit of champagne and caviar at LIV on Friday's... I probably won't have to worry much about money as long as I don't do something really stupid. 

 
  • Retire
  • Earmark ~$300k for risky business ventures. Assuming here that I could lose 100% of this sum - but the upside is obviously multiple more millions.
  • Use ~$250k for a down payment on a $1MM house in a low COL city (Houston/Austin/Dallas/Atlanta/Charlotte, etc.).
  • Use ~$100k for a down payment on a ~$400-$500k vacation home, preferably on a lake.
  • Invest the remaining ~$4.3 million and live off of passive income. Investments would include the stock/bond market and real estate. Very limited allocation to alternative investments.
Array
 

Sequoia

Good earmarking, although you don't think you'd get bored retiring in your 20s? How would you fill your time?

I assume at least early on that my time would be spent on turning that $300k that I earmarked for a business into an actual profitable business.

Array
 

Some people really say that you can´t retire of 5M lol. There are literally mansions on sale in Texas for 350-450k with Texas also having low taxes. You would still have over 4,5M available to do whatever you want with it. Let´s assume that your monthly expenses are 5k (which is a lot given that you wouldn´t have to pay rent or a mortgage) that just equals 60k a year. Sounds like a comfortable lifestyle to me.

 

Wherever you’re getting a mansion for 400k in texas is a complete shithole that no young person would ever want to live in. Also property taxes are some of the highest in the country.

 

First, buy into or start up some small business that can easily become stable and eventually leave my job thereafter. Then, start up some type of business abroad that trains, educates or bring skills to people in developing countries that have a harder time earning a livable wage. Ideally, some type of business that can help provide people skills or bring people work in those countries. There's too much unemployment and underemployment in these places, I'd like to do what I can to help. For whatever remains, just putting it into investments to bring me closer to retirement. 

 

Fuzefund

Invest and buy a house

Same

House with sick home gym and heated lap pool. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

everyone saying you cant retire on 5 mil is retarded. Inheriting 5 million is the same as getting paid 100k a year for 50 years, except it's not - its even better. No taxes and you can invest and earn ~8% a year, more than that if you want to be more aggressive. Unless you're trying to ball out for the next 5 decades, you'll be just fine

 

Buy a new 4runner trd, pay for my college, pay off my parents mortgages. Go on a ski trip. Invest the rest.

 

I would take the first 500k and invest it in a rising cryptocurrency
I would take the next million and invest in specific companies/stock markets that have consistently rising stocks and statistics
Use the next 1.5 million to start my own company
Set aside 1 million for usage in life
And save the last million

 

1. Hire an accountant and a lawyer.

2. Buy a gas station, a carwash, a laundromat, and a burger chain.

3. Keep my day job...but now I have a "F**k you I quit" card that I can use on my boss anytime I want.

4. Use the passive income from #2 to buy lands in up and coming areas.

5. Find a real estate developer to start a JV, build up hundreds of overpriced houses, cash out.

6. Use profit from #5 to buy a junk yard, a strip club, a liquor store, a bar, and a funeral home.

7. Retire.

 

I would probably "retire" with 2m$, it's kind of my goal, think i should be there around 33.

Noone wants to be doing nothing, you would just be bored to death. The point is having enough savings/investment income to allow you do pursue whatever you want. Most likely that will still pay some random living wage or earnings from some project. But you are free to leave, rethink, change project as many times as you want.

If you want to be a bar pianist for 1 year, you can without caring about earnings.

Want to do that physics phd that you didn't do ? You can do it

Want to spend 1 year in mexico being a diving instructor ? you can

Want to try working for a startup building something you are excited about ? you can

 

So much focus on whether you “can” retire on $5M. Of course you can, most retirees will never come close to that and can still live somewhat comfortably. I probably “could” retire with $1M, I’d just have to live like I did in college again. The issue is that I don’t “want” to retire on $5M - I’d keep working and investing and letting it compound until it hits my number.
 

I’d probably take more risks with my career (startup ventures, etc.) knowing that I had support, but I wouldn’t walk away because I want to swing for the fences. Frugality’s great; luxury’s better

 

Curious what your number is and by what age you expect to hit

For me, I'm shooting for $30ml by 60. Not to say my happiness is predicated on such but just a goal. Given compounding of wealth and my personal investments, while not easy I know it is doable. Would also not retire ever, although for sure stop working FT after 60. Something part time like being a professor would be ideal, maybe write a book, etc. 

 

All this talk of Texas, come on guys, Florida has a lot more going on. Many flavors too, south Florida if you’re into that NY crowd, west coast if you like those Midwestern honeys and up north by Jacksonville if you like that Georgia spillover.

 

this isn't the answer you want: I'd argue you should spend more time thinking about how to change that dynamic than your asset allocation in retirement.

now, if you've inherited $5mm and you have serious questions, I think I put my thoughts in another thread somewhere, but the jist goes something like this: ensure you're not going to get fucked on taxes (some states & countries have inheritance taxes), and spend a significant amount of time fucking around, maybe 6mos, maybe a year. maybe you delay it 6mos because of covid, but spend a year doing whatever you want, checking off bucket list items, whatever you want. when you're done, you'll get the sense if you miss work or not. but the point is this: if you hate your job, you need distance to see if it's work itself or just this job.

I don't know what I'd do, I've seen guys continue working with a multiple of that and seen guys quit early and spend less money because they hated work so much. my current job is too flexible and fun to actually think I'd quit, but I don't have $5mm, so I cannot say for sure how I'd feel

 

I’d be an assistant coach for a sport or be a part of the support staff, like the videographer or equipment manager.  I’d be wealthy already and be around my college alma master’s football team (Univ of Hawaii) and get to travel and be part of the glory.  I’d be outside a lot.  Working out.  Go Bows!
 

As for the money, I’d have my wife invest it with us having joint decision making. 

Have compassion as well as ambition and you’ll go far in life. I am interested in digital immortality. Check out my blog at digitalimmortality.com
 

I would first hire a tax lawyer to sort out all tax laws/loopholes. Then I’ll invest 1/4 of the remaining money in equities (maybe set up a family office). I’ll then invest 1/3 in real estate. After that I’ll donate 1/8th to a cause I support or create a scholarship program for those in need. The rest I would store in the bank just in case of liquidity issues, maybe buy treasury notes or invest in potential start ups. tbh if I was lazy I would give 80% of the money to a BB wealth management service to handle. But the main point is that I would grow that money and do charity.

 

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heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

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"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

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