If you restarted life as a trust fund baby, what profession would you pursue?

Feels like everyone I know in finance has sort of lost sight of what they’re genuinely passionate about 

But it just made me think what they’d all be doing if money wasn’t an issue.

So just wondering what you’d be doing all day if money really didn’t matter.

 
ffffml

Travel influencer or run a pet rescue and adoption center

Love this answer, my thinking is generally aligned. It would be really fun to spend 5-10 years traveling and covering the full spectrum of experiences, staying in party hostels to 5 star hotels, going from Switzerland to Madagascar. Then, after years of traveling, settle down in wherever I felt most at home and start up a non-profit, ideally one that was multi-faceted so you could help more than one cause. *Sighs* maybe one day I will get to do some variation of the former or the latter, but the odds of doing both appear low initially 

 

I've always wondered about the appeal of golf for those who genuinely enjoy playing it as a hobby. Guess it's probably a lot more enjoyable driving around in a cart while sipping beers along with friends (compared to my experience getting baked in the 110 degree summer sun while carrying your own bag!). 

I used to play competitive back in middle/high school (sponsored by the local country club), although never quite enjoyed it much more than a potential path to getting a college scholarship (which didn't pan out anyways). Regularly competed in regional/state tourneys with a couple guys who are actually on the PGA now, and I have to say that life is tough especially for the 99% who never quite made it out of the amateur leagues. Honestly, the pressure is immense for even those who did make it on tour. My coach's son was briefly on tour too, but only cashed a handful of events before falling off the rankings: not enough to retire on, and ultimately goes back to being a coach/managing a course. It's quite a brutal life and certainly not for the faint of heart at the competitive level. I'd say the casual 4-man scramble/charity event tourney path is probably the way to go. 

 
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Get fucking after it.  I would be doing the exact same shit as I am doing today.  I am on a moral crusade to save the American economic system.

Edit: on a completely different note I would also consider spending all of my money to build prisons to put people who talk about things like "Amazon, or enter some other F500 company here, pays less in taxes than some random low skiled hourly worker.  These people need to be forcibly reducated.

 

Exotic car rentals / dealership. I've always loved cars and this would give me an excuse to blow money on them and hopefully even get something out of it from a financial standpoint. I actually know the car market well enough that I could probably make money on this idea already, if I had money to begin with. Luckily the auto market is much easier to learn than the real one, especially if you're a true enthusiast.

That or even just a high end shop. Not a ton of shops out there you trust to install an exhaust or headers on your lambo or ferrari.

 

One of my closest friends worked for a place like this in Southern California during college. Owner created a tech company, sold it when he was 22, and creating an exotic car dealership.

Ended up shutting it all down though, got caught up in being over extended and the margins can be thin if you’re not super selective on cars. Fun time though, I got to ride in a few Aventadors and drive an Audi R8 myself. Coolest thing my friend drove was probably an Aventador SV

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

The problem is that people do this becuase deep down they really want to collect cars so they buy the wront things.

For anyone who wants to do this, buy baseline models of cars in rap videos and other points of social capital.  If you do this right your utilization rates witl be 10x+ higher than normal car rental companies.  In fact this is such a thing that most exotic cars are actually rented between 120 - 250 times per month.   One guy in the industry actually rented his cars on average 8 - 10 times per day, every day of the month.   It is all about inventory selection.  

 

I'm working in a career I enjoy doing what I find challenging, my trust won't allow me access aka my parents won't release it unless my sister and I have careers and they know we won't just blow it. They release funds slowly and for common things, Private school/college/family vacations/Helped my Sister get her Certs/helped with a Down payment....etc. A couple of my friends that I know have trusts, but from hardworking families that only have like 5-20m they are mainly working but in some field that they love.....One started a dog walking and therapy dog training company....Another one followed her passion to do like chacuterrie boards and now actually sells out every week. From my days at Phillips most people have ended up in real careers, some took leaps to starting their own business since they knew they had a cusion/safety net....Only the new money really floated through life blowing most of it. 

 

That’s pretty sick! I figured it might be stuff that’s a bit extra like selling charcuterie.. I’d imagine doctors/scientists also have a fair few because of how meaningful it is

 

Well, the same as I am now.

I inherited, but I continued working. I'm principal of the family office, and I lead the related PE firm; along with overseeing the rest. I never really saw it as a reason to stop working, or to change anything.

Investor (30+ years); IB/RE/PE/Corp. Exp (MD level); currently, head of boutique private equity firm; principal of family office.
 

Just saw this post after posting a similar topic in the idea of "what brings you joy", and I have to say this is exactly what I was thinking of/looking for. 

Generally, I see a few interesting trends:

1. Do nothing different than now, usually work casually managing family business/portfolio. Seems I'm also somewhat stuck in this path just out of inertia, and not sure if there's a better path forward (although I suppose this work needs to get done somehow, and its always harder to trust someone else over yourself).

For those who answered this choice, I'm curious if current life is actually the best it could be, or if it's just continuing with what is most familiar/convenient? Have you tried other things and come back to this lifestyle, or have you never known anything different? 

2. Hobbyist job for those with a passion: gym, sports, cars, art, charity all seem to be common topics for those who are genuinely excited about a certain field and now have the money/freedom to pursue it. I always wonder where/how this passion forms within people, but it's always hard to think about "why" we like the things we do.

I think this tends to be the most ideal path (especially in combination with casual work in managing your own money), although finding a path you are both genuinely passionate about AND actually end up enjoy working at in the long term tends to be more of a pipe dream than in reality. At least I've seen a few cases of opening up a cafes, jewelry store, or working with kids in education where the actual day to day operations/management becomes a headache which slowly depletes interest and eventually closes due to unprofitability. When lacking the hunger/drive to succeed at all costs (given finances are not a priority), it's harder to be competitive unless it's purely a hands-off casual side-project, or you have a full-time partner who actually manages it while you fund it. 

3. The good ol' hedonism route, models and bottles, coke and hookers, luxury cruises, tropical cocktails on the beach, while smoking every substance under the sun. Still haven't gone fully down that path (yet), but I imagine it's a nice place to start to get it all out of your system (similar to the Amish's rumspringa) so that you can say "been there, done that" to just about everything and have no regrets about missing out.

If you actually find your happiness there, you've won the game and can enjoy your chill new life. On the other hand, I've seen plenty of interviews even with old retired boomers who day drink all day and enjoy female company Southeast Asia/LatAm, but most quickly lose motivation in life and drink themselves into an early grave. I tend to think this might be more of an idealistic/aspirational dream compared to something that can be actually maintained long-term. Perhaps more of a "once a year", or "every few months" vacation as stress relief while you are primarily working on options 1 or 2?

 

To address option 1 -- in my case, I've already done most of the fun stuff, so I have a default role unless I choose to do something different. I'm not limited to that specific role, as I do a lot more beyond that.

I have other personal and family businesses. I have started a few companies, and the role I mentioned is more of a default role... but that doesn't mean that I don't (also) do a lot more as well...

I've traveled (100+ countries), I've raced around with fast cars (on track, and I've owned a few/and I still have a fast car that I take out for fun drives), I've sailed (I had a sailboat), I've climbed mountains (several), I've done a lot of things. It's been fun. I wouldn't define my life around that, however, because then it's just costly and you fall into a trap of forever seeking more and more excitement, which ends up disappointing and can be problematic.

It isn't so much that I have lost initiative, it's that after a while of doing things, you start to run out of exciting and new stuff to do, and you fall into a default niche, because it's a natural fit, but doesn't necessarily mean that you don't also do more beyond that.

I've done most of what others mention, but after a lifetime of doing all that + work roles, you start to seek calm and default to what is comfortable and ordinary to you. Perhaps most luxurious is that nobody tell me "No" or tell me to F-off, because I own the company, and my name is on the building (figuratively, and somewhat literally), so I enjoy having that comfort. It allows me to do whatever I want, including to fall back into my comfortable niche.

I've always had my trust fund, but I inherited first at ~21; and then again in my ~30s -- each parent was heir to an old family, and I inherited from each/both of them.

After a while, you aren't really impressed with the wealth, and you aren't seeking excitement, because you've always had XYZ as an option if you wanted it, so it's loses a lot of appeal to make you rush out to do XYZ; because you can already do whatever you want, and it's hot exactly new.

Wealth allows you the comfort of flexibility and to have options. However, when your options are effectively limitless (e.g. almost anything), you sometimes default to what is comfortable and known to you.

(That's why you'll see a lot of old money wealth tend to focus on what they themselves might like, whether simple or lavish, perhaps it's something simple (perhaps a favorite childhood food or something) they happen to like. They can afford anything, but they like that simple option, because it has a certain familiarity).

It doesn't have to be an absolute choice, of either A or B.

It can be A + B, then back to A, if you desire that as a default.

I hope that answers the question.

Investor (30+ years); IB/RE/PE/Corp. Exp (MD level); currently, head of boutique private equity firm; principal of family office.
 

Option 2 -- that tends to result in spending everything, and really having much left later on. The goal should be to never decrease wealth, and to only spend what the investments consistently generate. Most passion projects tend to be a bucket of spending, and can be quite costly.

Option 2 is typically how most wealthy families lose their wealth within 3 generations. (Old money starts at 100+years / 3+ generations). Whatever wealth will likely decline at a rapid rate, as this tends to be the historical path of most new money families. It applies a short-sighted view, assuming that wealth will always be there -- it won't, unless managed properly, which means most of those passion projects wouldn't happen.

Option 3 is fun for a while... It can be a lot of fun in some ways, but it's easy to fall into a point where some of the hedonism starts becoming an addiction. Yes, having access to hook up with models, or party with famous people can be fun for a while, but it's gets old, and can be problematic. I have wealthy friends who have done so much powder, that I think it damaged them in major ways. Even the hedonism of having those (pro/freelance, lol) females can be problematic, as lately there is such a trend of wealthy men being accused of things, to try to extort money or send him to prison. That can be a serious risk, that isn't worth the hedonistic fun. Yes, a lot of us do have fun, but it's about being careful and controlling yourself, so it doesn't get out of hand.

Investor (30+ years); IB/RE/PE/Corp. Exp (MD level); currently, head of boutique private equity firm; principal of family office.
 

Years ago, I actually did something similar. I arranged to have a few sessions of private tutoring from a couple of experts.

I can tell you that the quality of education learning was exponentially better than anything I had imagined.

Imagine having a private Master Class with an expert, and learning from them personally. While not replacement for traditional education, it's a great learning experience.

Investor (30+ years); IB/RE/PE/Corp. Exp (MD level); currently, head of boutique private equity firm; principal of family office.
 

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