You're a college junior with $25MM and an IBD offer. Would you take it?
I'm curious, because I've seen posts on here and on M&I that say the truly rich ($20MM+) don't go into IB to start their careers, and others that say they do. Would you still be a monkey for two years, or would you take a different path (possibly involving boats and supermodels)?
$25mm and I am never working a day in my life. Especially not working for someone else.
I'd be the worst employee if I had $25MM.
I struggle to understand why someone with that kind of money would work in IB? The whole point of working in finance is to, under the most incredibly ideal of circumstances, make "fuck-you" money and become some kind of investor / entrepreneur. Someone with $25mm choosing to work IB is like LeBron James choosing to play varsity soccer at a high school, probably still in Cleveland.
I would use that money to short Herbalife
I can see the point if you wanted to further your connections in the investment community. You can sit on your ass and be an LP forever or you can learn the industry and grow a network that might let you co-invest down the line.
Wouldn't AM be a better place to start for that tho? I guess having a BB on one's resume is big but if you're tryna learn investing it seems like a less-than-ideal place to start, except if you wanted to go to MF PE (which I doubt this group does...)
I think sometimes it is to have a solid background stamp as a professional for contacts/connections, but other times it is because they are truly interested in the direction.
One of my colleagues worked at a top tier law firm. He came from a truly wealthy family in Central America (truly wealthy as in generational wealth in excess of $50 MM). He said it was a dream of his to go to law school and he did quite well for himself. Ultimately he left to go back home to the family business a few years ago but I think he was very happy in his role.
Personally if I had $25 MM I think it would be a hard press to work beyond a certain comfort zone just because the incremental benefit is so minimal. Investing the money in T-Bills will guarantee as much in compensation as a fairly seasoned IB director / Junior MD, and this is without doing any work or exerting any effort. Investing in an index fund may very well give you ~$2 MM, well over what 99.9% of Americans will ever make annually.
that's actually a good point. I've met several people who came UHNWI families and who worked in investment banking or consulting. For the majority of these guys, it was more about building a career than about "making it".
no fucking way
A 5 percent return on 25 million is over 1 million dollars. Making more money than a VP in IBD sitting on your ass.
would probably dedicate $5mm to venture/PE investments & charity and then just sit on boarsd. take the other 20mm and live pretty damn well.
in reality, unless someone is an idiot with their estate plan, no 21 year old is getting unfettered access to 25mm, so they likely still have to work.
I wouldn't because even though banking is a clean job, working is not in the same tier as being the boss. Period. A prestige whore looking to get into banking wouldn't have the interest in going to work if they knew they were inheriting $25mm. Most likely, this is a person that fits in really well because of their upbringing and wants to continue to fit in. The type of person in a poor background who wants a job in IB, would invest and be a business owner, always seeking to level up in a way where you were born with money, not in a way where you're trying to get money.
If I had that money I would have probably use it to buy my way into a role at a small REPE firm.
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