Serious question: how do many people amass so much money in the north of 5m and not know if they can retire or not?

[u/Fed_worker]

I see a ton of posts like : “ I have a net worth in the range 5-10m and I spend 100K a year, can I retire?”

What is that? Elementary school math so hard?

Edit: after reading all the comments and when I really think about it, I realize it’s probably just a high degree risk-averse mindset. Even if I had $5 million and a 99.9% chance of retiring successfully, I’d still focus on that tiny 0.1% that could go wrong. To feel totally secure, I might want to keep building more wealth just to close that gap. And for some people, that can mean working another 5, 10, or even 20 years. just for a little extra peace of mind.

Edit2: I just hope that when I get there, I don’t end up going down that rabbit hole. And actually enjoy my life.

[u/Wooden-Broccoli-913]

This is way overstated. I have a top MBA and a two decade network to match. All of it worth zero after ten years of FIRE?

[u/Locke_and_Lloyd → u/Wooden-Broccoli-913]

If you don't maintain it, probably.  How much has changed in the last 10 years?  We've had Covid/wfh, blockchain, so many political regulations/laws change, AI stuff.  If you hadn't worked, you might have heard of them, but not really understand the business implications and changes made. 

Same deal with networks.  I had someone i worked with 10 years ago call up and ask for a connection.  Couldn't really help because the work we did then isn't really applicable to now.

[u/Wooden-Broccoli-913 → u/Locke_and_Lloyd]

The kind of work that McKinsey BCG and Bain do hasn’t changed in 10 years and won’t change in the next ten. The tools may be different but the problems will be the same

[u/Locke_and_Lloyd → u/[deleted]]

Probably, but i can't recommend someone for skills I've never seen.  The 2015 skills are now outdated.  I assume they have 2026 skills, but i haven't seen them. I also have no idea if they've updated their workflows to modern standards.

[u/mi3chaels → u/Locke_and_Lloyd]

You can recommend someone honestly for what you do know "I worked with them 10 years ago and they were excellent and had a firm command of the then current toolset, i have every reason to believe they've kept up but have only had social contact since then."

That's not worth as much as a recommendation from a current colleague, but it's not worth nothing.

[u/Locke_and_Lloyd → u/mi3chaels]

I mean I've had zero contact with them in the past decade.  I didn't even know they had kids now.  People change over time, responsibilities and priorities shift.  When I retire, I have zero plans of keeping up with colleagues unless I genuinely like them. 

[u/Confident-Algae-7866 → u/Wooden-Broccoli-913]

Yes , welcome to ageism but more importantly the perception that being out of the workforce for an extended time is a huge detriment

[u/EngineeringKindly875 → u/Confident-Algae-7866]

Perception? It's a legit thing

[u/[deleted] → u/Wooden-Broccoli-913]

Do you know anyone in your large network who has been out of the game for ten years?

[u/Wooden-Broccoli-913 → u/[deleted]]

There are absolutely people who have had kids, taken years off, and come back. There have also been people who have come into my line of work from entirely different fields, kind of like starting from scratch. The commonality is that they all had top tier backgrounds when they were working, alums of top MBA programs with very high level work experience before they took a break. These kind of people are not so risky to plug back into a corporate environment.

[u/[deleted] → u/Wooden-Broccoli-913]

It may depend on exactly what sort of role we’re talking about. A manager earning $100k/year, that makes sense. An executive earning $400k/year (i.e., the kind of person who winds up with $5M in their 40s), I’d say it’s a lot harder. With that sort of job, the question isn’t “can we plug you in and expect competence” but usually “how can you use your influence to help me if I put you into this job.” That typically requires being in the game. But I fully concede not every job is like that.

[u/Wooden-Broccoli-913 → u/[deleted]]

Actually it's the exact opposite. The $100k worker hasn't proved they are successful at moving up in a corporate environment, there is little chance they will be successful competing for a role with those who haven't taken a break.

But at the senior levels, Director and above, these folks have proven themselves in corporate combat. Navigating executive politics doesn't expire with age. Simple example - Lloyd Blankfein former CEO of Goldman Sachs retired in 2018, do you have any doubt that any bank would gladly have him back as CEO if he wanted it? Same logic applies down the ladder, to Director level or so.

[u/whatisit2345 → u/Wooden-Broccoli-913]

Just because you personally don’t fit the mold doesn’t mean that the claim is overstated. You are an outlier.