Academic experience varies as much as the experience of working as a toilet cleaner compared to a man of independent means (= someone who stopped working for his/her money) - had to look this up (German: Privatier). It seems to me that there is no word for this in the English language which transports the true meaning [1]. Prove me wrong, please.
After discussions with my SO she suggested to checkout wikipedia, and guess what we found:
Privatier ([pʀiˈvaˈtjeː], also spelled Privatus, with the feminine forms
Privata or Privatière, meaning "private person") is a French word that
was used from the 19th century in Germany and some other countries as
a title by members of bourgeois families of substantial financial means
in lieu of another professional title. Much like rentier, it denoted
someone who did not have to work to make a living, and who lived off
their assets of some size, e.g. interest, profits from investments, real
estate and current assets.
- State funded sea pirates, esp. during the 17th and 18th centuries
- In motorsports, a team which is funded by a private individual or group instead of a public corporation
"Financial independance" is the correct modern term.