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Comment by forgottenpaswrd | Hacker News Reader

When you know self made millionaires you learn one thing:

"Money is not wealth". Almost nobody that understands wealth holds money, money is a tool for exchanging things and its value decreases with time.

They hold real state, they hold precious metals, they hold stock, they travel, they know people.

The people that made money usually like making wealth and don't fear losing it so much, they learn all their life to handle risk with positive results. It is their children or grandchildren who fear it, because they don't.

The good thing about being rich is that you could be poor whenever you want. You could also help lots of people in your life, which feels amazing.

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The one thing I learned from working with a couple of very rich people was that all they think about is how to get money.

Which is why I'm never going to be super-rich, because I don't really care about it obsessionally like those two did.

Edit: I should say these were self-made millionaires. I have also worked with people who were millionaires just by being in the right place at the right time, and they were completely different and rather careless with money.

Nolan Bushnell (Atari) said something like, business is a game and money is how you keep score. If that's their game, let them enjoy it!

This is true. The self-made multimillionaires that I've met and worked with don't just "turn it off" because they've made it. The habits and practices that got them there are something that they carry with them.

Now, of course, they structure their lives so that they work when they want, where they want, and build in a lot of time and space for enjoying the things they enjoy (Superbowl tickets? Vacation with family on the water? Of course.) But they also work a lot.

This is not a criticism, but are you sure "making money" was all they thought about, or was it that they constantly saw opportunities for making money around them? The two are not the same. The latter is an extremely valuable skill worth cultivating, because even if you don't take advantage of it, having it can be useful someday.

The good thing about being rich is that you could be poor whenever you want.

What? Name some rich people who are now voluntarily poor! I'd happily bet that 99.9999% of multi-millionaires never choose to be poor in their lifetime. But I'm sure lots of them feel amazing about thinking how they could help people.

I believe that was sarcasm however warren buffet is a good example. He's giving all his money away and leaving his kids squat because he doesn't want to create a legacy of trust fund descendants but they certainly won't be poor.

> and leaving his kids squat

His children's charities are getting billions of dollars as well.

>He's giving all his money away and leaving his kids squat

LOL!

I do know one heir to millions who lives on the streets and dumpster dives, thinking that it is morally wrong for him to make use of his monetary advantages in any way.

Obviously not the norm.

While not so extreeme, I have a friend who is similarly an heir to wealth, and eats noodles and fast food and lives in a teeny appartment.

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