Here are some numbers to consider. $500k pre-tax is about $325k after taxes (SF or NYC). Spend 50% ($162.5k), save 50% ($162.5k). After 10 years of a consist

Here are some numbers to consider. $500k pre-tax is about $325k after taxes (SF or NYC). Spend 50% ($162.5k), save 50% ($162.5k). After 10 years of a consistent $500k pre-tax income (no burnout, no voluntary breaks, no unemployment), with modest annual stock market growth, and no black swawns (family illness, lawsuits, divorce), you've saved up about $2 million. The rate at which you can spend money and not run out before you die (called the Safe Withdrawal Rate or SWR) is about 4% (some will argue closer to 2.5-3%). 4% of $2 million is $80k/year pre-tax. How long you need to work to cover your $162.5k/year lifestyle becomes an obvious function of savings rate and market returns over an extended period of time (decades). The bottom line is that it's extremely difficult for working professionals to become ''rich'' in the sense that they can indefinitely sustain an upper class lifestyle on passive investment income alone. Read ''The Millionaire Next Door'' by Thomas Stanley (http://fave.co/2cLN5gp http://fave.co/2cLN5gp) to learn more about how wealth is truly accumulated and managed in the United States. This book had a greater impact on me than pretty much any other I've ever read.