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Why Don’t Rich People Just Stop Working?

56 points by ajay-d 7y ago

siberianbear 7y ago
This is a topic I've personally given a lot of thought. I worked for a Silicon Valley company that became quite successful. I made enough money to quit and live off the investment income. I got to the level of wealth I needed and it was enough for me and retired. I enjoyed my work and my job, but I also wanted to do other things in my life, and having a full-time job in Silicon Valley precluded that. I was at my employer early enough that I had quite a bit of personal contact with the CEO at this company, and he did not think like me at all. Money wasn't the main thing for him. He wants to chase down his competitor, watch it struggle in death, chew on the meat, bury the corpse, dig it up again, make sure it's dead, and then bury it again. This guy lives for the hunt, and the hunt is all there is. When I figured this out, I realized I could never be him. I couldn't summon that level of motivation on a constant basis even if I used every bit of my willpower. And I'm glad that I was on this guy's side and not his competitor.
- zxcmx 7y ago
  It's their thing though, right? It's their passion. The author seems to be making a weird argument, to me: If you're working for love, status or meaning (rather than need)... you should... stop? Morally? Because you have enough money already? There are poets, painters and golfers who continue their careers long after they achieve financial independence. I wonder if this author would describe them in the same terms. "You're too famous, get off the stage".
  - skybrian 7y ago
    Well, the headline poses a question in binary terms about something that's a trade-off. People choose a job for some combination of motives: is the money good? Can you get the job? Do you like the work? Do you think it's important? When money is no longer a consideration, you might want to do different work, or consider volunteer work. Or do less work. It's a rare person who is doing the same thing they would do if they didn't need a paycheck.
  - ViViDboarder 7y ago
    Maybe just take little to no additional pay and try to improve the ratio of pay between levels in your company? Then you can keep at your passion and maybe even improve productivity by employing a happier workforce. I wouldn’t be surprised if some executives do this. I know there are many that take $1 salaries and are compensated with equity, though I’m pretty sure that isn’t quite the same thing.
    - WalterSear 7y ago
      This would involve the opposite of the competitive instinct being describe here. IME - the type of executives being described here sees everyone else as a competitor. Moreover, the billionaire executives I have met/worked for didn't seem to 'enjoy the competition' as much as they seemed unable to comprehend any other way to live.
coldtea 7y ago
Because they don't work for money but for power. The same reason rich kings don't just stop being kings.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
crooked-v 7y ago
Why don't all retired people just stop working? Why don't actors who could live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle off TV residuals just stop working? It's the same answer: most people like to do productive stuff at least some of the time.
rglover 7y ago
Because the only thing left to do is contemplate your existence. Ever tried that for an extended amount of time?
- tenebrisalietum 7y ago
  Um, the opposite of work is "play", not "do nothing and rot." I have plenty I'd like to do out of pure enjoyment if I didn't have to wage slave 8 hours+commute time a day.
- LinuxBender 7y ago
  Yes. I would have happily retired at age 16. That said, I am glad I did not, because I gained a lot of experience and knowledge that I would not have otherwise, if all I did was play video games and go camping. Now I am more than ready to exit the work force. I just need the means to do so. :-)
crimsonalucard 7y ago
They are not really working. They are now enjoying their hobbies which now includes making more money. Make no mistake. People work to survive or maintain a standard of living or raise their kids. Many rich people are not doing this. Most of them are doing what they enjoy with extreme intensity. This is NOT work in the same sense that most people "work."
HALtheWise 7y ago
It seems like the article totally misses the obvious explanation, which is that these people became wealthy by doing things that they enjoy and are passionate about, which just happen to also pay them money. Maybe the people during the dot-com boom whose plan was to make $2M then retire to Napa Valley did exactly that, and by definition, never became billionaires. There are probably billionaires who don't enjoy their work, but I suspect they aren't common.
- LinuxBender 7y ago
  This comment hits the nail on the head. The few billionaires I know love what they do. They are way beyond the retirement age and are still spinning up new businesses all the time.
  - Miner49er 7y ago
    I think this argument is more about why they continue trying to make money, not "working" because it's something they enjoy. Why are they spinning up businesses instead of non-profits or cooperatives? I think that's what this article is exploring.
    - LinuxBender 7y ago
      > why they continue trying to make money That is just a by-product of doing what they enjoy. They certainly spend it and donate a lot of it. > Why are they spinning up businesses instead of non-profits or cooperatives? They do both.
  - phkahler 7y ago
    So how do they describe what they do? Are they creating, providing, competing, building, accumulating, controlling, etc... I doubt they're all the same. How do they see their own efforts? Just curious.
    - LinuxBender 7y ago
      They are creating new technologies and contributing to society in many ways (job creation, business optimization and much more). Accumulating is probably another side effect of growing their creations. I don't think they give it much thought. The ones I know are actually kindof the same. You would not know their status by seeing them on the street. Controlling does not describe them at all. The word I would use is empowering.
QualityReboot 7y ago
There should be another word for it. "Work", for most people, is a thing you have to do until you die or retire. "Work", for rich people, is a hobby that you can quit whenever you want without suffering dire consequences. Same word but totally different meanings based on your net worth.
- lazerpants 7y ago
  Indeed, also most wealthy people I know don't really worry about their PTO, asking their boss if they can travel when necessary, explaining to someone why they were out of the office playing golf, etc. Most of the wealthy people I know work plenty, but they also do it on their schedule and make it fit with their priorities.
planetzero 7y ago
Because sitting around doing nothing all day is boring. Most people that are rich are most likely very competitive and need that competition to feel happy and fulfilled.
- gorbachev 7y ago
  Why would they do nothing? With all the money they made they can do whatever the hell they choose to.
zhoujianfu 7y ago
This is why a UBI doesn't create a nation of layabouts!
brenden2 7y ago
I suspect that for a lot of people it's more fun to make the money than to spend it. Some people (like myself) would rather try to do hard things and fail than to never try at all. If you do this enough times, eventually you get lucky. Once you eventually find yourself with money, the novelty wears off quickly and you realize you want to get back to building and creating things. This is probably part of the reason why many people who get windfalls (lottery, inheritance, etc) spend all the money and wind up broke again. Easy come, easy go.
Miner49er 7y ago
A lot of the comments in this thread are saying it's because the rich are passionate about what's making them money, or their work is like a hobby to them. I think "work" as it is said in this article, is maybe better read as "making money". The article is more about why do the comfortably rich continue putting in so much effort to make even more money. Sure, they can continue to do hobbies or whatever and call it "work", but why continue trying to make a profit, instead of paying employees more, or running non-profits, or pursuing hobbies in ways that doesn't generate them more massive amounts of money?
acomjean 7y ago
When I was at a start up the CEO was someone who had started a business, sold it, then retired. He said he enjoyed it for a month, he did some things he wanted to do, cooked. Then ended up missing work and applied to our company. Some people love to work.
tjpaudio 7y ago
If you are good at doing something, in this example that something being making money, ceasing that activity means doing something you are less good at. I don't think many people have the discipline or curiosity to say: "Well that was fun, I figured it out, time to learn something new". It's a brain thing, we get a dopamine reward by succeeding. Moving on requires breaking that addiction. In my opinion, it's not unlike any other addiction.
senderista 7y ago
Michael Douglas said it best: "It's not about the money. It's about winning."
amriksohata 7y ago
From the Gita: The demoniac person thinks: "So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of everything, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice." In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.
ykevinator 7y ago
They absolutely do stop working and start "working"
alexnewman 7y ago
They do, then they get bored
rapjr9 7y ago
A relevant quote from Pink Floyd: take all your overgrown infants away somewhere and build them a home a little place of their own the fletcher memorial home for incurable tyrants and kings and they can appear to themselves every day on closed circuit t.v. to make sure they're still real it's the only connection they feel

56 points by ajay-d 7y ago

This is a topic I've personally given a lot of thought. I worked for a Silicon Valley company that became quite successful. I made enough money to quit and live off the investment income. I got to the level of wealth I needed and it was enough for me and retired. I enjoyed my work and my job, but I also wanted to do other things in my life, and having a full-time job in Silicon Valley precluded that. I was at my employer early enough that I had quite a bit of personal contact with the CEO at this company, and he did not think like me at all. Money wasn't the main thing for him. He wants to chase down his competitor, watch it struggle in death, chew on the meat, bury the corpse, dig it up again, make sure it's dead, and then bury it again. This guy lives for the hunt, and the hunt is all there is. When I figured this out, I realized I could never be him. I couldn't summon that level of motivation on a constant basis even if I used every bit of my willpower. And I'm glad that I was on this guy's side and not his competitor.

zxcmx 7y ago
It's their thing though, right? It's their passion. The author seems to be making a weird argument, to me: If you're working for love, status or meaning (rather than need)... you should... stop? Morally? Because you have enough money already? There are poets, painters and golfers who continue their careers long after they achieve financial independence. I wonder if this author would describe them in the same terms. "You're too famous, get off the stage".
- skybrian 7y ago
  Well, the headline poses a question in binary terms about something that's a trade-off. People choose a job for some combination of motives: is the money good? Can you get the job? Do you like the work? Do you think it's important? When money is no longer a consideration, you might want to do different work, or consider volunteer work. Or do less work. It's a rare person who is doing the same thing they would do if they didn't need a paycheck.
- ViViDboarder 7y ago
  Maybe just take little to no additional pay and try to improve the ratio of pay between levels in your company? Then you can keep at your passion and maybe even improve productivity by employing a happier workforce. I wouldn’t be surprised if some executives do this. I know there are many that take $1 salaries and are compensated with equity, though I’m pretty sure that isn’t quite the same thing.
  - WalterSear 7y ago
    This would involve the opposite of the competitive instinct being describe here. IME - the type of executives being described here sees everyone else as a competitor. Moreover, the billionaire executives I have met/worked for didn't seem to 'enjoy the competition' as much as they seemed unable to comprehend any other way to live.

coldtea 7y ago

Because they don't work for money but for power. The same reason rich kings don't just stop being kings.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

crooked-v 7y ago

Why don't all retired people just stop working? Why don't actors who could live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle off TV residuals just stop working? It's the same answer: most people like to do productive stuff at least some of the time.

rglover 7y ago

Because the only thing left to do is contemplate your existence. Ever tried that for an extended amount of time?

tenebrisalietum 7y ago
Um, the opposite of work is "play", not "do nothing and rot." I have plenty I'd like to do out of pure enjoyment if I didn't have to wage slave 8 hours+commute time a day.
LinuxBender 7y ago
Yes. I would have happily retired at age 16. That said, I am glad I did not, because I gained a lot of experience and knowledge that I would not have otherwise, if all I did was play video games and go camping. Now I am more than ready to exit the work force. I just need the means to do so. :-)

crimsonalucard 7y ago

They are not really working. They are now enjoying their hobbies which now includes making more money. Make no mistake. People work to survive or maintain a standard of living or raise their kids. Many rich people are not doing this. Most of them are doing what they enjoy with extreme intensity. This is NOT work in the same sense that most people "work."

HALtheWise 7y ago

It seems like the article totally misses the obvious explanation, which is that these people became wealthy by doing things that they enjoy and are passionate about, which just happen to also pay them money. Maybe the people during the dot-com boom whose plan was to make $2M then retire to Napa Valley did exactly that, and by definition, never became billionaires. There are probably billionaires who don't enjoy their work, but I suspect they aren't common.

LinuxBender 7y ago
This comment hits the nail on the head. The few billionaires I know love what they do. They are way beyond the retirement age and are still spinning up new businesses all the time.
- Miner49er 7y ago
  I think this argument is more about why they continue trying to make money, not "working" because it's something they enjoy. Why are they spinning up businesses instead of non-profits or cooperatives? I think that's what this article is exploring.
  - LinuxBender 7y ago
    > why they continue trying to make money That is just a by-product of doing what they enjoy. They certainly spend it and donate a lot of it. > Why are they spinning up businesses instead of non-profits or cooperatives? They do both.
- phkahler 7y ago
  So how do they describe what they do? Are they creating, providing, competing, building, accumulating, controlling, etc... I doubt they're all the same. How do they see their own efforts? Just curious.
  - LinuxBender 7y ago
    They are creating new technologies and contributing to society in many ways (job creation, business optimization and much more). Accumulating is probably another side effect of growing their creations. I don't think they give it much thought. The ones I know are actually kindof the same. You would not know their status by seeing them on the street. Controlling does not describe them at all. The word I would use is empowering.

QualityReboot 7y ago

There should be another word for it. "Work", for most people, is a thing you have to do until you die or retire. "Work", for rich people, is a hobby that you can quit whenever you want without suffering dire consequences. Same word but totally different meanings based on your net worth.

lazerpants 7y ago
Indeed, also most wealthy people I know don't really worry about their PTO, asking their boss if they can travel when necessary, explaining to someone why they were out of the office playing golf, etc. Most of the wealthy people I know work plenty, but they also do it on their schedule and make it fit with their priorities.

planetzero 7y ago

Because sitting around doing nothing all day is boring. Most people that are rich are most likely very competitive and need that competition to feel happy and fulfilled.

gorbachev 7y ago
Why would they do nothing? With all the money they made they can do whatever the hell they choose to.

zhoujianfu 7y ago

This is why a UBI doesn't create a nation of layabouts!

brenden2 7y ago

I suspect that for a lot of people it's more fun to make the money than to spend it. Some people (like myself) would rather try to do hard things and fail than to never try at all. If you do this enough times, eventually you get lucky. Once you eventually find yourself with money, the novelty wears off quickly and you realize you want to get back to building and creating things. This is probably part of the reason why many people who get windfalls (lottery, inheritance, etc) spend all the money and wind up broke again. Easy come, easy go.

Miner49er 7y ago

A lot of the comments in this thread are saying it's because the rich are passionate about what's making them money, or their work is like a hobby to them. I think "work" as it is said in this article, is maybe better read as "making money". The article is more about why do the comfortably rich continue putting in so much effort to make even more money. Sure, they can continue to do hobbies or whatever and call it "work", but why continue trying to make a profit, instead of paying employees more, or running non-profits, or pursuing hobbies in ways that doesn't generate them more massive amounts of money?

acomjean 7y ago

When I was at a start up the CEO was someone who had started a business, sold it, then retired. He said he enjoyed it for a month, he did some things he wanted to do, cooked. Then ended up missing work and applied to our company. Some people love to work.

tjpaudio 7y ago

If you are good at doing something, in this example that something being making money, ceasing that activity means doing something you are less good at. I don't think many people have the discipline or curiosity to say: "Well that was fun, I figured it out, time to learn something new". It's a brain thing, we get a dopamine reward by succeeding. Moving on requires breaking that addiction. In my opinion, it's not unlike any other addiction.

senderista 7y ago

Michael Douglas said it best: "It's not about the money. It's about winning."

amriksohata 7y ago

From the Gita: The demoniac person thinks: "So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of everything, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice." In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.

ykevinator 7y ago

They absolutely do stop working and start "working"

alexnewman 7y ago

They do, then they get bored

rapjr9 7y ago

A relevant quote from Pink Floyd: take all your overgrown infants away somewhere and build them a home a little place of their own the fletcher memorial home for incurable tyrants and kings and they can appear to themselves every day on closed circuit t.v. to make sure they're still real it's the only connection they feel