4 ms·

Whats the point in dying a millionaire though? Surely you want to spend some of that money while you are alive (and active - not 80+)?

graeme 5y ago
Depends. There’s a fair bit of value in knowing you have more than you could ever possibly need your whole life. Like say you spend $500,000 a year and have $10 million, which earns about $700,000 in returns. And you’re happy at that level of spending. You then have massive security your whole life. Whereas if you time it to run out on time, a reversal could leave you destitute when you’re least able to recover. Past a certain point it’s hard to think of what to spend on unless you step up to much more expensive things like personal jets etc.
djbebs 5y ago
I always find it amusing how the people who make arguments like these are also the ones who often and loudly decry generational wealth. The point of dying a millionaire is to give your descendents a good life and something they can fall back on if things go wrong.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  People loudly decry inherited wealth because it is anti-meritocratic and we're raised with delusion that our system is ostensibly one where wealth is related to merit.
  - DamnYuppie 5y ago
    Nearly 78% of all millionaires in the US are first generation.
    - shadilay 5y ago
      Most peoples biggest asset is their home which just costs more in property taxes and doesn't provide much benefit because they still need a place to live, preferably near their workplace.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - DamnYuppie 5y ago
        I don't understand what this comment has to do with mine. Most people are not millionaires, there looks to be around 10.5M in the USA as of March 2020. https://spectrem.com/Content/millionaire-count-reduces.aspx https://spectrem.com/Content/millionaire-count-reduces.aspx
  - EEREPRESENT 5y ago
    there is no reason to work hard at anything if u cant leave it to the family. else i will collect unemployment and smoke weed all day
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - thewebcount 5y ago
      I don’t get what you mean. I have no children, am in my 50s, and still try to maximize my wealth to the extent possible while still having the particular lifestyle I like. I work hard because it’s fulfilling and I work to generate wealth so I’m not screwed over after one health mishap.
  - entangledqubit 5y ago
    I suspect that most people decry subsidized inherited wealth through things like stepping-up the cost basis for inherited wealth. Generally, I don't think people have a problem with parents giving their kids gifts in some form - though I do acknowledge that there probably is some notion of what is considered a (un)reasonable upper limit.
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  Disagree. The point of dying a millionaire is that it is really hard to plan your finances such that you die with exactly zero dollars. Because investments are so variable, you want to choose a plan that will likely end up with too much money because that avoids complete disaster in the bad cases. When I'm dead, all the money is going to charity. Generational wealth is a cancer.
  - troupe 5y ago
    There are financial instruments if you want to die with nothing while having plenty of money when you are alive. If you think it is a terrible thing for a grandparent to want to leave money for their grand child's college tuition, then I'd encourage you to make sure you don't help your grandchildren, but it is important to some people even if it isn't something you want to do.
    - UncleMeat 5y ago
      Annuities require more starting wealth than safe retirement with equities. I don't think it is a terrible thing for a grandparent to want that. I think it is a terrible thing for society to permit it.
      - troupe 5y ago
        > Annuities require more starting wealth than safe retirement with equities. How would you create a "safe" retirement (meaning you won't outlive your money) and still end up with zero at the end. A "safe" retirement implies you are going to have money left when you die unless you spend you last dollar and then commit suicide.
        UncleMeat 5y ago
        Annuities are the only option if you want to end with zero. But you can instead obtain an amount of money that will almost certainly not go below zero when invested in equities and then donate the remainder upon your death. This amount of money is lower than the amount required for an annuity. Thus, the distinction between "I want to die with precisely zero dollars" and "I don't want generational wealth transfer".

graeme 5y ago

Depends. There’s a fair bit of value in knowing you have more than you could ever possibly need your whole life. Like say you spend $500,000 a year and have $10 million, which earns about $700,000 in returns. And you’re happy at that level of spending. You then have massive security your whole life. Whereas if you time it to run out on time, a reversal could leave you destitute when you’re least able to recover. Past a certain point it’s hard to think of what to spend on unless you step up to much more expensive things like personal jets etc.

djbebs 5y ago

I always find it amusing how the people who make arguments like these are also the ones who often and loudly decry generational wealth. The point of dying a millionaire is to give your descendents a good life and something they can fall back on if things go wrong.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
People loudly decry inherited wealth because it is anti-meritocratic and we're raised with delusion that our system is ostensibly one where wealth is related to merit.
- DamnYuppie 5y ago
  Nearly 78% of all millionaires in the US are first generation.
  - shadilay 5y ago
    Most peoples biggest asset is their home which just costs more in property taxes and doesn't provide much benefit because they still need a place to live, preferably near their workplace.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - DamnYuppie 5y ago
      I don't understand what this comment has to do with mine. Most people are not millionaires, there looks to be around 10.5M in the USA as of March 2020. https://spectrem.com/Content/millionaire-count-reduces.aspx https://spectrem.com/Content/millionaire-count-reduces.aspx
- EEREPRESENT 5y ago
  there is no reason to work hard at anything if u cant leave it to the family. else i will collect unemployment and smoke weed all day
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - thewebcount 5y ago
    I don’t get what you mean. I have no children, am in my 50s, and still try to maximize my wealth to the extent possible while still having the particular lifestyle I like. I work hard because it’s fulfilling and I work to generate wealth so I’m not screwed over after one health mishap.
- entangledqubit 5y ago
  I suspect that most people decry subsidized inherited wealth through things like stepping-up the cost basis for inherited wealth. Generally, I don't think people have a problem with parents giving their kids gifts in some form - though I do acknowledge that there probably is some notion of what is considered a (un)reasonable upper limit.
UncleMeat 5y ago
Disagree. The point of dying a millionaire is that it is really hard to plan your finances such that you die with exactly zero dollars. Because investments are so variable, you want to choose a plan that will likely end up with too much money because that avoids complete disaster in the bad cases. When I'm dead, all the money is going to charity. Generational wealth is a cancer.
- troupe 5y ago
  There are financial instruments if you want to die with nothing while having plenty of money when you are alive. If you think it is a terrible thing for a grandparent to want to leave money for their grand child's college tuition, then I'd encourage you to make sure you don't help your grandchildren, but it is important to some people even if it isn't something you want to do.
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    Annuities require more starting wealth than safe retirement with equities. I don't think it is a terrible thing for a grandparent to want that. I think it is a terrible thing for society to permit it.
    - troupe 5y ago
      > Annuities require more starting wealth than safe retirement with equities. How would you create a "safe" retirement (meaning you won't outlive your money) and still end up with zero at the end. A "safe" retirement implies you are going to have money left when you die unless you spend you last dollar and then commit suicide.
      - UncleMeat 5y ago
        Annuities are the only option if you want to end with zero. But you can instead obtain an amount of money that will almost certainly not go below zero when invested in equities and then donate the remainder upon your death. This amount of money is lower than the amount required for an annuity. Thus, the distinction between "I want to die with precisely zero dollars" and "I don't want generational wealth transfer".