Why Filthy Rich Billionaires Don't Sell Their Business And Retire
By: David O.
Tags: Money, Wealth, Entrepreneurship, Psychology, Lifestyle

Why Filthy Rich Billionaires Don't Sell Their Business And Retire

Photo by Ondrej Bocek on Unsplash

Steve Jobs was known to have a habit of asking himself this every morning:

Would I want to do what I'm going to do today if this is my last day in this world?

He went on to say that if the answer has been "NO" too many times in a row, that is the sign that he has to change something.

Money doesn't change the internal state of a person. You will still be pretty much the same with a lot of money. Lots of money only opens up possibilities and provides options.

Money can make people create illusions of themselves. But right under that camouflage, the child lives on. If a person is fearful and gets rich (without growing through the fear), the fear will still be present (no matter how hard the attempt to cover it up). If a person lacks confidence (and doesn't grow through it), the lack of confidence will still be present even if the money is there.

Money doesn't solve internal personal problems. Money is just a good tool to hide it. This is the reason some rich people are sad and lonely. They have gotten so good at using money to cover up their problems that barely anyone really knows who they are on the inside. And they can't talk to anyone too because they are afraid not to mess up their reputation.

This also works for the good side too. If a person is a risk-taker, money won't change that. If a person is a great communicator, money won't change that. The money will only amplify those traits.

The point of all this is to let you know that rich millionaires and billionaires are people too. They can be sad, just like anyone else. They can be happy. They can be pissed. They can be mad at people. They can be surprised. They can be overwhelmed.

Next time you see a wealthy celebrity person, never see such a person as some enigmatic image. They are persons. And if you have not met them privately, you really have no idea who they are.

You call it a business, but to many of these billionaires, it is their life. Many of them have made untold sacrifices in their business. It is their legacy. It is the total of their life's work. If you say they should retire, the question is — retire into what?

The idea of a good life that many people have is not shared by super-rich people. They already made that choice a long time ago. What they enjoy is in doing their work. When they enjoy something else that is not their work, it is eventually related to their work somehow.

Some super-rich people attempt to retire, but their idea of retirement is not qualified to be called retirement. Just consider Bill Gates who is retired from the day-to-day operations of Microsoft. But it is obvious that he isn't retired from doing his thing.

Everybody wants to live to enjoy every bit of their life. And how each person enjoys life is different. If you spent 35 years building a business, it is hard to wake up one morning and walk away from it. Some rich people do that but they soon find themselves building something else.

Super rich rarely sell their business and retire because that idea sounds horrible to them. When you are playing the game of money and you are winning, you don't want to leave the table.

Playing the game is more interesting than waking up next to the beach with nothing to do. At least, that's how they think.

Cheers.