Elizabeth Richardson wrote:
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Elizabeth,
Funny you mention Paul Allen...Business Week had a lead story two weeks
ago, "The $12 billion education of Paul Allen." That's about how much he
lost on a bunch of investments that went south. Think of that!

Of course that was "only" 1/3 of his net worth and I don't think he'll
be shifting to frozen pizza anytime soon.

RE: full time chef - this is a financial goal that may be in reach of
more people than realize it. A friend of mine dated the home chef for
one of the high-profile Silicon Valley CEOs. He paid her spit, and was a
huge PITA about the menu. I think she got something like $25k/year and
it wasn't a live-in arrangement - that doesn't go far around here.

Certainly though one of the tests for "truly wealthy" is turbine-powered
transportation. Anyone can join a flight club and borrow a Cessna 172
but once you get to personally owned jets there's a lot of $$ going out
the door.

-Tad

"Elizabeth Richardson" <erichktn[at]worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:dYLpc.11918$hH.291342[at]bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
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For fun, I've actually looked into the prices of rotary wing aircraft. They
are the next step up from the typical general aviation (although one can
spend more on a jet than a helicopter, most helicopters cost plenty). One
can purchase something to buzz the neighbors for about a quarter million.
To put this into perspective, I can purchase a first generation supersonic
military surplus jet for under $50,000 (I've been up close and personal with
a MiG-17 that was bought for $30,000).

If you want to live rich, without being rich, consider moving.

An American, just a few years older than I am, gave up on the rat race,
cashed in, and moved South....to South America. He's got a paid for ranch
house, 1,600 square feet, with all the amenities, for $12,000 cash. After he
pays all his bills, INCLUDING full time staff that buys his groceries, cooks
his meals, cleans his dishes, does his laundry (including ironing), and then
cleans the house, his outlay is $280 per month (food, taxes, internet
access, satelite TV, EVERYTHING). I've seen pictures. One needs $120,000
cash to get close to a house like that in my hometown, and they have to earn
AT LEAST $10,000 per month, before tax, to come close to the lifetyle this
guy leads (as a single guy with no dependents, and the house was paid for,
and he could walk to all the places he needed to go -- all of which is
relatively rare in the USA).

This guy figures the real reason why things are so much cheaper there than
they are here is that there are no warning labels on things. If you lean
your metal step ladder against a powerfline, and fry to a crisp, they have a
funeral. Here, somebody is going to sue somebody, and the prices of
everything just went up. Oh, and the sticker/label business just got better
(another cottage industry in my hometown that is printing money due to our
societal whims about responsibility).

Bruce Wright has written the best stuff on the super-affluent that I've
read. He defines them as Elephants. Why? Where does an Elephant sleep?

Anywhere he wants.

People try to define what super-affluence is. Bruce said it best, with his
Elephant definition. The super-affluent can live anywhere they want,
relocating an entire household on a whim. Governments cater to them,
because they tend to spend plenty, and employ help. The really rich wake up
on Monday and say "I want to live in Majorca" and with a few phone calls,
the process starts.

Having worked with people up to and including those with nine-figure net
worths, most of them are NOT what you see on TV. The wealthiest client I
have drives a 10 year old Caddy, and he can write just about any check he
wants (the bank will float him a note on demand, underwriting the "note"
AFTER the check has been written). He lives in a modest home for his net
worth (less than 1% of his net worth is tied up in his home). Everybody
that works for him in his office drives a nicer car than he does, and he'll
smile if one points this fact out. He obviously enjoys working, arriving
before 6 AM every day (a common denominator among the successful that I have
observed). A 8 hour day is a short day.

One of the other things I've learned is that the wealthy network like no
other. When I say a rising tide lifts all boats, I'm not kidding. I was
told a long time ago by my Father than I would only be as successful as my
five closest friends. This has proven true, as time progresses. The
excesses of Hollywood, and the wayward offspring of the rich that we see on
TV are more the exception, rather than the rule, although my observations
are anecdotal in nature.

I can't remember who it was that said the difference between you and the
rich is that the rich have more money isn't really missing the mark that
much. They have the same problems, the same worries, the same concerns,
that everyone else has. There are just more zeros after the dollar amounts
one can place on everything.

Brent D. Gardner, ChFC
Chartered Financial Consultant
http://members.cox.net/brentdgardner1378/

"Be ever questioning. Ignorance is not bliss. It is oblivion. You don't go
to heaven if you die dumb. Become better informed. Learn from other's
mistakes. You could not live long enough to make them all yourself." - Hyman
George Rickover (1900-86), Admiral, US Navy, advocated development of
nuclear subs & ships

The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant
(ChFC), designations owned and exclusively offered by The American College,
signify the highest standards of academic study and professional excellence
in the financial services industry.

There is a book called "The Millionairre Next Door" that I started reading
last year. While it has little to do with the super-wealthy such as Paul
Allen, who can literally buy anything he wants continually, for the rest of
the world, this book's intro/1st chapter spells it all out: that the
majority of millionaires out there attain that wealth by not buying
expensive, unnecessary things (like $25,000 cars!).

"Elizabeth Richardson" <erichktn[at]worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:dYLpc.11918$hH.291342[at]bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
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Those of us with "normal" incomes and lifestyles have trouble imagining how
the super wealthy spend their money. Billionaires spend more on chauffeurs
than the rest of us spend on our cars. Last year Paul Allen's yacht came
through here. It had a 40-foot sailboat and a helicopter amidships. I'm
guessing few of us know what a helicopter cost, let alone whether we would
finance it or pay cash. I doubt we could afford to pay the full time crew on
this vessel, either. Any of you employ a full time chef?

They tell me to win the lottery you have to buy a ticket. Guess I'll just
keep plugging along.

Elizabeth Richardson

"Elizabeth Richardson" <erichktn[at]worldnet.att.net> wrote
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I personally do not have difficulty imagining how the super wealthy spend their
money. The media abounds with reports of how they live.

It's also very clear to me that their displays of materialism do not translate
to greater happiness. An awful lot of their purchasing choices would not be mine
were I in their shoes.

It's too bad more people do not see the wisdom in noting that probably above a
certain, minimum threshold of income, happiness is a state of mind. Those who do
not see this keep throwing money at that which cannot possibly buy them
happiness. It's a tragic effort. Hackneyed but true, a Sisyphean effort.

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Happily, I hope. :-)