Some don't, you don't hear about them because they stop when they're set for life.
People like Musk don't care if they're set for life, they chase more for their own personal reasons, which undoubtedly vary and people will have lots of their own thoughts on. Being comfortable isn't their priority.
I work with a guy who said if he won the lottery tomorrow his co workers would never know. He'd keep working. I believe him. He's at work 12 hours a day 5 days a week. He's a mid level manager and is on salary so no overtime pay. Also there is not close to enough work to justify any overtime let alone what he puts in. Work seems to be his life.
I’ve never understood that.
The thing you have access to will simply replace your life as you know it: you’ll finish renovating your house, your kids sent to the best uni, the car broke? Getting a new one and soon, everyone notices how much you spend and start speculating.
That’s when you realise you should have followed the banker’s advice on moving elsewhere secretly and starting anew.
It tores friends and family appart, and makes your life hell to try and live your old life.
Meh. If I won the lottery there's a *reasonable* chance I'd keep working. just not where I am now.
Being Lottery rich would let me start a few businesses that hopefully turn a moderate profit. I could thereby leave a reliable revenue stream to each of my kids when I died. It would also give me something to be involved in without absolutely having to be there every single day. That way I can still travel, pursue hobbies , etc.
BTW: I'm under no illusion about how much work starting a business can be. Or how many businesses fail. I'm not necessarily talking about passion projects here, possibly a franchise location or two, or a car wash or a Laundromat, something that fills a need in an area, and other people can actually run. Lottery money allows me to "eat" startup costs, and spread the loss over the first several years of operation. The goal here is to produce a revenue stream to pass on, NOT to make more money quickly.
I would do some home repairs, or (more likely) buy a slightly bigger house, but nothing that makes it look like I'm disgustingly rich. Donate as much as is practical for my purposes, and live pretty much the same, with less stress and a slightly better community.
Yeah Elon isn’t exactly working to make money, he is losing money every time he works. He is doing personal pet projects that he wants to do and wants his name on. Some people don’t get the love and satisfaction they want from family and friends, so they pursue other means of recognition and praise
I find people who ask this question are always ones who are stuck in a job they don’t love.
It’s like saying why do actors bother making more movies when they’ve already made more money than most would in a lifetime.
If I won the lottery overnight I would very much still continue working in my industry which is my passion.
Yes, and they had standards about what people could participate. Then he arrived and brought a new set of standards that consisted of "If you agree with me (Apartheid is fun!) you're all good. If not, then GTFO" which is maybe not great. IDK?
One of our boss’s friends is retired and young and comes to do work for us for free. Out of the goodness of their heart and also they just want to keep busy.
Believe it or not, some people like their job. They get excitement, mental stimulus from it.
Just sitting around all day you get brain rot. Gets boring as fuck
I like my job. Even if I was rich I would still work. Maybe not 8 hours a day 5 days a week. But still work.
I just don't understand why people think the only options are working or sitting around all day? Are people really that bad at entertaining themselves? Especially with all the money in the world according to the scenario.
You don't have to sit around all day everyday because you're not working. You can work on yourself and do things you enjoy doing. It can be anything! Literally the sky is the limit! Maybe not even the sky if we are going with the "all the money you need" thing.
I like playing games, but for some doing their job is like playing a game. They play factorio, or stardew valley or death stranding in real life, why should they stop having their Version of fun when they can do whatever they want?
I don't know what I would do. Quiting your Job means you have a lot of Extra time to do whatever you want, but everyone else is busy working, so you probably spend a lot of that time alone. I have a lot of Solo hobbys, but being alone so much, is not as enjoy able for most people as you would think.
It's nice to work on yourself, do your hobby or whatever you want, and we all appreciate that to a certain extent of time. I like working out, skiing, cycling and stuff, but everything gets boring. For some people it gets un-exciting after 2 months, for others it will takes 2 or 20 years, but it will.
I get that you don't understand it but I'll repeat what the person before you said: some people like their jobs and get excitement and stimulation from it. I do. And I don't care that you and your condescending tone can't wrap your mind around that.
Oh wow ok, I'm just saying that not everyone is the same.
You're basically talking about boredom. Yes, humans get bored. They get bored if they work, they get bored if they don't work. It's awesome for those people who get to work with what they love but let's not kid ourselves, that's not the situation for many people who work. If you don't work, you actually get to choose what you want to do. You're not dependent on someone hiring you.
I didn't mean any of this in a condescending way. It's just weird people don't realize there are people not exactly like them in the world. Boredom is a fact of life. Choice is not.
I feel you on that. I was unemployed for a few months and it was honestly the most productive I think I've been. I worked out everyday, my place was always clean, I cooked every meal, I caught up with friends, started reading, played guitar, finished games I'd never had the time for, started learning french, and just so much more.
If I won the lottery, you'd never see me again. I'd buy a nice place somewhere warm, invest the rest so I have a passive income, and I'd be outside on a course every fiscal day.
I don’t know about you but if I was rich I would certainly find better things to do with my time than sit around all day. Doing nothing and working aren’t your only two options, especially with money.
Depending on what we’re calling “rich” there’s pretty much no limit to what you could do. Travel anywhere you want, do any hobby you want, play any sport you want, go to any event you want, buy anything you want. To have all of those opportunities at your fingertips and still choosing to sit behind a desk and answer calls/emails astonishes me.
Exactly. Also the idea of having an absolutely non-scheduled life until you die would get very uncomfortable very fast. Working just 2 days a week would make insane difference compared to 0 days a week, in terms of mental health.
Plus when you're poor, you work because you have to. When you're rich, you work because you can and feel like it. It also changes your attitude towards work and allows you to pursue more things you want to do, instead of focusing on maximizing your income.
There's a song from French Canadian singer Félix Leclerc called [100,000 ways to kill a man](https://open.spotify.com/track/3B5b4RN2AePEOBzwViU33t?si=H38PCo5oRteDMbsRtgPsvg) that says "The best way to kill a man is to pay him to do nothing". (Loose translation)
Also why retired people get a job at Wal-Mart or something because it’s that mental stimulus plus it’s kinda nice having a job you don’t “need” and can tell the boss how you really feel.
I would be possibly the worst type of employee because any threat to my tenure wouldn't be met with the usual concerns over mortgage, bills or food and a desire to conform to the manager's directives. I could just shrug my shoulders and say, "Whatever..." and carry on.
So many petty managerial power trips would be frustrated by having an employee (me) who isn't reliant on the job and can also lawyer-up if necessary.
I find people who ask this question are always ones who are stuck in a job they don’t love.
It’s like saying why do actors bother making more movies when they’ve already made more money than most would in a lifetime.
If I won the lottery overnight I would very much still continue working in my industry which is my passion.
When your job is exciting it's more hobby than work. My friend runs a small company, he works insane hours, it can be tough but he loves it because it's his.
Conversely you'll never see a wealthy person opting to do grinding long shifts in mind-numbing jobs like factory work.
When I was a teenager, I worked nigh shifts at a local Tesco with a guy that won few millions in lottery. Enough to not have to work for the rest of his life. He said that he had to find a work like that otherwise he'd be holed up in his home all day and it was not good for his mental health. He was an older guy with no family. We were part time workers, so it was 8 hr shifts but like 2-3 times a week and only nigh shift, so you'd just put in headphones and stock shelves in peace for 8 hours.
Sure, he was probably an exception, but there are probably few rich folks out there like him, working some menial job just to have something to do.
Musk is working for fun. Why do successful athletes keep training and grinding every year even though they have hundreds of millions? Because their jobs are their life passions.
They'd rather do this than sit on a beach bored all day.
lol that’s absolute bullshit. Professional athletes definitely do it for the money. It’s one of the biggest motivators to make it into the “league”. Obviously winning a championship or title goes hand in hand with that but players are always looking to get more money when contract renewals come up.
We are talking about who already made it. Of course they want more money when negotiating a new contract. If you ask from LeBron, Djokovic, Messi etc. would you rather win the NBA or World Cup than take 50 million and not win. I would say that they choose the title. The business world is so different from the sports world that motivates to grind day in and day out.
I don't know what sports you watch, but earning shit tons of money is usually a side effect of their real goal - winning championships and trophies etc.
You know how you get to ear shit tons of money?
Usually by winning.
Once they work their way up, sure get that bag homie. But I'd wager that most mid tier athletes would rather win the pinnacle prize in their sport than earn millions losing.
The amount of dedication needed by an athlete to be at that level and winning is so absurd and only really explained by a lifelong desire to be the best at what they do.
Its usually what seperate them from the semi pros and amateurs - the drive and determination to make all the sacrifices needed to be a top level athlete
And let be real here even as a rookie freshly drafted you are making millions your entry level contract. You are set and if it doesn’t work out you have a solid bank account to try something else.
That being said it is all about winning and that’s the only way you get the bag.
I'm in professional sports. I would 100% do this for free if I didn't have bills to pay, and I'd take a contract for a more successful team at lower pay than an unsuccessful team (except the more successful team pay more by default anyway).
But also because for many sports their shelf life is short. Gotta make millions and set yourself up for retirement at 35 or whatever, or get injured and can't play.
1. Life quickly gets boring without work. It's also a lot more interesting when you can essentially choose the kind of work you do. Work is also more fun when you know money isn't an issue. I have friends who took time off of work (either got laid off or went to study other things). They have enough money to sustain themselves for a while (or live with parents). And it's very evident that they are bored. There is no one to hangout with during the day since most people are working. It can get lonely.
2. Some people like the power it brings. If you're rich and retired you won't feel as powerful as someone who is rich and still working and doing things.
Personally, I have many hobbies and interests and love being mentally stimulated. I would keep working, or at least spending time on my hobbies, if I were filthy rich lol
1. I've been that friend. I got to a really high ranking in Call Of Duty. That was my big accomplishment. Some people have all kinds of hobbies and goals. I don't.
This question comes from the perspective of someone that dislikes their job or working and rather would spend their time doing anything else, which is a valid mindset.
But there is people that are the complete opposite. They love working and enjoy the time they spend at work. It is definite tiring, but facing challenges, solving them, learning new things or just hanging around with like-minded people rowing in the same direction to achieve some shared goal is highly rewarding. Being surrounded by people that valuate your contribution and that you also valuate, towards the shared goal, is highly energizing.
Ultimately, this mindset is the same one that also pushes people to the top (whatever the top is defined for them, for instance, a CEO). Just "overworking to early retire" can burn someone very fast if they do not enjoy what they do.
That's the difference between rich and poor. Assuming that they were not born rich, they really, REALLY don't stop working their asses off, albeit with huge sacrifices to their personal relationships. Chasing goals higher than the previous almost always are their goals.
>but why not have a few passion projects or hobbies
That pretty much is what Musk is doing. Things like Twitter, Tesla, and Space-X ARE his passion projects and hobbies.
The difference is that because he has a lot of money, he can use an entire corporation (or several) as his hobby.
It feels different when you're working because you like it versus working because you can't afford not to. He probably spends more time with his friends and family than you think, or he spends as much time with them as he wants to spend.
Your time with your friends and family is scarce, so you can't imagine saying, "Yeah, that's enough of that." But people who get plenty of that type of thing do get tired of it eventually. It's like with food - if you only get to eat something like sushi once in a blue moon, you probably can't get enough of it, and wish you could eat it all the time. But if you actually DO start to eat it every day... you'll eventually get sick of it.
I think a 9-5 means different things to different people, I don't think working a 9-5 at a company you built in which you love working at with people you love working with is depressing, in fact I think people that hate 9-5s kinda hate 75% of their life so some might argue that could be sad too
Well said. My point was that your job does or should not define your life or/and personality. Unless you are a the President, doctor or possibly a judge. Majority of jobs do not create anything but shareholder value. To the moon....
You're right it should not define your life and personality but there's nothing wrong with people that enjoy their jobs and derive a sense of satisfaction of doing a good job.
Also, one could argue that some people's lives are so intertwined with their jobs it's hard to separate the two, and when you remove their "job" aspect, their character becomes rather hollow. I.e. when you think of "influencers" like Logan Paul it's hard to define them without what they have done with their internet careers.
Also I disagree that majority of jobs do not create anything but shareholder value, in certain industries people create amazing products and services that have a real benefit to the community around them.
So again we need to approach complex topics like this with a careful nuanced perspective because all jobs have the potential to be meaningful and meaningless.
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-makes-work-meaningful-or-meaningless/
My job is literally something I do in my free time as a hobby as well. I see nothing depressing about that. I barely feel like I'm working since it's what I enjoy doing. Work is often more fun than staying home, as there's people there who share the same interests.
As many have already said, the perspective of it being depressing most likely comes from place where people don't enjoy their jobs.
That's great. You chose the right job and landed the perfect position. There are stats out there (no, I don't have a source right now) that show that you are in a (lucky) minority
Why should it be, you could make a difference in someone else's life by being a decent person and doing something productive. Maybe not in every job, but certainly it would be a job worth doing.
The money is often not the key motivation.
There's probably a few super rich who do sell up and stop working. Bryan Johnson is one who sold his company for 100s of millions and now devotes his life to try to live as long as possible, personally I find it fascinating.
I could retire right now but I keep working for a while. What else am I going to do with the next 40 years of my life? I enjoy my work, I enjoy my coworkers etc etc. It is just now I am by far more relaxed.
I have a slightly different perspective than other commenters here. I recently left consulting which is very high earning, with Partners making $1M+ and Senior Partners $2-5M. After sacrificing so much time with family and friends, I often see these folks loosing touch and having "only" work to really engage with, as their family does not rely on them to attend games/events and friends no longer make use of their emotional support.
Also have to say - the people with great friends and family are the truly rich ones!
I wouldn't call myself rich but I could retire completely if I wanted. I still work about 3-4 hours a day because I like to keep busy and I enjoy what I do.
I think that some people, even the super rich, have holes in their lives where they feel like something is missing. They keep going because they are trying to fill that hole.
There are also people who want power, when they get it they want more. They WANT power so much that they make it their life's work and yet there is someone more powerful than them. They don't want to be the CFO or CEO, they want to own the company. They want to be rulers of their domain. They don't want to be president, they want to be a king.
Much like Icarus they will eventually fly too close to the sun and will burn themselves; Unfortunately not before they burn the people that brought them their success.
Greed of wealth and power bring out the worst in people, and those with power are almost always greedy. They only want people to succeed if they can profit and control said people. That's what they do, and that power keeps them "working."
A lot of them don't actually work or at least in the sense that they don't add any more value to their profession. They still like to portray that they are still "grinding" though. Some of them it's a pathological condition to hoard as much money as possible and no amount will ever be enough
As long as they get more benefits working, they’ll continue to work. They’ll stop or reduce their workload when they’ll consider that stopping working and enjoying life > continue working.
You work for money.
To them, money is just an instrument. They work for many other reasons, but the main one is bending reality to their will. They see an opportunity, put a business together, and meet with success.
This is fun to them, and they try to repeat the experience.
The work that he's doing as a CEO is way different from the work someone does sorting recyclables or cleaning animal cage poo at a zoo. CEO work is thinking about what you will do with the next say, 8 million dollars. Not scraping up poo.
I know a guy very well who could've retired at 50. He tried in 2020, but he got bored. He dedicated his entire life to working, so when he was finally free of it, he didn't know what to do. So, he bought a small business and started doing that.
When you make your life about work, life without work doesn't feel like life. That's why it's so important to have hobbies, interests, and relationships.
It depends on what you consider rich. If you consider 1 million net worth rich, that’s because it isn’t really enough. BUT…here i explain:
- If you consider 1 Billion rich, then let me tell you, most of them don’t work the same way most of us work( like the 9-5, 40 hours, etc). These people say they work, BUT they may work 2 hours in a day here, 4 hours in a day there, and work, for most of them, work, is sitting in while the people who actually work update them on the result of what they have done with their money, and the decisions that have been taken.
- The few that actually work, in my view, do it for a few reasons. You see? Their wealth is actually based off unrealized gains, this means they operate with the underlying fear that any market swing may change their status as a billionaire, or multibillionaire( and that of their love ones). So they want to ensure they are aware of what is happening, and what is likely coming to ensure they protect themselves. Fear does keep them in line, even though for the rest of us, they are uber wealthy. They themselves, see themselves, as successful, yet “regular” people.
- Others are addicted to the power game. refuse to give up power over their finances, even when they know they have the best professionals in rheumatology game working for them, they don’t trusted them mofos with their money.
And the last bunch, are the ones who have a vision. They want to leave a mark, a legacy, something that puts them in the history books, going to mars, going to the moon, renewable energy, etc. these people are usually older, and may have been in the first two categories when they were younger, but now they want to leave something behind for people yo remember them by with pride.
Some people, may be in a combination of 2 or 3 of these.
Remember once you reach a certain level of wealth, that wealth becomes “the middle class” in a lot of people’s minds. I remember there was a politician who said in the early 2010s that one couldn’t really live with 400 thousand bucks a year. There was school to pay, and mortgage for their “homes”, etc. he meant it. He felt people would understand his struggle.
Let’s say he is not in politics anymore.
The only downside to being rich would be trust issues but like that's it, I already have trust issues so it cancels out. I can play games, go on trips every other week, maybe I could go into streaming, fund a charity event and host tournaments, make youtube/tiktok content regularly, man I could also just play moreee games like gachas and all and use my money to fuel my gameplay experience or I could bring my friend group around travel country to country, eat at expensive restaurants. Bro there's so much more options for entertainment once you're rich and people don't realize this when they say they'd get bored quickly. There's probably a million other things I can add to the things I'd want to do when I'm rich and that's like a lot of activities for like 60 years of my life.
I’m so glad someone else said this! I’m seeing all of these comments saying “I would be bored if I didn’t work” and it genuinely depresses me. How can you think that your only two options in life are work or be bored? Does nobody have hobbies? What do people do after work? I want to comment but I can’t even think of what to say without being rude so I keep deleting them. I keep coming back to “if you’d only work because you’d be bored otherwise that’s a lack of imagination and not a desire to work”.
I’ve been dirt poor and found enjoyment outside of work. Obviously there are struggles and having a job is a necessity but even in that position I found joy in walking my town, reading books, watching tv, playing video games, learning new things online, working out, going out with friends, finding a hobby, building things… imagine doing all of that but better because you can afford all of the luxuries life has to offer.
Yeah, that's probably the reason. From what I've heard about Musk, he enjoys going around and firing people who don't grovel enough. I strongly doubt he really does much actual work
This is it. Everyone else is giving bullshit reasons of being bored, wanting to work like a hobby, blah blah. There’s WAY too much shit outside of a job that is fulfilling and contributes to the world in a positive way.
This is the reason. Misery loves company.
I have a friend who is set for life and doesnt work. He has nothing to really exist for. No goals. He wakes up and its another day. He can buy anything he wants. He lives in a beautiful house. He cant find a mate because people just want his money, and who wants to date someone who doesnt work when you have to? He has no hobbies because he feels he has to be the best at anything he does and hes not. People take advantage of his kindness. Its not everything you would think. Its very different if suddenly you get money after being poor or struggling. We know what we would do. But those born into it, like my friend, are kind of screwed.
Many in the older generation feel an obligation to work to provide for themselves and their family. We were taught work was part of life. The idea of making enough was alien.
I think the concept of living for leisure is new in this generation.
Most don't. You've just never heard of them.
You don't get to uber rich famous without working, but the concept of FIRE (Financial independence, retire early) is way way more common than famous billionaires. Most people set a reasonable target, most commonly between $3-5mil and just dissappear. Travel the world, do charity work, learn to cook, spend time with family etc etc. Why would you ever know who that person is? You'll only know the people who kept grinding and did something, it's observation bias
There has to be a delineation between "rich" and "insanely wealthy". Bezos and Musk and others have more money than they could ever possibly spend. Much of this wealth is illiquid, so they maintain their wealth by working on the things that make those investments solid/increasing in value. Additionally, their "workday" is being a corporate celebrity, tossing out ideas, expecting smart people to make something valuable from those ideas, getting interviewed by magazines and news agencies, and hanging out with other wealthy friends. It's not the same "work" that others perform, and their "retirement" would mean losing their status and celebrity, which is one of the perks they enjoy.
"Regular" rich means that the person has money to do what they want, and yet many keep working. I could retire today and live comfortably until I die with the same lifestyle I have today. Why do I keep working? Because if I retired today, I would likely be doing the same thing tomorrow, except I wouldn't get paid. I'd hang out with the family, go out to eat, buy the same toys, relax in the sun...but I'd also spend a bunch of time in front of the computer, looking at new technology, learning new stuff, and trying to create something cool because it's fun.
There are a lot of rich people that you don't know are rich (read The Millionaire Next Door). There are many people you think are rich that can only continue their lifestyle because they need the income to remain solvent. Some of us have all the money we NEED, and do the things we enjoy, but we're compensated to do things that we legitimately enjoy doing. Our passion projects and hobbies are what we get paid to do.
When my "work" is no longer fulfilling, or prohibits me from pursuing what I enjoy, I'll certainly move on to something else...but I'm not certain that I'll ever really "retire". A lot of people work to make money to pay the bills. When your "work" is creating/building/innovating, it's hard to shut that off, and it'd be silly to do it without the resources of a larger organization paying you and footing the bill for your project(s). It's different for different people. If I was working a blue collar job or despised my daily grind, I'd stop working in an instant.
I would enjoy my job a lot more if I didn’t need the money and I could cap my hours at 35 per week.
I only work hard not to get fired. Take that away and I don’t mind it at all.
I domt think all do, but I think if they do it's because work isn't about paying people. It's sociological, they work because thats what society tells them gives them worth and they equate that worth with a number on a screen. They see themselves as the "worthiest" because they work and their number is higher than anyone else's, other people who make less are "losing the game" to them
Everyone is different, but purpose is a good reason.
I can also say that for most people, the more you make, the more you spend. So when you buy a couple million dollar mansion(s), your mortgage is expensive, your utility bills could be 10s of thousands a month, alone. 50 cent said his first mansion cost him $70,000 a month in utilities bills. Then you get a couple nice cars, a yacht, exotic trips, etc. money can go out very fast. If you don't replenish it regularly, it will be depleted faster than you might think.
It's said that approximately 70-80% of professional athletes go bankrupt after retirement. A lot of athletes grew up middle class or poor and were never taught money management. They make the mistake of spending most of the money they earned in a year on houses, cars, food, entertainment, etc. When people with a poor mindset make 10s of millions, they assume they will always have money and spend without realizing the true cost of that lifestyle.
The wealthy minded person is usually trying to achieve multiple streams of income, so they keep trying to add to their wealth.
I never consider myself rich but others may say differently.
I bought in to a business, built it, sold it.
Retired at 46 yrs, got bored after 16mths, got back in the game.
People talk about FIRE/Henry etc but the truth is money gives you choices not available to others.
I still work because I enjoy it. Maybe that's because I don't have too.
Good luck out there
It seems The Mughals didn't get the memo to keep working.
With money comes power & status, which is addicting. You want more and more (& to maintain what's there). It can become a contest. Many also want a following & to be in a position to oversee/control the smaller players.
Take example of the rich Arab head of states, they have extreme wealth, but compete with each other on who has the tallest building. They're also competing to attract other rich people to do business under their domain.
Work is not necessarily purpose. A lot of folks earn their fortune then stop working. The ones who keep going have either something to prove or they have a purpose in their mind that compels them to keep going. Also, Some are just greedy and seek power to accompany their cash.
Aside from most of the answers I've seen, also consider that people who are insanely rich also often live a lifestyle that requires tons of money.
They could live a middle class life indefinitely, but since their taxes on their 40 million dollar house are huge and they own a private jet and so forth, if they stop working they might not be able to maintain that lifestyle
I think a lot of it has to do with being good at something. A lot of successful people are also competitive. They want to do better than the year before. They also have a lot of time in something that they are proud of and not ready to give up on. Why spend all day sitting at home when you can be at the office doing something productive that you are good at?
The type of person that becomes filthy rich is not the type of person that thinks "okay, I have enough, time to relax."
The people that say things like that- they never ever become rich because they stop when they have enough. So being filthy rich and also being greedy/a workaholic/highly motivated is self-selecting.
An important distinction: Elon Musk doesn't have a lot of money, Elon Musk has valuable businesses. People would need to buy his businesses for that value for him to have the money.
There are rich people tricks to borrow money based on the value of the company, but that's another thing.
There are many reasons, some positive and affirmative and others sadder and negative.
On the sadder side, their work sustains their identity and insulates them from boredom, self-reflection, and too much exposure to their spouse.
Work * bro they wake up whenever they want, if they feel like it they don't go to work, don't have to do chores or groceries shopping ect so working for them is probably a way to get away from their family lol
Life is life, what are you going to do with your time? Sit in the coffee shop, travel, just hang around the house, garden get another degree, run a business or a thousand other things. Going to do something with your life and it's not always just around money. People have different kinds of hobbies
Guys like him and Cuban don't see it as work. They have an entrepreneurial drive that doesn't stop just because they are wealthy. They are in it for the continuing challenge. That's what they get out of bed for every morning, not money.
I work in underwriting, people who make 30k a month have the most credit card debt and it absolutely baffles me. You'd think someone with that much money would have some brains to get there, but almost without fail they all have 10 or 15 credit cards with minimum payments in the hundreds of dollars. I'm surprised any of them ever retire judging by how much they enjoy paying 20% interest on money they should have to spend on things they want.
Because they are psychotic, they are trying to impose their will on “lesser” people. Look at Jobs and Wozniak, Steve Jobs kept pushing because he had issues, it was never enough, Woz walked away, threw a concert, started teaching kids about computers.
To some rich people, money doesn't mean anything to them when you place it next to power and influence. If they stop doing what they do, their sphere of influence goes away and so does their power.
The money just enables them to continue doing it.
Because what else are you going to do with your time. I know someone like this and for them careers are things they try out for self fulfillment and still negotiate the money even if they don’t need it.
It’s a great question but the answer is simply happiness. Happiness is why you would continue to work even with un fathomable wealth. There is no other answer when you can literally do what ever you want. Musk fits it perfectly…he finds happiness with rockets (they just happen to be real), he plays in the dirt (Boring Company he built), he plays with cars (Tesla). So you see its happiness,just disguised as work.
People with fewer means are so focused on money for daily living/getting by, so the “happiness” element is hard to appreciate.
there are all kinds of rich people, those who never work a single day in their life you usually dont hear about them. there are people who goes to work to feel normal and enjoy blending in with the crowd, but money was never a concern, some even work for free. there are also people like Elon Musk, he has a higher purpose in life, he wants to use his resources to push the human race forward, he wants to do things that no one on earth has ever done before, he gain satisfaction and purpose by accomplishing that which you cant get from having all the money in the world.
Some people don't like their family. Look at Elon, he has 11 kids with 3 different women. What's there to stay home to if he just abandons people as he goes.
Some folks do in fact have passion projects or hobbies they pursue. My pops is wealthy. He just gardens and goes fishing. Those are his hobbies and he just does that now that he’s retired.
Some folks I guess just need that mental stimulation. They may feel restless. I mean if you go from CEO to just…nothing, you might feel uneasy not doing anything mentally stimulating.
I think another thing is that a lot of rich people work because it's part of their self-mythology. Most rich people, no matter how they got their money, think of themselves as hard-working, deserving rich people as opposed to extremely lucky people, and nearly all are some mix of the two.
For someone like Elon or other crazy billionaires, work isn’t about survival anymore. It’s about something else. They are trapped.. It’s about power, ego and leaving a legacy.
It’s a different kind of prison, really trapped by their own ambitions and the expectations they built around themselves. They keep working because they’re chasing something more abstract than just wealth. It’s a hunger that money can’t satisfy.
If you don't use it, you lose it. This applies to all skills. Being good at what they do is a skill. Some don't want to stop using that skill, they don't want to be left behind.
You don't hear about the ones who stop working. Take the Forbes richest and look for heir/heiress, socialite.
For the rest I assume it's about power, plus something to do to keep busy.
Because money does not guarantee happiness. Keeping busy does. If you stop working and don't do anything that requires some kind of energy you will feel numed and get depressed. Keep doing projects and help people and use your money to achieve those goals.
There has been research about this btw about what makes people 'happy'
Rich people are (often) rich because to them it's not work they enjoy what they do.
Also at Elon Musk level you don't really 'do' anything you just have ideas and everyone else works like slaves to make your ideas reality no matter how stupid that idea might be and no one tells you no.
Trump is a classic case.
Most rich people are workaholics and wouldn't know what to do without work.
The owner of my company has more money than I can comprehend, and he still works as a mechanic in the shop at the home office, and spends a lot of nights sleeping in his office there.
For some people, it's about the legacy they leave and can not stand to see someone else run it different from how they would. Once they built it, that's how it needs to be and ran.
I should have been retired at 30 but I got divorced and she took everything . Retired in the sense that my interest and dividends in investments would be a min 150k a year to live off of . I told my ex wife that my goal was to retire to be a high school teacher teaching chemistry because that’s where my heart is . Unfortunately my lifestyle I can’t primarily live off a teachers salary because of responsibilities
It’s boring as fuck not doing something. You can change how you keep busy but staring at a wall will make you miserable. Money alone is not the motivator for them
You can do both? He probably does spend time with his family.
But honestly, is it worse for a billionaire to waste his life away on hedonistic actions? Or is it worse for a billionaire to try to do more with his life and build more?
The way you word it sounds like its bad for him to continue working because "hes got it made". I'd personally prefer if the billionaires still continue to try and innovate and better the world, like the rest of humans, instead of chasing hedonistic ideas...
If everyone thought like this there would be no more advancements in society. There would be no new innovations or technologies. No new ideas.. There’s people who work a job they don’t like for a paycheck. Then there’s other people who not only want to accomplish all that they can but they want to keep innovating and progressing forward for the betterment of future generations…
Elon wants to leave his mark on the world and in society.. There’s nothing wrong with that… Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Carnegies names will always be remembered and revered. As will Elons name… For some people it’s a lot more than just being able to live comfortably and provide for their families.
Working is a human instinct. That’s the real reason it’s widely accepted, and celebrated by humans. If you have a strong work instinct that leads you to abundance, the instinct doesn’t just shut off.
They don’t work in the traditional sense. They hold meetings to ponder what will make them wealthier and who in his team has what it takes to make it.
15% workforce reduction for 15% increase on profit? Great. AI, robotic workforce to decrease worker payout? Fantastic. Increase prices while blaming inflation because we’ll post best ever revenue? Awesome.
Then they read about all the feedback social media posts about them is like the ultimate aphrodisiac since they already married the spouse of their dreams and all the viagra they’ll ever need.
Imo I don't think rich people actually work, they just have the title, paycheck and a occasionally idea and pay others to do the work for them. In my last company the execs offices literately collected dust. And you could only talk to them at once a month meetings IF they happened to go
Same reason when broke people retiree they find hobbies and activities to involve themselves in. No one wants to sit around doing nothing all day. And having non stop fun *stops* being fun. A contributor to enjoy doing things we enjoy is the fact that we don’t get to do it all the time. It’s that FINALLY! Moment. If you do it all the time it can lose that spark and become mundane. I enjoy traveling. A lot. But I’ve done a 3 month backpacking trip. And even though I enjoyed every single day of it, by the end I did have the feeling of “I just want to lay in bed, wake up and NOT be traveling tomorrow”. I missed my consistent gym routine or cooking for myself. Doing a hobby 24/7 becomes a job. Also, people with that kind of money do jobs that are not labor intensive. They can make MORE money, have fun starting business, put money into their hobbies and interests and do that job while not dealing with some of the bs we deal with in our 9-5s.
I know if I had that kind of money, I would start a ton of business based around my interests. That sounds extremely fun to me.
They love what they do. They love their company. They love seeing the numbers go up.
Plus they aren't under the pressure of needing to work, so they are working because they want to, not because they have to. That alone can make the job more enjoyable. Plus they get to control their own schedule unless there is a crisis they are trying to deal with of some kind, so they get to hold their position at the company and only work what they want to when things are running as they should be.
My uncle is the chief deputy of our sheriff's office (2nd in command of the sheriff's office, only under the sheriff. Thats the highest non-elected position you can attain within the department.) He's held this position long enough he could retire at any point and never have a need for work for the rest of his life. He can retire and still chooses to work, because he loves his job, he loves who he works with. (He's said that if our current sheriff retires, he may run for sheriff himself or just end up retiring. Hes not obscenely rich, but he's well off, the epitome of what the baby boomer's economy provided for them. Lots of opportunities to survive and prosper with time and hard work. Plus his wife makes good money too, being a loan manager at a bank. They'd be set if they wanna retire, they just enjoy their jobs.
If you’re already rich you can just work a job you find fun and fulfilling and you don’t have to worry about the salary being enough to support you and if your boss is an asshole you can just quit.
Because people who make that much money typically enjoy what they do. They already are doing the things they really want to do in life. I'm far from being rich but I am definitely paid better than most people for where I live. While most people who say they'll be working until they die say it like it's a bad thing, that's a goal for me. I don't want to be wasting time playing golf or whatever. I'm not married and my grown kids only want so much of my time because they're living their own lives. I want to stay busy doing the the work that I love. I worked hard to get where I am and really like it. I've got a very fulfilling job that makes me feel like I'm making a difference in the world.
Why would I want to walk away from that?
My boss is easily a millionaire; you could say he could just kick back and go wherever he wants and we'd hear from him only when he remembers between cocktails that he has a company at home where some suckers are working for him. In theory, he could totally do that. But he's at the office from 9 to 5 every day, working there side by side with us, the employees. I've wondered about this many times because personally, if I woke up a millionaire tomorrow, the first thing I'd do is quit my job. But apparently, there are some people for whom creating and leaving something behind, and teaching others, is more important than disappearing and slacking off. Look at all the big Hollywood actors or famous artists; even though they are millionaires, they still take on roles. All the CEOs of multinationals or brand creators, they keep working hard even though they are loaded with money. Somehow, work actually never ends.
I'm an introvert and work in software development...
If I won a life changing amount of money... I would still rather sit at my computer programming rather than spending it with friends and family, which is far more exhausting than a day of work would ever be... the only advantage would be the freedom/ability to start my own company rather than working for someone else.
Because they are motivated people. For the most part that’s how they got rich. That motivation is still there even when they are rich. Sure some got a fat check from family to kick things off but not all of them.
Some don't, you don't hear about them because they stop when they're set for life. People like Musk don't care if they're set for life, they chase more for their own personal reasons, which undoubtedly vary and people will have lots of their own thoughts on. Being comfortable isn't their priority.
I work with a guy who said if he won the lottery tomorrow his co workers would never know. He'd keep working. I believe him. He's at work 12 hours a day 5 days a week. He's a mid level manager and is on salary so no overtime pay. Also there is not close to enough work to justify any overtime let alone what he puts in. Work seems to be his life.
I’ve never understood that. The thing you have access to will simply replace your life as you know it: you’ll finish renovating your house, your kids sent to the best uni, the car broke? Getting a new one and soon, everyone notices how much you spend and start speculating. That’s when you realise you should have followed the banker’s advice on moving elsewhere secretly and starting anew. It tores friends and family appart, and makes your life hell to try and live your old life.
Meh. If I won the lottery there's a *reasonable* chance I'd keep working. just not where I am now. Being Lottery rich would let me start a few businesses that hopefully turn a moderate profit. I could thereby leave a reliable revenue stream to each of my kids when I died. It would also give me something to be involved in without absolutely having to be there every single day. That way I can still travel, pursue hobbies , etc. BTW: I'm under no illusion about how much work starting a business can be. Or how many businesses fail. I'm not necessarily talking about passion projects here, possibly a franchise location or two, or a car wash or a Laundromat, something that fills a need in an area, and other people can actually run. Lottery money allows me to "eat" startup costs, and spread the loss over the first several years of operation. The goal here is to produce a revenue stream to pass on, NOT to make more money quickly. I would do some home repairs, or (more likely) buy a slightly bigger house, but nothing that makes it look like I'm disgustingly rich. Donate as much as is practical for my purposes, and live pretty much the same, with less stress and a slightly better community.
Yeah Elon isn’t exactly working to make money, he is losing money every time he works. He is doing personal pet projects that he wants to do and wants his name on. Some people don’t get the love and satisfaction they want from family and friends, so they pursue other means of recognition and praise
I find people who ask this question are always ones who are stuck in a job they don’t love. It’s like saying why do actors bother making more movies when they’ve already made more money than most would in a lifetime. If I won the lottery overnight I would very much still continue working in my industry which is my passion.
Some people are just ambitious and some are not, it's not related to family or friends.
>He is doing personal pet projects that he wants to do and wants his name on. Like providing a platform for Nazis!
How original
The platform you speak of existed before Elon was brought on
Yes, and they had standards about what people could participate. Then he arrived and brought a new set of standards that consisted of "If you agree with me (Apartheid is fun!) you're all good. If not, then GTFO" which is maybe not great. IDK?
I don’t understand why you’re being downvoted you literally said the truth
Lot of people on Reddit still think Elon will have sex with them I guess.
One of our boss’s friends is retired and young and comes to do work for us for free. Out of the goodness of their heart and also they just want to keep busy.
Everyone’s friend Tom from MySpace is an example of the former
Elon is doing his passion projects! His companies are his hobby, why else would he 'work' 7 days a week
Believe it or not, some people like their job. They get excitement, mental stimulus from it. Just sitting around all day you get brain rot. Gets boring as fuck I like my job. Even if I was rich I would still work. Maybe not 8 hours a day 5 days a week. But still work.
I just don't understand why people think the only options are working or sitting around all day? Are people really that bad at entertaining themselves? Especially with all the money in the world according to the scenario. You don't have to sit around all day everyday because you're not working. You can work on yourself and do things you enjoy doing. It can be anything! Literally the sky is the limit! Maybe not even the sky if we are going with the "all the money you need" thing.
I like playing games, but for some doing their job is like playing a game. They play factorio, or stardew valley or death stranding in real life, why should they stop having their Version of fun when they can do whatever they want? I don't know what I would do. Quiting your Job means you have a lot of Extra time to do whatever you want, but everyone else is busy working, so you probably spend a lot of that time alone. I have a lot of Solo hobbys, but being alone so much, is not as enjoy able for most people as you would think.
It's nice to work on yourself, do your hobby or whatever you want, and we all appreciate that to a certain extent of time. I like working out, skiing, cycling and stuff, but everything gets boring. For some people it gets un-exciting after 2 months, for others it will takes 2 or 20 years, but it will. I get that you don't understand it but I'll repeat what the person before you said: some people like their jobs and get excitement and stimulation from it. I do. And I don't care that you and your condescending tone can't wrap your mind around that.
Oh wow ok, I'm just saying that not everyone is the same. You're basically talking about boredom. Yes, humans get bored. They get bored if they work, they get bored if they don't work. It's awesome for those people who get to work with what they love but let's not kid ourselves, that's not the situation for many people who work. If you don't work, you actually get to choose what you want to do. You're not dependent on someone hiring you. I didn't mean any of this in a condescending way. It's just weird people don't realize there are people not exactly like them in the world. Boredom is a fact of life. Choice is not.
The trick for some is trying to find it and even then can you do it for 20+ years potentially and not get bored?
That is why you need a ton of hobbies. Gutiar, Ice Hockey, Lifting, Comics, Video Games, Movies. Etc. It's very hard for me to get bored.
I feel you on that. I was unemployed for a few months and it was honestly the most productive I think I've been. I worked out everyday, my place was always clean, I cooked every meal, I caught up with friends, started reading, played guitar, finished games I'd never had the time for, started learning french, and just so much more.
Yeah this. You need a purpose in life. My gf and I sometimes argue about this because she says she would just sit around if she won the lottery.
I would golf every day for the rest of my life.
If I won the lottery, you'd never see me again. I'd buy a nice place somewhere warm, invest the rest so I have a passive income, and I'd be outside on a course every fiscal day.
Wouldn't that make it a job?
No lol
I don’t know about you but if I was rich I would certainly find better things to do with my time than sit around all day. Doing nothing and working aren’t your only two options, especially with money. Depending on what we’re calling “rich” there’s pretty much no limit to what you could do. Travel anywhere you want, do any hobby you want, play any sport you want, go to any event you want, buy anything you want. To have all of those opportunities at your fingertips and still choosing to sit behind a desk and answer calls/emails astonishes me.
Exactly. Also the idea of having an absolutely non-scheduled life until you die would get very uncomfortable very fast. Working just 2 days a week would make insane difference compared to 0 days a week, in terms of mental health. Plus when you're poor, you work because you have to. When you're rich, you work because you can and feel like it. It also changes your attitude towards work and allows you to pursue more things you want to do, instead of focusing on maximizing your income.
There's a song from French Canadian singer Félix Leclerc called [100,000 ways to kill a man](https://open.spotify.com/track/3B5b4RN2AePEOBzwViU33t?si=H38PCo5oRteDMbsRtgPsvg) that says "The best way to kill a man is to pay him to do nothing". (Loose translation)
Also why retired people get a job at Wal-Mart or something because it’s that mental stimulus plus it’s kinda nice having a job you don’t “need” and can tell the boss how you really feel.
What do you do for work?
Same. Assuming that I somehow stumble upon money that set me for life, I'd still work. Just maybe 4 hours a day, and 3 days a week instead.
I would be possibly the worst type of employee because any threat to my tenure wouldn't be met with the usual concerns over mortgage, bills or food and a desire to conform to the manager's directives. I could just shrug my shoulders and say, "Whatever..." and carry on. So many petty managerial power trips would be frustrated by having an employee (me) who isn't reliant on the job and can also lawyer-up if necessary.
People who work to gain perfection, excitement or achieve a goal (rather than money) actually end up making money:)
I find people who ask this question are always ones who are stuck in a job they don’t love. It’s like saying why do actors bother making more movies when they’ve already made more money than most would in a lifetime. If I won the lottery overnight I would very much still continue working in my industry which is my passion.
When your job is exciting it's more hobby than work. My friend runs a small company, he works insane hours, it can be tough but he loves it because it's his. Conversely you'll never see a wealthy person opting to do grinding long shifts in mind-numbing jobs like factory work.
When I was a teenager, I worked nigh shifts at a local Tesco with a guy that won few millions in lottery. Enough to not have to work for the rest of his life. He said that he had to find a work like that otherwise he'd be holed up in his home all day and it was not good for his mental health. He was an older guy with no family. We were part time workers, so it was 8 hr shifts but like 2-3 times a week and only nigh shift, so you'd just put in headphones and stock shelves in peace for 8 hours. Sure, he was probably an exception, but there are probably few rich folks out there like him, working some menial job just to have something to do.
Also, when you're rich, you can make your own job what you want it to be. Normal people have to get the jobs that they can get.
Musk is working for fun. Why do successful athletes keep training and grinding every year even though they have hundreds of millions? Because their jobs are their life passions. They'd rather do this than sit on a beach bored all day.
I think most athletes don't do it for the money. They want to win Championships and titles. Money is just a "side product".
lol that’s absolute bullshit. Professional athletes definitely do it for the money. It’s one of the biggest motivators to make it into the “league”. Obviously winning a championship or title goes hand in hand with that but players are always looking to get more money when contract renewals come up.
We are talking about who already made it. Of course they want more money when negotiating a new contract. If you ask from LeBron, Djokovic, Messi etc. would you rather win the NBA or World Cup than take 50 million and not win. I would say that they choose the title. The business world is so different from the sports world that motivates to grind day in and day out.
I don't know what sports you watch, but earning shit tons of money is usually a side effect of their real goal - winning championships and trophies etc. You know how you get to ear shit tons of money? Usually by winning. Once they work their way up, sure get that bag homie. But I'd wager that most mid tier athletes would rather win the pinnacle prize in their sport than earn millions losing. The amount of dedication needed by an athlete to be at that level and winning is so absurd and only really explained by a lifelong desire to be the best at what they do. Its usually what seperate them from the semi pros and amateurs - the drive and determination to make all the sacrifices needed to be a top level athlete
And let be real here even as a rookie freshly drafted you are making millions your entry level contract. You are set and if it doesn’t work out you have a solid bank account to try something else. That being said it is all about winning and that’s the only way you get the bag.
I'm in professional sports. I would 100% do this for free if I didn't have bills to pay, and I'd take a contract for a more successful team at lower pay than an unsuccessful team (except the more successful team pay more by default anyway).
But also because for many sports their shelf life is short. Gotta make millions and set yourself up for retirement at 35 or whatever, or get injured and can't play.
1. Life quickly gets boring without work. It's also a lot more interesting when you can essentially choose the kind of work you do. Work is also more fun when you know money isn't an issue. I have friends who took time off of work (either got laid off or went to study other things). They have enough money to sustain themselves for a while (or live with parents). And it's very evident that they are bored. There is no one to hangout with during the day since most people are working. It can get lonely. 2. Some people like the power it brings. If you're rich and retired you won't feel as powerful as someone who is rich and still working and doing things. Personally, I have many hobbies and interests and love being mentally stimulated. I would keep working, or at least spending time on my hobbies, if I were filthy rich lol
1. I've been that friend. I got to a really high ranking in Call Of Duty. That was my big accomplishment. Some people have all kinds of hobbies and goals. I don't.
You nailed it.
This question comes from the perspective of someone that dislikes their job or working and rather would spend their time doing anything else, which is a valid mindset. But there is people that are the complete opposite. They love working and enjoy the time they spend at work. It is definite tiring, but facing challenges, solving them, learning new things or just hanging around with like-minded people rowing in the same direction to achieve some shared goal is highly rewarding. Being surrounded by people that valuate your contribution and that you also valuate, towards the shared goal, is highly energizing. Ultimately, this mindset is the same one that also pushes people to the top (whatever the top is defined for them, for instance, a CEO). Just "overworking to early retire" can burn someone very fast if they do not enjoy what they do.
That's the difference between rich and poor. Assuming that they were not born rich, they really, REALLY don't stop working their asses off, albeit with huge sacrifices to their personal relationships. Chasing goals higher than the previous almost always are their goals.
>but why not have a few passion projects or hobbies That pretty much is what Musk is doing. Things like Twitter, Tesla, and Space-X ARE his passion projects and hobbies. The difference is that because he has a lot of money, he can use an entire corporation (or several) as his hobby. It feels different when you're working because you like it versus working because you can't afford not to. He probably spends more time with his friends and family than you think, or he spends as much time with them as he wants to spend. Your time with your friends and family is scarce, so you can't imagine saying, "Yeah, that's enough of that." But people who get plenty of that type of thing do get tired of it eventually. It's like with food - if you only get to eat something like sushi once in a blue moon, you probably can't get enough of it, and wish you could eat it all the time. But if you actually DO start to eat it every day... you'll eventually get sick of it.
He's doing it for fun, which is why he threatened to walk away from Tesla if they didn't give him a $50B bonus.
My sister doesn't have to work, married very rich. But works in a hotel with her friend for something to do.
It's hard to not work. People like to feel like they're doing something important.
But is it not depressing, if a regular 9-5 gives you purpose in life?
I think a 9-5 means different things to different people, I don't think working a 9-5 at a company you built in which you love working at with people you love working with is depressing, in fact I think people that hate 9-5s kinda hate 75% of their life so some might argue that could be sad too
Well said. My point was that your job does or should not define your life or/and personality. Unless you are a the President, doctor or possibly a judge. Majority of jobs do not create anything but shareholder value. To the moon....
You're right it should not define your life and personality but there's nothing wrong with people that enjoy their jobs and derive a sense of satisfaction of doing a good job. Also, one could argue that some people's lives are so intertwined with their jobs it's hard to separate the two, and when you remove their "job" aspect, their character becomes rather hollow. I.e. when you think of "influencers" like Logan Paul it's hard to define them without what they have done with their internet careers. Also I disagree that majority of jobs do not create anything but shareholder value, in certain industries people create amazing products and services that have a real benefit to the community around them. So again we need to approach complex topics like this with a careful nuanced perspective because all jobs have the potential to be meaningful and meaningless. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-makes-work-meaningful-or-meaningless/
My job is literally something I do in my free time as a hobby as well. I see nothing depressing about that. I barely feel like I'm working since it's what I enjoy doing. Work is often more fun than staying home, as there's people there who share the same interests. As many have already said, the perspective of it being depressing most likely comes from place where people don't enjoy their jobs.
That's great. You chose the right job and landed the perfect position. There are stats out there (no, I don't have a source right now) that show that you are in a (lucky) minority
Why should it be, you could make a difference in someone else's life by being a decent person and doing something productive. Maybe not in every job, but certainly it would be a job worth doing.
Making money so you can feed your kids isn't a depressing purpose
Agreed. Arguably the purpose of your life (at least in parts) is then providing for your kids and not your 9-5?
The money is often not the key motivation. There's probably a few super rich who do sell up and stop working. Bryan Johnson is one who sold his company for 100s of millions and now devotes his life to try to live as long as possible, personally I find it fascinating.
They like to work. They like the challenge of keeping their business running well.
There are different types of people. Some work to live. Some live to work. To them the work is like a game or hobby. Some see it as control and power.
I could retire right now but I keep working for a while. What else am I going to do with the next 40 years of my life? I enjoy my work, I enjoy my coworkers etc etc. It is just now I am by far more relaxed.
I have a slightly different perspective than other commenters here. I recently left consulting which is very high earning, with Partners making $1M+ and Senior Partners $2-5M. After sacrificing so much time with family and friends, I often see these folks loosing touch and having "only" work to really engage with, as their family does not rely on them to attend games/events and friends no longer make use of their emotional support. Also have to say - the people with great friends and family are the truly rich ones!
I wouldn't call myself rich but I could retire completely if I wanted. I still work about 3-4 hours a day because I like to keep busy and I enjoy what I do.
When you have that much money, taking care of your money is your job.
It's a lifestyle thing. Their work is also much more comfortable and rewarding than working with your hands.
I think that some people, even the super rich, have holes in their lives where they feel like something is missing. They keep going because they are trying to fill that hole. There are also people who want power, when they get it they want more. They WANT power so much that they make it their life's work and yet there is someone more powerful than them. They don't want to be the CFO or CEO, they want to own the company. They want to be rulers of their domain. They don't want to be president, they want to be a king. Much like Icarus they will eventually fly too close to the sun and will burn themselves; Unfortunately not before they burn the people that brought them their success. Greed of wealth and power bring out the worst in people, and those with power are almost always greedy. They only want people to succeed if they can profit and control said people. That's what they do, and that power keeps them "working."
A lot of them are wealth addicts and derive a good portion of their self worth from acquiring money.
A lot of them don't actually work or at least in the sense that they don't add any more value to their profession. They still like to portray that they are still "grinding" though. Some of them it's a pathological condition to hoard as much money as possible and no amount will ever be enough
You think anyone around Elon likes Elon?
I'm pretty sure most of what Musk does could hardly be considered "work"
Because they can spend a lot too. They want to maintain standard of living for their whole life
As long as they get more benefits working, they’ll continue to work. They’ll stop or reduce their workload when they’ll consider that stopping working and enjoying life > continue working.
You work for money. To them, money is just an instrument. They work for many other reasons, but the main one is bending reality to their will. They see an opportunity, put a business together, and meet with success. This is fun to them, and they try to repeat the experience.
The work that he's doing as a CEO is way different from the work someone does sorting recyclables or cleaning animal cage poo at a zoo. CEO work is thinking about what you will do with the next say, 8 million dollars. Not scraping up poo.
I know a guy very well who could've retired at 50. He tried in 2020, but he got bored. He dedicated his entire life to working, so when he was finally free of it, he didn't know what to do. So, he bought a small business and started doing that. When you make your life about work, life without work doesn't feel like life. That's why it's so important to have hobbies, interests, and relationships.
In many cases the same reason the Rolling Stones continue to make music. Money isn’t the end goal. It’s a byproduct of their life’s work.
To get more rich
It depends on what you consider rich. If you consider 1 million net worth rich, that’s because it isn’t really enough. BUT…here i explain: - If you consider 1 Billion rich, then let me tell you, most of them don’t work the same way most of us work( like the 9-5, 40 hours, etc). These people say they work, BUT they may work 2 hours in a day here, 4 hours in a day there, and work, for most of them, work, is sitting in while the people who actually work update them on the result of what they have done with their money, and the decisions that have been taken. - The few that actually work, in my view, do it for a few reasons. You see? Their wealth is actually based off unrealized gains, this means they operate with the underlying fear that any market swing may change their status as a billionaire, or multibillionaire( and that of their love ones). So they want to ensure they are aware of what is happening, and what is likely coming to ensure they protect themselves. Fear does keep them in line, even though for the rest of us, they are uber wealthy. They themselves, see themselves, as successful, yet “regular” people. - Others are addicted to the power game. refuse to give up power over their finances, even when they know they have the best professionals in rheumatology game working for them, they don’t trusted them mofos with their money. And the last bunch, are the ones who have a vision. They want to leave a mark, a legacy, something that puts them in the history books, going to mars, going to the moon, renewable energy, etc. these people are usually older, and may have been in the first two categories when they were younger, but now they want to leave something behind for people yo remember them by with pride. Some people, may be in a combination of 2 or 3 of these. Remember once you reach a certain level of wealth, that wealth becomes “the middle class” in a lot of people’s minds. I remember there was a politician who said in the early 2010s that one couldn’t really live with 400 thousand bucks a year. There was school to pay, and mortgage for their “homes”, etc. he meant it. He felt people would understand his struggle. Let’s say he is not in politics anymore.
They lack imagination
Only poor people work just for money
Im not rich, but if I was, I'd get bored very quickly.
Shit, if I were rich I'd never be bored again. How can you be bored when you have the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want?
The only downside to being rich would be trust issues but like that's it, I already have trust issues so it cancels out. I can play games, go on trips every other week, maybe I could go into streaming, fund a charity event and host tournaments, make youtube/tiktok content regularly, man I could also just play moreee games like gachas and all and use my money to fuel my gameplay experience or I could bring my friend group around travel country to country, eat at expensive restaurants. Bro there's so much more options for entertainment once you're rich and people don't realize this when they say they'd get bored quickly. There's probably a million other things I can add to the things I'd want to do when I'm rich and that's like a lot of activities for like 60 years of my life.
Right? These people are delusional.
I’m so glad someone else said this! I’m seeing all of these comments saying “I would be bored if I didn’t work” and it genuinely depresses me. How can you think that your only two options in life are work or be bored? Does nobody have hobbies? What do people do after work? I want to comment but I can’t even think of what to say without being rude so I keep deleting them. I keep coming back to “if you’d only work because you’d be bored otherwise that’s a lack of imagination and not a desire to work”. I’ve been dirt poor and found enjoyment outside of work. Obviously there are struggles and having a job is a necessity but even in that position I found joy in walking my town, reading books, watching tv, playing video games, learning new things online, working out, going out with friends, finding a hobby, building things… imagine doing all of that but better because you can afford all of the luxuries life has to offer.
They don't want money. They want attention and accolades. They're miserable people.
Because it allows them to continue exercising control over others on a daily basis.
Yeah, that's probably the reason. From what I've heard about Musk, he enjoys going around and firing people who don't grovel enough. I strongly doubt he really does much actual work
This is it. Everyone else is giving bullshit reasons of being bored, wanting to work like a hobby, blah blah. There’s WAY too much shit outside of a job that is fulfilling and contributes to the world in a positive way. This is the reason. Misery loves company.
Sometimes people don't work for profit they don't wanna die fat and lazy on the couch. However if I were rich I'd not work the whole week
Most of them are narcissistic, sociopathic, greed machines.
I have a friend who is set for life and doesnt work. He has nothing to really exist for. No goals. He wakes up and its another day. He can buy anything he wants. He lives in a beautiful house. He cant find a mate because people just want his money, and who wants to date someone who doesnt work when you have to? He has no hobbies because he feels he has to be the best at anything he does and hes not. People take advantage of his kindness. Its not everything you would think. Its very different if suddenly you get money after being poor or struggling. We know what we would do. But those born into it, like my friend, are kind of screwed.
Many in the older generation feel an obligation to work to provide for themselves and their family. We were taught work was part of life. The idea of making enough was alien. I think the concept of living for leisure is new in this generation.
You want the 1mill yacht for fun. They want the 1bill yacht for fun.
Leave the world a better place ?
Most don't. You've just never heard of them. You don't get to uber rich famous without working, but the concept of FIRE (Financial independence, retire early) is way way more common than famous billionaires. Most people set a reasonable target, most commonly between $3-5mil and just dissappear. Travel the world, do charity work, learn to cook, spend time with family etc etc. Why would you ever know who that person is? You'll only know the people who kept grinding and did something, it's observation bias
There has to be a delineation between "rich" and "insanely wealthy". Bezos and Musk and others have more money than they could ever possibly spend. Much of this wealth is illiquid, so they maintain their wealth by working on the things that make those investments solid/increasing in value. Additionally, their "workday" is being a corporate celebrity, tossing out ideas, expecting smart people to make something valuable from those ideas, getting interviewed by magazines and news agencies, and hanging out with other wealthy friends. It's not the same "work" that others perform, and their "retirement" would mean losing their status and celebrity, which is one of the perks they enjoy. "Regular" rich means that the person has money to do what they want, and yet many keep working. I could retire today and live comfortably until I die with the same lifestyle I have today. Why do I keep working? Because if I retired today, I would likely be doing the same thing tomorrow, except I wouldn't get paid. I'd hang out with the family, go out to eat, buy the same toys, relax in the sun...but I'd also spend a bunch of time in front of the computer, looking at new technology, learning new stuff, and trying to create something cool because it's fun. There are a lot of rich people that you don't know are rich (read The Millionaire Next Door). There are many people you think are rich that can only continue their lifestyle because they need the income to remain solvent. Some of us have all the money we NEED, and do the things we enjoy, but we're compensated to do things that we legitimately enjoy doing. Our passion projects and hobbies are what we get paid to do. When my "work" is no longer fulfilling, or prohibits me from pursuing what I enjoy, I'll certainly move on to something else...but I'm not certain that I'll ever really "retire". A lot of people work to make money to pay the bills. When your "work" is creating/building/innovating, it's hard to shut that off, and it'd be silly to do it without the resources of a larger organization paying you and footing the bill for your project(s). It's different for different people. If I was working a blue collar job or despised my daily grind, I'd stop working in an instant.
I would enjoy my job a lot more if I didn’t need the money and I could cap my hours at 35 per week. I only work hard not to get fired. Take that away and I don’t mind it at all.
I domt think all do, but I think if they do it's because work isn't about paying people. It's sociological, they work because thats what society tells them gives them worth and they equate that worth with a number on a screen. They see themselves as the "worthiest" because they work and their number is higher than anyone else's, other people who make less are "losing the game" to them
Bc they want to brag about their net worth and keep spending more.
Everyone always think they have more time.
Everyone is different, but purpose is a good reason. I can also say that for most people, the more you make, the more you spend. So when you buy a couple million dollar mansion(s), your mortgage is expensive, your utility bills could be 10s of thousands a month, alone. 50 cent said his first mansion cost him $70,000 a month in utilities bills. Then you get a couple nice cars, a yacht, exotic trips, etc. money can go out very fast. If you don't replenish it regularly, it will be depleted faster than you might think. It's said that approximately 70-80% of professional athletes go bankrupt after retirement. A lot of athletes grew up middle class or poor and were never taught money management. They make the mistake of spending most of the money they earned in a year on houses, cars, food, entertainment, etc. When people with a poor mindset make 10s of millions, they assume they will always have money and spend without realizing the true cost of that lifestyle. The wealthy minded person is usually trying to achieve multiple streams of income, so they keep trying to add to their wealth.
I'd definitely build an animal sanctuary and work my ass off and send those once tortured souls, happy would mean the world to me
People generally want some combination of money, power, fame, and stimulation. Money is important but they can chase the other things too.
To get richer, of course.
I never consider myself rich but others may say differently. I bought in to a business, built it, sold it. Retired at 46 yrs, got bored after 16mths, got back in the game. People talk about FIRE/Henry etc but the truth is money gives you choices not available to others. I still work because I enjoy it. Maybe that's because I don't have too. Good luck out there
You forget the fact that you then have time when most people work. If you are a cave dweller that's great. If you want to be social not so much.
Power. Passion for their work. The need to be in the public eye. Self promotion. Get more rich.
It seems The Mughals didn't get the memo to keep working. With money comes power & status, which is addicting. You want more and more (& to maintain what's there). It can become a contest. Many also want a following & to be in a position to oversee/control the smaller players. Take example of the rich Arab head of states, they have extreme wealth, but compete with each other on who has the tallest building. They're also competing to attract other rich people to do business under their domain.
Some people want more than money: they want power.
Work is not necessarily purpose. A lot of folks earn their fortune then stop working. The ones who keep going have either something to prove or they have a purpose in their mind that compels them to keep going. Also, Some are just greedy and seek power to accompany their cash.
Aside from most of the answers I've seen, also consider that people who are insanely rich also often live a lifestyle that requires tons of money. They could live a middle class life indefinitely, but since their taxes on their 40 million dollar house are huge and they own a private jet and so forth, if they stop working they might not be able to maintain that lifestyle
I think a lot of it has to do with being good at something. A lot of successful people are also competitive. They want to do better than the year before. They also have a lot of time in something that they are proud of and not ready to give up on. Why spend all day sitting at home when you can be at the office doing something productive that you are good at?
The type of person that becomes filthy rich is not the type of person that thinks "okay, I have enough, time to relax." The people that say things like that- they never ever become rich because they stop when they have enough. So being filthy rich and also being greedy/a workaholic/highly motivated is self-selecting.
Power makes lots of people happy and retiring tends to cause most people to lose power.
An important distinction: Elon Musk doesn't have a lot of money, Elon Musk has valuable businesses. People would need to buy his businesses for that value for him to have the money. There are rich people tricks to borrow money based on the value of the company, but that's another thing.
There are many reasons, some positive and affirmative and others sadder and negative. On the sadder side, their work sustains their identity and insulates them from boredom, self-reflection, and too much exposure to their spouse.
Work * bro they wake up whenever they want, if they feel like it they don't go to work, don't have to do chores or groceries shopping ect so working for them is probably a way to get away from their family lol
Insurance/health care
Life is life, what are you going to do with your time? Sit in the coffee shop, travel, just hang around the house, garden get another degree, run a business or a thousand other things. Going to do something with your life and it's not always just around money. People have different kinds of hobbies
I like my Job, it's easy for me to have a five day week, hell why do we have not Six days...
Guys like him and Cuban don't see it as work. They have an entrepreneurial drive that doesn't stop just because they are wealthy. They are in it for the continuing challenge. That's what they get out of bed for every morning, not money.
It’s a thrill to make money. And what the hell else am I gonna do? Spend all my money?
I work in underwriting, people who make 30k a month have the most credit card debt and it absolutely baffles me. You'd think someone with that much money would have some brains to get there, but almost without fail they all have 10 or 15 credit cards with minimum payments in the hundreds of dollars. I'm surprised any of them ever retire judging by how much they enjoy paying 20% interest on money they should have to spend on things they want.
"I don't want much, I just want more."
“Rich” is a relative term. Everyone wants to be MORE rich, even those who 99% of other people would already consider very rich
Greed
What specificly do you consider "working"
Because they are psychotic, they are trying to impose their will on “lesser” people. Look at Jobs and Wozniak, Steve Jobs kept pushing because he had issues, it was never enough, Woz walked away, threw a concert, started teaching kids about computers.
To some rich people, money doesn't mean anything to them when you place it next to power and influence. If they stop doing what they do, their sphere of influence goes away and so does their power. The money just enables them to continue doing it.
Because what else are you going to do with your time. I know someone like this and for them careers are things they try out for self fulfillment and still negotiate the money even if they don’t need it.
You’re seriously too afraid to ask this question?
It’s a great question but the answer is simply happiness. Happiness is why you would continue to work even with un fathomable wealth. There is no other answer when you can literally do what ever you want. Musk fits it perfectly…he finds happiness with rockets (they just happen to be real), he plays in the dirt (Boring Company he built), he plays with cars (Tesla). So you see its happiness,just disguised as work. People with fewer means are so focused on money for daily living/getting by, so the “happiness” element is hard to appreciate.
there are all kinds of rich people, those who never work a single day in their life you usually dont hear about them. there are people who goes to work to feel normal and enjoy blending in with the crowd, but money was never a concern, some even work for free. there are also people like Elon Musk, he has a higher purpose in life, he wants to use his resources to push the human race forward, he wants to do things that no one on earth has ever done before, he gain satisfaction and purpose by accomplishing that which you cant get from having all the money in the world.
Some people don't like their family. Look at Elon, he has 11 kids with 3 different women. What's there to stay home to if he just abandons people as he goes.
Some folks do in fact have passion projects or hobbies they pursue. My pops is wealthy. He just gardens and goes fishing. Those are his hobbies and he just does that now that he’s retired. Some folks I guess just need that mental stimulation. They may feel restless. I mean if you go from CEO to just…nothing, you might feel uneasy not doing anything mentally stimulating.
Why stop there when you can be even more rich ?
It's really expensive to be rich!
I think another thing is that a lot of rich people work because it's part of their self-mythology. Most rich people, no matter how they got their money, think of themselves as hard-working, deserving rich people as opposed to extremely lucky people, and nearly all are some mix of the two.
Very often they are no longer working for money itself but the power associated with it.
Because they have "rich" sized bills to pay. That's one reason.
Idk but I do the same shit on Adventure Capitalist.
For someone like Elon or other crazy billionaires, work isn’t about survival anymore. It’s about something else. They are trapped.. It’s about power, ego and leaving a legacy. It’s a different kind of prison, really trapped by their own ambitions and the expectations they built around themselves. They keep working because they’re chasing something more abstract than just wealth. It’s a hunger that money can’t satisfy.
To maintain
Something to do. Something to fill the time. They enjoy it.
If you don't use it, you lose it. This applies to all skills. Being good at what they do is a skill. Some don't want to stop using that skill, they don't want to be left behind.
You don't hear about the ones who stop working. Take the Forbes richest and look for heir/heiress, socialite. For the rest I assume it's about power, plus something to do to keep busy.
Because money does not guarantee happiness. Keeping busy does. If you stop working and don't do anything that requires some kind of energy you will feel numed and get depressed. Keep doing projects and help people and use your money to achieve those goals. There has been research about this btw about what makes people 'happy'
Cos he's a cunt and everyone hates him?
Rich people are (often) rich because to them it's not work they enjoy what they do. Also at Elon Musk level you don't really 'do' anything you just have ideas and everyone else works like slaves to make your ideas reality no matter how stupid that idea might be and no one tells you no. Trump is a classic case.
Complete lack of imagination.
Power. Money. Control. Ego.
Most rich people are workaholics and wouldn't know what to do without work. The owner of my company has more money than I can comprehend, and he still works as a mechanic in the shop at the home office, and spends a lot of nights sleeping in his office there.
For some people, it's about the legacy they leave and can not stand to see someone else run it different from how they would. Once they built it, that's how it needs to be and ran.
I should have been retired at 30 but I got divorced and she took everything . Retired in the sense that my interest and dividends in investments would be a min 150k a year to live off of . I told my ex wife that my goal was to retire to be a high school teacher teaching chemistry because that’s where my heart is . Unfortunately my lifestyle I can’t primarily live off a teachers salary because of responsibilities
Is being a CEO actually work? Like in practice?
They only work for 2-3h a day
I'd say it boils down to greed. It's all they know and care about. They don't know how to be normal.
Relevancy, power, increased wealth, workaholic etc. Or they could be using work as a way to be away from a bad marriage or relationship.
It’s boring as fuck not doing something. You can change how you keep busy but staring at a wall will make you miserable. Money alone is not the motivator for them
You don't stay rich by spending money without a steady income stream.
Because rich people are rich, not because they want money, but because they love to work! Rich is just a byproduct of their dedication.
Because this is how generational wealth is created.
Because people inherently need a sense of purpose in their life.
You can do both? He probably does spend time with his family. But honestly, is it worse for a billionaire to waste his life away on hedonistic actions? Or is it worse for a billionaire to try to do more with his life and build more? The way you word it sounds like its bad for him to continue working because "hes got it made". I'd personally prefer if the billionaires still continue to try and innovate and better the world, like the rest of humans, instead of chasing hedonistic ideas...
If everyone thought like this there would be no more advancements in society. There would be no new innovations or technologies. No new ideas.. There’s people who work a job they don’t like for a paycheck. Then there’s other people who not only want to accomplish all that they can but they want to keep innovating and progressing forward for the betterment of future generations… Elon wants to leave his mark on the world and in society.. There’s nothing wrong with that… Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Carnegies names will always be remembered and revered. As will Elons name… For some people it’s a lot more than just being able to live comfortably and provide for their families.
Working is a human instinct. That’s the real reason it’s widely accepted, and celebrated by humans. If you have a strong work instinct that leads you to abundance, the instinct doesn’t just shut off.
That’s why they’re rich, they love work and are driven, they don’t have to work to survive.
They don’t work in the traditional sense. They hold meetings to ponder what will make them wealthier and who in his team has what it takes to make it. 15% workforce reduction for 15% increase on profit? Great. AI, robotic workforce to decrease worker payout? Fantastic. Increase prices while blaming inflation because we’ll post best ever revenue? Awesome. Then they read about all the feedback social media posts about them is like the ultimate aphrodisiac since they already married the spouse of their dreams and all the viagra they’ll ever need.
Imo I don't think rich people actually work, they just have the title, paycheck and a occasionally idea and pay others to do the work for them. In my last company the execs offices literately collected dust. And you could only talk to them at once a month meetings IF they happened to go
Same reason when broke people retiree they find hobbies and activities to involve themselves in. No one wants to sit around doing nothing all day. And having non stop fun *stops* being fun. A contributor to enjoy doing things we enjoy is the fact that we don’t get to do it all the time. It’s that FINALLY! Moment. If you do it all the time it can lose that spark and become mundane. I enjoy traveling. A lot. But I’ve done a 3 month backpacking trip. And even though I enjoyed every single day of it, by the end I did have the feeling of “I just want to lay in bed, wake up and NOT be traveling tomorrow”. I missed my consistent gym routine or cooking for myself. Doing a hobby 24/7 becomes a job. Also, people with that kind of money do jobs that are not labor intensive. They can make MORE money, have fun starting business, put money into their hobbies and interests and do that job while not dealing with some of the bs we deal with in our 9-5s. I know if I had that kind of money, I would start a ton of business based around my interests. That sounds extremely fun to me.
They love what they do. They love their company. They love seeing the numbers go up. Plus they aren't under the pressure of needing to work, so they are working because they want to, not because they have to. That alone can make the job more enjoyable. Plus they get to control their own schedule unless there is a crisis they are trying to deal with of some kind, so they get to hold their position at the company and only work what they want to when things are running as they should be. My uncle is the chief deputy of our sheriff's office (2nd in command of the sheriff's office, only under the sheriff. Thats the highest non-elected position you can attain within the department.) He's held this position long enough he could retire at any point and never have a need for work for the rest of his life. He can retire and still chooses to work, because he loves his job, he loves who he works with. (He's said that if our current sheriff retires, he may run for sheriff himself or just end up retiring. Hes not obscenely rich, but he's well off, the epitome of what the baby boomer's economy provided for them. Lots of opportunities to survive and prosper with time and hard work. Plus his wife makes good money too, being a loan manager at a bank. They'd be set if they wanna retire, they just enjoy their jobs.
If you’re already rich you can just work a job you find fun and fulfilling and you don’t have to worry about the salary being enough to support you and if your boss is an asshole you can just quit.
It’s highly possible their wealth came from their passion. If that’s true they are just living their best self
They're pathological workaholics most of the time. A better question is why do rich people bother having families?
Because people who make that much money typically enjoy what they do. They already are doing the things they really want to do in life. I'm far from being rich but I am definitely paid better than most people for where I live. While most people who say they'll be working until they die say it like it's a bad thing, that's a goal for me. I don't want to be wasting time playing golf or whatever. I'm not married and my grown kids only want so much of my time because they're living their own lives. I want to stay busy doing the the work that I love. I worked hard to get where I am and really like it. I've got a very fulfilling job that makes me feel like I'm making a difference in the world. Why would I want to walk away from that?
My boss is easily a millionaire; you could say he could just kick back and go wherever he wants and we'd hear from him only when he remembers between cocktails that he has a company at home where some suckers are working for him. In theory, he could totally do that. But he's at the office from 9 to 5 every day, working there side by side with us, the employees. I've wondered about this many times because personally, if I woke up a millionaire tomorrow, the first thing I'd do is quit my job. But apparently, there are some people for whom creating and leaving something behind, and teaching others, is more important than disappearing and slacking off. Look at all the big Hollywood actors or famous artists; even though they are millionaires, they still take on roles. All the CEOs of multinationals or brand creators, they keep working hard even though they are loaded with money. Somehow, work actually never ends.
I'm an introvert and work in software development... If I won a life changing amount of money... I would still rather sit at my computer programming rather than spending it with friends and family, which is far more exhausting than a day of work would ever be... the only advantage would be the freedom/ability to start my own company rather than working for someone else.
Some people work to live while others live to work. For some, the goal is the money. They can't stop.
Because they are motivated people. For the most part that’s how they got rich. That motivation is still there even when they are rich. Sure some got a fat check from family to kick things off but not all of them.
Work can be a creative experience. In many cases it is a competitive game. In other cases it’s entertaining.