Do many households here have $15 M net worth or more?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$15m is hard to get to without generational wealth, getting lucky in tech, or slaving away in big law.

I have over $15M and none of the above apply to me. Just a lot of due diligence and exceptional individual stock picking (some in tech but mostly in other sectors like bio and pharma). I make an average salary. Investing is not hard but it requires a lot of research and some luck.

You didn't mention your 15yo Honda.

Funny! NP, and I definitely fall into this category. NW $10m+ and we just got rid of our 15yo Honda Odyseey. I loved that car. It made everything easy, whether it’s the kids or the dog, or packing it full for a weekend trip somewhere. I will miss it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

PP here. I have definitely picked stock losers. But my wins have been so much bigger. Just lots of homework, due diligence, knowing what to look for, and of course luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

This.

I'm one of the PPs who is worth >$20M in our mid 40s (husband is in finance). He routinely is asked by friends which individual stocks they should invest in. His response? Index funds, index funds, index funds. His position is that he does it for a living and it's incredibly hard - you'd be a fool to risk your life savings on individual stock investing. Wanna play around and have fun? Go for it, but earmark a small amount for that and otherwise - index funds. He practices what he preaches, and our nest egg is invested accordingly.

Yet so many single stock winners here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re at $15M in our late 30s. No inheritance.

We most definitely do not fly private. Even first class only happens when we do a couples trip, and even that is only once every few years.

Agreed with PPs that the people we know who do fly private generally are worth >$100M.

How did you hit $15M so relatively young?

Crypto, which is tanking now, why they are not spending. A lot of people who made it rich at a young age did so via riskier investments, and if they held to them, their NW tends to go up and down a lot. I know people like this in 100+ mil NW set whose NW fluctuates between 60mil to 150mil. Crazy stuff

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

This.

I'm one of the PPs who is worth >$20M in our mid 40s (husband is in finance). He routinely is asked by friends which individual stocks they should invest in. His response? Index funds, index funds, index funds. His position is that he does it for a living and it's incredibly hard - you'd be a fool to risk your life savings on individual stock investing. Wanna play around and have fun? Go for it, but earmark a small amount for that and otherwise - index funds. He practices what he preaches, and our nest egg is invested accordingly.

Yet so many single stock winners here!

People gamble. A lot of these gamblers have NW that fluctuates widely, and some lose a lot and end up at the level of regular UMC NW. Some make it big and if smart take it out. Depends. I take all I read here with a grain of salt. Stats point out that this NW is 1% of population. People who are wealthy are in a bubble of those like them, so they are widely unaware how the rest of teh population lives. It's a circle bias for most people who say this wealth is super common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

This.

I'm one of the PPs who is worth >$20M in our mid 40s (husband is in finance). He routinely is asked by friends which individual stocks they should invest in. His response? Index funds, index funds, index funds. His position is that he does it for a living and it's incredibly hard - you'd be a fool to risk your life savings on individual stock investing. Wanna play around and have fun? Go for it, but earmark a small amount for that and otherwise - index funds. He practices what he preaches, and our nest egg is invested accordingly.

Yet so many single stock winners here!

PP here. That's good advice for the average joe. But I'm not a single stock winner....more like a multiple stock winner with some losers here and there. I would never put all my eggs in one stock basket. And just because you work in finance doesn't mean you know how to pick stocks. Doesn't make them anymore qualified. I have lots of friends in finance and they don't know any more than the next guy about picking individual stocks. They say the same thing as your husband. Anyone can learn to read a P&L statement, balance sheet, perform discounting cost models, listen/watch earnings calls (body language & voice inflection can be very telling by the way), perform channel checks, talk to experts in the industry, etc. Those things are helpful for more mature companies but not companies in their early stages. You don't need a fancy degree to do that when it can be all learned online for free if you have the time and the desire. But in the end, do as Buffett says, invest in what you know and diversification is for people who don't know what they're doing. I bought a lot of stock in a boring non-tech company called AutoZone back in 2002 around $75/share because I repair the two cars I own and always buy parts there. Thought it would make a great investment. I'm sure you've heard of it. Good management, good cash flow, profits, expansion, management repurchases stock, etc. And car owners are keeping their cars much longer than before especially during and post-COVID thus driving up the need for car parts. The stock now trades for about $3790 for almost a 5000% gain and has made me a deca-millionaire. The S&P500 index in the meantime is up about 600% in the same timeframe. Boring stock for a company that I knew was growing and has made me wealthy. You don't have to pick the next great tech stock. Think out of the box. If you want to go with the flow and take minimal risk then sure go with index funds.

[Anonymous]

People who are interested in investing likely have done well in the market. They're the same people who hang out on finance message boards. The vast majority of the population, middle class and living paycheck to paycheck is not to be found here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who are interested in investing likely have done well in the market. They're the same people who hang out on finance message boards. The vast majority of the population, middle class and living paycheck to paycheck is not to be found here.

Yep. Agree 100%. And the ones not investing living paycheck to paycheck are the same ones who complain about capitalism and vote for Democrats pushing socialism and the forced distribution of wealth. Instead of complaining about capitalism make it work for you, starting small and building. Whether it's the stock market, real estate, commodities, whatever. It's not rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$15m is hard to get to without generational wealth, getting lucky in tech, or slaving away in big law.

Not true! Many small business owners have done it. My husband did it in the corporate world doing risky turnarounds that he invested in. He bet on himself. He never inherited anything but a very good work discipline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

This.

I'm one of the PPs who is worth >$20M in our mid 40s (husband is in finance). He routinely is asked by friends which individual stocks they should invest in. His response? Index funds, index funds, index funds. His position is that he does it for a living and it's incredibly hard - you'd be a fool to risk your life savings on individual stock investing. Wanna play around and have fun? Go for it, but earmark a small amount for that and otherwise - index funds. He practices what he preaches, and our nest egg is invested accordingly.

Yet so many single stock winners here!

PP here. That's good advice for the average joe. But I'm not a single stock winner....more like a multiple stock winner with some losers here and there. I would never put all my eggs in one stock basket. And just because you work in finance doesn't mean you know how to pick stocks. Doesn't make them anymore qualified. I have lots of friends in finance and they don't know any more than the next guy about picking individual stocks. They say the same thing as your husband. Anyone can learn to read a P&L statement, balance sheet, perform discounting cost models, listen/watch earnings calls (body language & voice inflection can be very telling by the way), perform channel checks, talk to experts in the industry, etc. Those things are helpful for more mature companies but not companies in their early stages. You don't need a fancy degree to do that when it can be all learned online for free if you have the time and the desire. But in the end, do as Buffett says, invest in what you know and diversification is for people who don't know what they're doing. I bought a lot of stock in a boring non-tech company called AutoZone back in 2002 around $75/share because I repair the two cars I own and always buy parts there. Thought it would make a great investment. I'm sure you've heard of it. Good management, good cash flow, profits, expansion, management repurchases stock, etc. And car owners are keeping their cars much longer than before especially during and post-COVID thus driving up the need for car parts. The stock now trades for about $3790 for almost a 5000% gain and has made me a deca-millionaire. The S&P500 index in the meantime is up about 600% in the same timeframe. Boring stock for a company that I knew was growing and has made me wealthy. You don't have to pick the next great tech stock. Think out of the box. If you want to go with the flow and take minimal risk then sure go with index funds.

I know one person whom lost their savings twice on individual stocks. So you were just incredibly lucky, nothing more. Most people would prefer to double their starting capital every 7 years in index funds over loosing everything

[Anonymous]

It’s very DCUM to think it’s only law partners, tech, and inheritances for $15m. I know many small business owners around here in region specific industries. Tons of M&A activity that only make headlines on industry sites. Many deals in the $10-$50m all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re at $15M in our late 30s. No inheritance.

We most definitely do not fly private. Even first class only happens when we do a couples trip, and even that is only once every few years.

Agreed with PPs that the people we know who do fly private generally are worth >$100M.

How did you hit $15M so relatively young?

Crypto, which is tanking now, why they are not spending. A lot of people who made it rich at a young age did so via riskier investments, and if they held to them, their NW tends to go up and down a lot. I know people like this in 100+ mil NW set whose NW fluctuates between 60mil to 150mil. Crazy stuff

Hah we definitely know some of the same people.

[Anonymous]

I have been putting pretty much all my savings every month into SPY since 2011. It’s up almost 600% since that time. Again, this isn’t rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that in DCUMlandia nobody has EVER picked a stock loser?!?

This place is magical.

This.

I'm one of the PPs who is worth >$20M in our mid 40s (husband is in finance). He routinely is asked by friends which individual stocks they should invest in. His response? Index funds, index funds, index funds. His position is that he does it for a living and it's incredibly hard - you'd be a fool to risk your life savings on individual stock investing. Wanna play around and have fun? Go for it, but earmark a small amount for that and otherwise - index funds. He practices what he preaches, and our nest egg is invested accordingly.

Yet so many single stock winners here!

PP here. That's good advice for the average joe. But I'm not a single stock winner....more like a multiple stock winner with some losers here and there. I would never put all my eggs in one stock basket. And just because you work in finance doesn't mean you know how to pick stocks. Doesn't make them anymore qualified. I have lots of friends in finance and they don't know any more than the next guy about picking individual stocks. They say the same thing as your husband. Anyone can learn to read a P&L statement, balance sheet, perform discounting cost models, listen/watch earnings calls (body language & voice inflection can be very telling by the way), perform channel checks, talk to experts in the industry, etc. Those things are helpful for more mature companies but not companies in their early stages. You don't need a fancy degree to do that when it can be all learned online for free if you have the time and the desire. But in the end, do as Buffett says, invest in what you know and diversification is for people who don't know what they're doing. I bought a lot of stock in a boring non-tech company called AutoZone back in 2002 around $75/share because I repair the two cars I own and always buy parts there. Thought it would make a great investment. I'm sure you've heard of it. Good management, good cash flow, profits, expansion, management repurchases stock, etc. And car owners are keeping their cars much longer than before especially during and post-COVID thus driving up the need for car parts. The stock now trades for about $3790 for almost a 5000% gain and has made me a deca-millionaire. The S&P500 index in the meantime is up about 600% in the same timeframe. Boring stock for a company that I knew was growing and has made me wealthy. You don't have to pick the next great tech stock. Think out of the box. If you want to go with the flow and take minimal risk then sure go with index funds.

I know one person whom lost their savings twice on individual stocks. So you were just incredibly lucky, nothing more. Most people would prefer to double their starting capital every 7 years in index funds over loosing everything

Nope. There was some luck for sure in the beginning but continuing to hold for 25+ years seeing the trends in the industry was not.