All the C-suite people at my company make $5m+. It makes me wonder why they’re even working. I will make close to $500k this year and I would not be doing this job if I had millions in the bank, I’d probably just travel the world or buy a nice house on the beach. It’s not worth the stress, I would work half the hours for half the pay if I could.
Every person I know who is a VP or an officer at a big company is either:
A) A sociopathic bully
B) Miserable
C) Fat
Or
D) likely to get fired in corporate restructuring after a bad couple of quarters or a casualty of a merger. Sounds fun, right?
I’ve worked for three Fortune 200 companies (lower tier Director roles) and I’ve observed how psychotic these guys are. The pressure to succeed and how they take their job so seriously is frankly gross and sad.
so close but so far wrote:
All the C-suite people at my company make $5m+. It makes me wonder why they’re even working. I will make close to $500k this year and I would not be doing this job if I had millions in the bank, I’d probably just travel the world or buy a nice house on the beach. It’s not worth the stress, I would work half the hours for half the pay if I could.
Name your industry (or your company).
teen wolf too wrote:
so close but so far wrote:
All the C-suite people at my company make $5m+. It makes me wonder why they’re even working. I will make close to $500k this year and I would not be doing this job if I had millions in the bank, I’d probably just travel the world or buy a nice house on the beach. It’s not worth the stress, I would work half the hours for half the pay if I could.
Name your industry (or your company).
It’s a tech company you’ve heard of. Most comp at my level and above is equity-based, and it’s been a good run so far.
A family member of mine was a CFO of a major publicly traded company. He did well, though most money was from options. In retirement, he still makes multiples of my salary working on a few boards.
Premium gigolo.
so close but so far wrote:
All the C-suite people at my company make $5m+. It makes me wonder why they’re even working. I will make close to $500k this year and I would not be doing this job if I had millions in the bank, I’d probably just travel the world or buy a nice house on the beach. It’s not worth the stress, I would work half the hours for half the pay if I could.
It’s easy to say this, harder to do. Giving up a large income to live off savings generally is going to require a substantial cutting back of lifestyle, unless you’re Bill Gates or something. If you have kids who will maybe one day get to go to school again, it gets more complicated yet. You can’t just do what you want when you want. Zero percent interest rates and absurdly high health insurance costs with potentially a very long runway to death are further considerations.
i bet he coukd wrote:
Private equity?
Entrepreneur?
Road race prize money?
Only looking for legal means.
What is you goal here? Are you just curious? Do you WANT to make $5 million a year, and if so, why?
Seems there might be a pattern here, but the wealthiest guy I know makes about $4 million a year, and he's a prick. I would never tell his wife this, but there's no way he's not cheating on her.
What does that much money get you anyway? Seriously, what do you want in life? We get so much entertainment from our phones and internet connection and streaming services...all of that is relatively cheap. Traveling is cool if you want to do that, but you can travel in style on WAY less than $5 million a year.
Find a way to make a decent living. Invest 15% or more of your income. Retire.
Only three US law firms have profits per partner over $5mm
Wachtell $6,530,000
Kirkland $5,037,000
Paul Weiss $5,020,000
Cravath $4,620,000
Quinn Emmanuel $4,533,000
As Precious Roy stated, executives at large companies get there, but it is mostly through stock awards and cash bonuses. Apple is the biggest company in the world. The CEO has a $3mm salary, the CFO/COO/GC each have a $1mm salary. They all make 10x-20x that amount in total comp.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312520001450/d799303ddef14a.htm#toc799303_24
I think that the niche to consistently make $5mm - $10mm is to be a managing director or partner at a decent sized private equity firm. The long life of capital commitments, combined with leverage, essentially get a levered equity type return over 10 years, with infinitely less redemption risk. There is actually a ladder to climb at these firms, and a ton of guys hit that tier of comp without being founders/CEOs of their firms.
The hedge fund world is way more volatile/variable in terms of comp. Investment banking has been so neutered post 2008 that very few banking MDs make more than $2mm - $3mm a year.
Flagpole wrote:
What is you goal here? Are you just curious? Do you WANT to make $5 million a year, and if so, why?
Seems there might be a pattern here, but the wealthiest guy I know makes about $4 million a year, and he's a prick. I would never tell his wife this, but there's no way he's not cheating on her.
What does that much money get you anyway? Seriously, what do you want in life? We get so much entertainment from our phones and internet connection and streaming services...all of that is relatively cheap. Traveling is cool if you want to do that, but you can travel in style on WAY less than $5 million a year.
Find a way to make a decent living. Invest 15% or more of your income. Retire.
Some people want that lifestyle of the big house, nice car, nice things. To some, it shows that they've MADE IT.
I live in an affluent area in the midwest and I'm by no means rich. My wife and I live here because of jobs and it's a great community with good schools, parks, a pretty downtown and when you do buy a home here it's great investment. We paid $400K for our home in 2018 that only has 1500 sq ft. and we could probably easily sell it for $520k right now. Anyways...
...this is a community that likes to be seen, and where all the women want to raise their families because it looks like something out of a catalog. I think a lot of people are fake here and living way beyond their means and living on "wants". It's hard to not buy into this mentality when you stop at an intersection and see a Maserati, a Porsche, and Alfa Romeo pulling up at the same time.
So to answer your question, that type of money apparently gets you respect and happiness, but most likely takes your soul as collateral.
I don't care about money. I'm just happy to live for free off the land. I won't buy a house and hand my life over to a bank for a mortgage. I'll build a log cabin in Montana in the wilderness with the help of my uncle Buck. I will only need money to go to the local village for coffee and some supplies that you can't hunt for in the wilderness
When I was a kid, I thought adults would be adults.
We have a few in my circle who are in the stratosphere of income. As fun as they are to hang out with, yes, their personal life is awful.
The best looking of us who dated the hottest girl at Marquee Ny ended up committing suicide.
I don't know what the number is but they get disconnected from reality. Never grow up thing. Few adults grow up as adults even the wealthy.
Or I hang with the wrong crew.
Banana Bread wrote:
I don't care about money. I'm just happy to live for free off the land. I won't buy a house and hand my life over to a bank for a mortgage. I'll build a log cabin in Montana in the wilderness with the help of my uncle Buck. I will only need money to go to the local village for coffee and some supplies that you can't hunt for in the wilderness
Do you plan on having children? I'm genuinely curious (and sincere) about this because I was raised in the middle of nowhere in a frozen tundra of sorts (the middle of Ontario) and I not only did I know nothing about the world living in a place like that, I also FELT like I knew nothing about the world. I was naive and incredibly uncultured, so moving to a major metro hub was a very good move for me in terms of growth and being mindful. Vacations don't count. Books and exploring the woods only got me so far. In fact, I'm still learning.
If you are doing this for yourself, that is totally fine.
Don’t make 5m a year but was a VP at a fortune 10 company before switching industries.
I partially agree with this statement. At the C-Suite level it’s probably 50/50 prick vs. great leader in my experience. My boss was a c-suite individual and was one of the most inspirational people I have ever encountered. Great man, father, husband, boss etc. There are also a lot of pricks.
I would like to think I am not miserable, fat etc. although admittedly I did let myself go before clamping back down. I also work a normal amount (40-55 hours a week).
Your statement is a bit over the top IMHO. I would say.
1ub2run wrote:
When I was a kid, I thought adults would be adults.
We have a few in my circle who are in the stratosphere of income. As fun as they are to hang out with, yes, their personal life is awful.
The best looking of us who dated the hottest girl at Marquee Ny ended up committing suicide.
I don't know what the number is but they get disconnected from reality. Never grow up thing. Few adults grow up as adults even the wealthy.
Or I hang with the wrong crew.
The trick is finding that sweet spot in terms of life balance.
1. Work too much and your wife doesn't want to bang you and your kids don't get to know you.
2. Work too little and your wife will leave you and your kids won't know the value of a strong work ethic.
I found that that the minute my work hours creep into designated family time is when things start going wrong. I've taken jobs where the project load has been absolutely crazy and it's ruined relationships, holidays, cut vacations short, and all of a sudden you stop caring about your big house. You come to find out that you are replaceable at your big corporate job and it becomes even more meaningless.
Free_the_thigh wrote:
HM guy wrote:
This question makes me wonder if there's anyone whose annual salary is over 5 million - nothing including stocks, options, bonuses etc (although they probably have them too), but just an annual guaranteed base salary of over £5m.
Wouldn’t be surprised if a few ceos and general counsel of f500 companies make that, but that would be it (excluding athletes)
If you want to make more than 5mil a year, you can’t make a true salary
I work for a barely F100 company and I think our CEO makes in the 2 million per year ballpark of salary. At least that's what my mind is telling me, not sure where I heard that number. The former CEO didn't even live in this state, and he would fly here every single week and live in his house here, then fly back on the weekend to where his family lived. Crazy amount of money to do that and it's just pocket change. But this is years and years and years of high amounts of money. It's not like an NFL contract where they have a 10 year career making $700k the first few years and then getting the $3Million contract for the last five years. This is over a decade of $2M, and was probably making a few hundred thousand the decade before in some important role before that, and then their normal starting position in their 20's and early 30's, as well as 10% or more bonuses every year along the way, plus stock in company.
My cousins’ dad made prob $10-15 mil for many years. I bet he’s worth more than $120 mil right now.
Honestly besides a big house, a Bentley, and a beach house and winter house... his life isn’t that incredible. Happily married and nice kids.
I think it’s overrated esp when 50+ and married.
Best is to get pretty well off ($1 mil NW) while you’re still around 30-35 with a low stress job.
If you ever make $5mil in recognized income in one year you will learn what unfairness is via our tax system. I made close to that number one year and have had recognized income in the high 6 figures a few times. It hurts to write those checks to the IRS and the FTB of California, knowing that windfall is not your annual salary. I didn't allow my lifestyle to change due to that blip in income. I'm retiring soon, life is good ... but F**** you IRS and the Congress' that passed those income tax laws.
Wally Zodiac wrote:
Some people want that lifestyle of the big house, nice car, nice things. To some, it shows that they've MADE IT.
I live in an affluent area in the midwest and I'm by no means rich. My wife and I live here because of jobs and it's a great community with good schools, parks, a pretty downtown and when you do buy a home here it's great investment. We paid $400K for our home in 2018 that only has 1500 sq ft. and we could probably easily sell it for $520k right now. Anyways...
...this is a community that likes to be seen, and where all the women want to raise their families because it looks like something out of a catalog. I think a lot of people are fake here and living way beyond their means and living on "wants". It's hard to not buy into this mentality when you stop at an intersection and see a Maserati, a Porsche, and Alfa Romeo pulling up at the same time.
So to answer your question, that type of money apparently gets you respect and happiness, but most likely takes your soul as collateral.
Also grew up in a wealthy midwest suburb. The paycheck to paycheck that people live on to lease the newest luxury car, have a boat docked at the best spot on the lake, be seen at the nice restaurants, have season tickets to various sports, the cabin up north, etc. is all ridiculous. I don't get it. Just live within your means.
You already could be doing that. You're making an absurd amount of money. The problem isn't your income it's your excessive spending. I make 20-30k a year investing and that's more than enough as a single adult male to travel the world.
Ok bragging aside. Go for it man. If this is really what you wanna do. Prioritize It and do it. It'll probably require shifting some priorities in your life and lifestyle choices. But with that much money it's absolutely attainable and quite easily if you are willing to be flexible.
I hear so many people say oh I wish I could do what you do. But I have a dog, responsibilities, or a job, or this or that. Ok fine. If you want to do that, cool. No judgment. But if you actually want to travel. Give up the other sh*t and just fvking do it.