Why Do The Rich Keep Working?

Ask people around you what they would do if they became really rich, and the prominent answer you will hear is “I will quit everything and retire”. You are likely to answer the same if you ask this question to yourself. On the other hand, you will read about many multi-millionaires and billionaires who continue to work, working very hard. You would wonder why they still have to work. Why not go to the beach and sip margaritas all day? Reading about ultra-rich people will make you feel that these people are lunatics and they do not understand when to stop chasing money. It may also make you wonder if “Retirement Early(RE)” of F.I.R.E. even makes any sense.

Let’s break it down to explore various reasons why people continue working well beyond their retirement age, and some even until they pass away.

Workaholics: Some people spend early years of their life working so much that they forget to live. These individuals have gone so far in their work that they cannot comprehend what else to do. For these people, continuing to work becomes more like a disease with no cure.

Power: Some people spend the majority of their lives trying to climb the career ladder to reach a position where others will listen to them. Where people won’t argue, and they get to have the final vote. This power did not come easily, so it feels insane to retire when it’s time to rule.

Fear: Some people are too fearful of losing everything. Some fear miscalculating how much they need, and others fear the unknown.

Passion: Some people genuinely enjoy what they do. They derive a genuine thrill from their work. They love it when they are at work and dream about it when they are not.

Purpose: Some people find a higher purpose in keep doing what they do. This could be philanthropic, research or some other motivation such as to change the World, save the humanity or something else.

Did you notice a pattern? I did not mention money in any of the above reasons. It implies that money is not the actual driver or force behind retirement. So what does “Retire Early” really mean if it’s not about retiring when you have lots of money?

To sum it up, retiring early means stopping what you don’t like to do as soon as possible. Retiring early means having the ability to make choices, including how many hours to work, which hours of the day to work, and what to work on. Money is simply a scale to measure how far you are on your journey to F.I.R.E..