Let's pretend someone has arrived upon 14 million in after tax net worth (not the case in OP's scenario).
You want to be set "forever" and not dependent on working again. You'll probably work, but may not be able to replicate the same financial success you experienced previously, so it's hard to count on future income.
There's a debate around what's called the "Safe Withdrawal Rate" which is financial-market speak for: how much of my nest egg can I spend every year and never run out of money, ever?
There's some debate about the exact number but I'll use 3% net of investment fees as a solid number. 3% of 14 million is $420k. You've got $420k pre tax to spend. Fortunately taxes on capital income are usually lower than taxes on earned income, so your tax rate will decline and probably end up somewhere in the high 20s. You'll end up with about $320k after tax to spend. Not bad. But not what most people think about as rich, either. I wouldn't be buying jet cards at that level.
I'm not saying the money isn't important - to the extent it gives you control over your time in the future (a function of spending habits), it is extremely valuable. But there's often a disconnect between high 7 and very low 8 figure net worth and assumed income/perceived lifestyle that people can live, especially if they stop working or were in a field with one-time exits (some entrepreneurs, retired athletes, etc).
$320k disposable every year is very different from $320k post-tax income. With the latter, you'd probably be stashing nearly half of it away for various reasons. The annual spending of a person drawing $320k post-tax from their investments is more comparable to someone earning about $500k post-tax from work.
$14MM isn't really as much as some folks seem to think. As you point out, there are expenses associated with having that much money. There are constraints to what you can spend while still having enough money to work for you, so that you don't have to.
Buying a jet, with just that much money for assets, is probably a bad choice.
You're going to want a house, perhaps more than one. You're going to want someone to manage your assets. You're going to want vehicles. You're going to want to do something to increase your security. You're going to want to keep at least one lawyer on retainer. Things like that...
What that money is enough to do is make more money. Once you have a goodly amount of capital, it becomes much easier to make more money.
So, instead of them buying a jet, they should hire a good finance manager and lots of insurance. I'd also recommend living frugally while using the bulk of their newfound wealth to increase their wealth.
$14MM is good money but it's not really 'fuck you' money. If they insist on buying a plane, I'd recommend a used Piper Cub. That's about all they can realistically afford, at least at first.
> You'll end up with about $320k after tax to spend. Not bad. But not what most people think about as rich, either.
I think that's firmly in what people consider to be rich, and certainly is by any reasonable metric. I may not be 'jet rich', but that's an incomprehensible amount money for 99% of the people on this planet.
> You'll probably work, but may not be able to replicate the same financial success you experienced previously, so it's hard to count on future income.
If that is the case, then you should focus on learning how to invest properly and on achieving, say, 10% annual returns yourself (i.e. without having to pay bank fees for subpar investment advice, which is what you usually get).
Just because you made bank doesn't mean you have to get all conservative. Or at least, I wouldn't.
One example: you could make calculated bets when there's "blood on the streets", e.g. wait (for years) until the market crashes, but when it does, leverage up that $14m to $50m and book a nice 20-30-40% gain.
Or acquire an existing company using mostly debt (and a bit of equity), etc
You want to be set "forever" and not dependent on working again. You'll probably work, but may not be able to replicate the same financial success you experienced previously, so it's hard to count on future income.
There's a debate around what's called the "Safe Withdrawal Rate" which is financial-market speak for: how much of my nest egg can I spend every year and never run out of money, ever?
There's some debate about the exact number but I'll use 3% net of investment fees as a solid number. 3% of 14 million is $420k. You've got $420k pre tax to spend. Fortunately taxes on capital income are usually lower than taxes on earned income, so your tax rate will decline and probably end up somewhere in the high 20s. You'll end up with about $320k after tax to spend. Not bad. But not what most people think about as rich, either. I wouldn't be buying jet cards at that level.
I'm not saying the money isn't important - to the extent it gives you control over your time in the future (a function of spending habits), it is extremely valuable. But there's often a disconnect between high 7 and very low 8 figure net worth and assumed income/perceived lifestyle that people can live, especially if they stop working or were in a field with one-time exits (some entrepreneurs, retired athletes, etc).