What a dream retirement plan looks like for world’s richest CEOs – Business Insider
2020-09-17T20:28:00Z
Rick Wilking/Reuters
- Retirement is inevitable, even for the world’s richest CEOs.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk will retire eventually.
- While some of the world’s richest CEOs say they can’t imagine retiring, others fantasize about alternate lives as a bartender or living in space.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
It’s hard to imagine the world’s richest CEOs stepping down from their empires.
For some, like Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, they can’t imagine it either. For others, like Bill Gates, handing over the reins wasn’t so hard to do.
With billions of dollars to their name and a behemoth company under their wing, a bigwig CEO’s retirement might look a little different than the norm, whether it’s prolonged working or a life of leisure.
But that’s not to say their retirement plans can’t inspire your own golden years.
Here, 10 of the world’s richest CEOs on what a dream retirement looks like to them — and what lessons you can steal from those ideas.
Jeff Bezos dreams of being a bartender.
David McNew/Getty Images
Net worth: $176.8 billion
Position: CEO of Amazon
When once asked what he’d be doing if he wasn’t ‘Jeff Bezos,’ Bezos said, “I have this fantasy of being a bartender. I pride myself on my craft cocktails.”
Second acts are common among retirees, who fantasize about pursuing something new or different during their next chapter. Branch out and begin an encore career from one of your underlying passions or talents — like creating boozy cocktails.
Warren Buffett’s retirement plan is to not retire at all.
AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Net worth: $81.9 billion
Position: CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Buffett’s dream plan is to not retire at all. “If I quit today — I see these people. They spend a whole week planning their haircut. That is not my idea of living,” Buffett once said, adding that it would be “crazy” for him to leave his job. “I would rather do this than anything in the world.”
At 90 years old, Buffett is still steering the helm of Berkshire Hathaway. If you love what you do as much as he does, know there are a few benefits to sticking with your work.
Research shows that retiring at the age of eligibility has a detrimental effect on cognitive ability. Working even a year beyond retirement age have a significantly lower mortality rate.
Elon Musk wants to retire to space.
Noah Berger/Reuters
Net worth: $89.1 billion
Position: CEO of SpaceX and Tesla
“It would be a good place to retire,” Musk once told The Guardian. It, of course, is Mars, the planet Musk is hoping to colonize with one million people via Space X.
By the time you retire, Musk may have made this goal a reality and you, too, can spend the rest of your days on Mars.
If not, there’s still an important takeaway: dream big and live adventurously. Consider purchasing a second home in an exotic locale to leisurely while away your sunny days of retirement.
Michael Dell wants to prolong his working life.
Drew Angerer/Getty
Net worth: $37.8 billion
Position: CEO of Dell
“I think being 50 years old and being in good health, [retirement and succession] is not a likely scenario anytime soon,” Dell told Economic Times in 2015. “I’m having a good time, the business is doing well, can’t do it forever, but it’s working well and we don’t have a problem.”
While some dream of an early retirement, others dream of prolonging their working life. If you’re happy and thriving in your career, there’s no reason to hang up your skates early — and when you do, you’ll rest easier knowing that you spent more time building your wealth and collecting social security.
Steve Cohen also plans to never retire.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
Net worth: $14.6 billion
Position: CEO of Point72 Asset Management
Speaking of his father, who retired young, Cohen told Fortune magazine, “I can’t imagine myself retiring the way he did — not that I’m ever going to retire,” explaining that it pained him to watch his dad squander away vital years with little activity or purpose.
People are working longer not because they have to, but because they want to. The Pew Research Center reveals that as of May 2016, 18.8% Americans aged 65 and up were still working — a 5%-plus increase since 2000. That number is expected to increase to 32% over the next five years.
When you do retire, you can still continue activity and have a sense of purpose with a part-time job. Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 56% of US workers intend to take on part-time work after they retire.
Judy Faulkner wants to give all her money away when she retires.
Judy Faulkner
Net worth: $5.5 billion
Position: CEO of Epic Systems
“I never had any personal desire to be a wealthy billionaire living lavishly. My estate plan has the money from my Epic shares going into a foundation,” writes Faulkner in her letter to the Giving Pledge.
“Many years ago I asked my young children what two things they needed from their parents. They said ‘food and money.’ I told them ‘roots and wings.’ My goal in pledging 99% of my assets to philanthropy is to help others with roots — food, warmth, shelter, health care, education — so they too can have wings,” she wrote.
The healthcare innovator is not the first billionaire to commit to the Giving Pledge, but she is among those donating the most money. Needless to say, her retirement will be one of giving and living simply.
While it’s important to save enough for retirement so you don’t go broke, your idea of retirement doesn’t have to equate to a bigger house or a luxurious lifestyle. Some retirees prefer a simpler lifestyle and opt to downsize.
Michael Rubin thinks he’ll still be hustling during retirement.
Getty/John Lamparski
Net worth: $3.5 billion
Position: CEO of Kynetic
“I don’t see any scenario where I am not working hard, pushing it,” Rubin told Entrepreneur.com when he was 41, adding that retirement wasn’t on his mind at that point. “I am not very good at relaxing. Relaxing is not a core strength of…