
Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit? - throwaway8m
Going anonymous for this. I am just an average project manager who happened to be at the right tech company at the right time. They had a big exit and suddenly my stocks are worth $8M (the money came in my account last week).<p>I am just an average guy. I am 43 and middle level tech manager.I know coding (but nothing superb). I know business (but nothing much). I am not particularly very hardworking or particularly super intelligent. Not dumb or lazy - just average.<p>The point is I can probably find another similar job but probably nothing much higher.<p>I have two kids and a nice wife. I have a nice, small house and two small cars. Everything paid for. I have no debts or  “vices”. I do not like smoking, drinking or going out. I do not think I have any real hobbies.<p>Just a simple guy with simple life and then this happens. What should I do? Should I donate it? Should I hire a personal wealth manager? Should I retire?<p>I am freaking out. Please provide some guidance.
======
dont_burn_it_up
This is a great thread. Throwaway also. Gonna write some stream-of-
consciousness here, because I have to start my work day, but I personally made
approx. this amount from an exit, and it has gone very well for me and my
family (wife + 3 kids). Some additional fine-tuned advice of what worked for
me: (1) don't be afraid to spend money - high hourly rates - for a good
accountant and good tax attorney. (2) if I were you I'd sign up for a couple
different brokerage accounts (e.g., Charles Schwab and one other) and split
the money between them. It takes almost no time to do this, and it's nice to
have some diversity there in case something catastrophic happens to one of
them and your assets are locked up for a long time while it gets sorted out.
(3) as others have said, just buy US treasuries (interest rates are good right
now) while you sit back and ___think about it_ __. (4) Eventually if you 're
not into picking things yourself, you'll just want some healthy mix of asset
classes, which (5) you'll learn about by reading some books. (6) Those
brokerages will put someone on the phone with you and help you buy the
treasuries, if that's confusing. (7) The _one_ thing you want to avoid is
letting the brokerages sell you their own personal wealth management. Everyone
from your bank to your brokerage will try to sell you the "we'll help you for
1% of your money per year" \-- avoid this. Suddenly 10 years have gone by and
$800k-ish of your $8million is in someone else's hands, who simply threw darts
at a dartboard and did their best to obfuscate their performance during bad
times. (8) AVOID PRIVATE INVESTMENTS. Unless you're a professional private
equity investor, don't buy a piece of that friend's restaurant, that store
that's opening up, that tech startup, whatever. This money tends to disappear.
If you're ok losing money to support your cousin who's starting a new company,
just give them some money and be honest to yourself and them about the whole
thing (not that I advise this either, but don't confuse charity and
investment.) Just don't invest in private stuff. The problems with private
investments: (a) you lose all liquidity, (b) markets aren't efficient so you
can actually do a veeeeery bad job, (c) it can get personal and/or skeezy. So
seriously, avoid any kind of private investments. (9) Avoid starting your own
business and pouring all your money into it. People tend to burn through
windfalls in that way and regret it. (10) Don't race into fancier real estate.
(11) Make no lifestyle upgrades at all during the next year. (12) Take your
time with charities. It can be a fun family project in the years to come to
pick charities together. You'll have income in many years from this money, so
you're not missing an opportunity for deductions by not giving money in the
first year. (13) OH ! When signing up for brokerages, don't enable options or
margin trading. In addition to this being dangerous for you, I believe it
allows them to be funky with your cash and holdings, and it complicates your
relationship with the brokerage should they or a bank they work with ever go
under. (14) don't rush into estate configuration, just start with a simple
will. Then consider trusts and things like that in future years. From my and
my friends' experiences, they tend to overcomplicate things. (15) TELL AS FEW
PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. (16) Keep working, but only on something you enjoy. (17)
Stay or get in shape. Your body is more important than money.

Seriously, AVOID PRIVATE INVESTMENTS.

Kobe Bryant on taking care of family after a windfall: "You will come to
understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it
made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world — and that
was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself,
you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding
material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of
all: independence and growth."

[https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kobe-
bryant...](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kobe-bryant-
letter-to-my-younger-self)

~~~
zip1234
I disagree on not hiring an adviser. The key is to know what kind of adviser
they are. If they are a fee-only adviser with fiduciary responsibility, it is
likely exceptionally worthwhile. It sounds like you have a good handle on how
to manage your finances, but there is a LOT to know. Minimizing taxes,
planning children's' college, etc. Also, the good ones don't charge a flat 1%
all the way up. They will charge less the more money you have with them.
Source: my wife is a CFP and works for a well-respected firm in that industry.

~~~
mbesto
Hear here! My personal friend does accounting and wealth management (mainly
accounting) for high net worths. I generally disagree that people need wealth
managers, but if given the description it might make sense. He doesn't usually
do anything more complicated than helping you decide your asset mix and throws
it in Vanguard indexes, and makes sure you don't spend it on private
investments.

------
freddie_mercury
Unsurprisingly lots of people have been in similar situations, so there is a
Wiki article on one of the Internet's best personal finance and investing
websites: "Managing a windfall"
[https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Managing_a_windfall](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Managing_a_windfall)

"Do nothing rash. Set aside one year's living expenses[note 2] and place the
rest of the windfall into low risk investments (FDIC insured accounts, money
market funds, treasury bills) for one year. As it may take as long as five
years for the windfall recipient to adjust to a new life, this pause provides
a chance for emotions to cool, helps avoid impulsive behavior, and, if
warranted, allows the recipient time to put together a team of professional
advisers."

~~~
phkahler
>> ...allows the recipient time to put together a team of professional
advisers...

Yeah, because it takes a TEAM of people getting paid to figure out what to do
with money. I could accept one financial advisor though I don't know how to
select one, but a team sounds a bit like vultures ;-)

~~~
toastermoster
I agree. A financial guru I've listened to off and on for many years is Clark
Howard and he suggests always using a financial advisor that you pay outright
with fiduciary responsibility. His favorite recommendation is to talk to
someone from the Garrett Planning Network. If you aren't paying upfront you
are paying far more in bad investment advice that isn't designed to make you
money. Think bad investments that offer kickbacks to your "advisor."

~~~
drankula3
For those who don't know, a fiduciary is legally obligated to work in your
best financial interests, so it's pretty important that your financial advisor
is one.

~~~
wstuartcl
Reinforcing this, someone with constrained by fiduciary duty must make (and be
able to show) recommendations/actions based on your best interests when it
comes to your money or be liable.

An adviser that is not operating under the duty, can place their best
interests above yours legally (and this is expected).

------
joncrane
The thing that concerns me is that "I do not think I have any real hobbies."

I suggest continuing to work, but perhaps being pickier about where you work.
Perhaps there's a dream job you've always wanted to do that up until now
wasn't feasible because it doesn't pay enough, like fireman, park ranger,
teacher, musician, etc? The key here is to have an obligation (people depend
on you) and social interaction.

Also, see if maybe you can develop some hobbies. It can be as simple as hiking
or collecting stamps. Preferably one that has a social aspect so you have
human interaction.

You're going to need, at the bare minimum, a passion project to keep you
engaged.

Sometimes, retiring early is the worst thing to happen to a person. Make sure
you know well in advance how you're going to fill your days. Because having a
bunch of empty days in your immediate future can be very detrimental to your
mental health.

Good luck!

~~~
Phenomenit
"Also, see if maybe you can develop some hobbies. It can be as simple as
hiking or collecting stamps. Preferably one that has a social aspect so you
have human interaction."

I would avoid material intensive Hobbies where you can buy accomplishment.

Unfortunately I am not in a similar situation but if I was I would try to
maybe put some effort in to being healthy and not just focusing on beeing
stimulated constantly. You can afford taking it slow, give it a try.

~~~
ericcholis
Agreed, it's super easy to pick up a material hobby (like collecting
something). Instead, I'd pick up a working hobby. Let's say you really enjoy
volunteer work. I'm sure there's a ton of good not-for-profits that need an
experienced project manager.

Money can't buy happiness. Money can free up your time to explore enriching
endeavours. A windfall should be a gateway to really explore what the world
has to offer without limitations.

My top things that I would do in this situation:

\- Make sure my debts are paid, and ensure long term stable income

\- 1 hour minimum workout every day

\- Be outside as much as possible

\- Learn new applicable skills (home or auto repair, woodworking, music,
etc...)

\- Possibly go back to school

\- Play video games

\- Read more

These are all things that I try to do now, but don't have the time because of
work or debt.

~~~
dlhavema
\- Make sure my debts are paid, and ensure long term stable income

Totally. No need to carry a car loan, mortgage, Credit card debt anything
anymore.

~~~
seansmccullough
Depending on the mortgage rate, it might be better to keep it and invest the
money that would have been used to pay off the mortgage instead.

~~~
zaccus
Nah, once you've got 8MM in the bank there's no point worrying about
maximizing returns. You've already won. Keep it simple, pay off the house,
enjoy life.

~~~
Consultant32452
This is exactly right. Mortgage/debt represents risk. Many people do the math
on _potential_ returns, but calculate risk as $0, which it definitely is not.
I think it helps to consider this transaction in reverse. If you had a paid
for house would you mortgage it so you could put that money into an investment
account at Schwab? Almost certainly not.

~~~
samstave
If you pay off your house, shouldnt you also set aside ~10 years of annual
property tax + X%/year for upgrades/fix/whatever - such that you literally do
not have to think of a house expense for a decade.

Add in a lump sum for the monthly utilities for a decade and make a house
account. Have the house account pay all these other incidentals from that
account which you otherwise ignore.

Then, anytime you look at your bank account, the future costs of living in
that home are never reflected in the balance you see in your daily account(s)

------
WalterBright
It may feel like infinite money, but can be burned through at terrifying
speed. This happens to a lot of people who suddenly get money.

My advice is do nothing with it, and start reading books about finance,
investing, and money management. Then start gradually investing it as you
learn the ropes.

Hire a good CPA to help you with taxes.

Buy liability insurance, because you're now a target for jackpot lawsuits.

Don't listen to advice from the internet, your friends, family, any personal
wealth manager, or anyone who wants you to invest in their business.

~~~
owaty
> My advice is do nothing with it, and start reading books about finance,
> investing, and money management.

I see where you are coming from, but if you step back for a second, this just
sounds bizarre.

OP now has more money than they need or ever have had, and instead of relaxing
and finally caring about something other than money, you suggest they actually
start caring more about money.

~~~
benburleson
Yeah, try to ignore the fact that it's money; imagine it's some other asset
the person wants to keep, like 100 ponies.

You would definitely suggest reading up on how to successfully keep ponies,
right?

~~~
tekkk
They are not closely similar. Ponies will die if you dont know how to handle
them, money while being gobbled away by inflation will more or less hold its
value.

It's a smart thing to do learn money-management at any point of your life,
even more with a sudden windfall like this. The OP seems like a
straightforward guy who isnt really interested in money hence this post.

So it's up to him what kind of impact he'd like to have to the world around
him. If you really get down to it there's no wrong or right way to proceed. To
maintain that wealth he should definitely learn how to manage it. To spend
that money on things he deems important he probably doesnt need to learn much
money-management.

Wisest thing in my mind, and what others have suggested, is to wait and ponder
what he really wants to do in life. Maybe read some money-management books,
sure. To see if it's any interest to him.

~~~
rsync
"... money while being gobbled away by inflation will more or less hold its
value."

This is a false statement. In fact, it is false _ipso facto_.

~~~
tekkk
It's quite silly to say something is false without providing a logical
reasoning. And what is false about that statement, that it will _absolutely_
not hold its value? Sure, but it wasn't my main point.

------
jungler
Speaking as someone who made a decent pile in cryptocurrency:

1\. Don't ride on the stocks forever. You'll feel it as a windfall now, but
it's an investment. You invested in the company, and it paid off, so you
should probably part ways and start a new chapter, since the company's
fortunes can change quickly. Every investment comes with risk and the more you
have in one investment, the more you will feel that risk - so get some
diversity in the portfolio as you are able to. Assume that you will have to
give up a hefty percentage of the $8mm in taxes and fees in the process of
doing so. Advisors can help mitigate that, but you want to keep watching the
finances while you rearrange your life.

2\. Even as a multi-millionaire, you can't afford "big things" like premium
real estate or private jets. The numbers do not pencil out. It's healthy to
still want a simple lifestyle and use the cash to indulge more modest
luxuries. I like being able to order anything I want from Starbucks!

3\. It doesn't matter if you succeeded financially, you'll still have plenty
of things to struggle with in life - the Stoics say as much. The only
difference is that you have room to choose which things you struggle with. You
don't have to plan to take on the world, but you can now devote yourself to
any altruistic pursuit you wish, any academic study or athletic achievement,
or travel wherever you like, for as long as you like. These are things that
you mostly can't do if your existence is premised on paying the bills. But you
do want to stay hungry in some way, even if a paycheck can't do it.

~~~
infinite8s
OP said the $8M hit his account after taxes.

~~~
pixl97
Not next years taxes. Hence, why tax shelters exist.

------
merricksb
This sounds much like the situation Paul Buchheit found himself in as Google
employee #23.

He wrote a blog post [1] on this topic back in 2010, in response to a HN
thread just like this.

Note that the post is no longer available on his own blog, so as you're
reading it, try to read them as the words of a 2010 version of Buchheit, not a
present-day one, as it seems that for whatever reason, he doesn't want this
post attributed to his present-day self.

[1]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20180119114049/http://paulbuchhe...](https://web.archive.org/web/20180119114049/http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com:80/2010/05/what-
to-do-with-your-millions.html)

------
cantrevealname
HN founder Paul Graham has some fantastic advice[1] on how to avoid _losing_
your fortune:

 _When we sold our startup in 1998 I suddenly got a lot of money. I now had to
think about something I hadn 't had to think about before: how not to lose it.
I knew it was possible to go from rich to poor, just as it was possible to go
from poor to rich. But while I'd spent a lot of the past several years
studying the paths from poor to rich, I knew practically nothing about the
paths from rich to poor. Now, in order to avoid them, I had to learn where
they were.

So I started to pay attention to how fortunes are lost. If you'd asked me as a
kid how rich people became poor, I'd have said by spending all their money.
That's how it happens in books and movies, because that's the colorful way to
do it. But in fact the way most fortunes are lost is not through excessive
expenditure, but through bad investments._

Be careful with anything other than the most ultra-conservative investment if
you're putting millions into it.

[1]
[http://www.paulgraham.com/selfindulgence.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/selfindulgence.html)

------
cmuguythrow
Mental trick I recommend: You don’t have $8M - you own a business that lends
money to people. Your business gives money to various companies through
financial vehicles called ‘index funds’, which ensure that your loans are
distributed across many different companies. The businesses use this money to
fund their ventures, and are happy to pay you some money for the access to
this capital. Your business is quite successful, earning you (.03 * 8M) =
$240,000 per year. If someone else saw your balance sheet, they may be willing
to pay you $8M for access to such a lucrative and easy-to-run business!
Thinking this way allows you to spend the money however you want. Want to buy
a Lamborghini? Go ahead! Use your $240k salary to finance your new car, just
like any other normal person. But NEVER mortgage or sell any part of your
amazing business just to buy a toy.

------
matty_makes
Retire. You can live off the interest if invested in mostly stable stuff (so
I've heard) assuming you don't have a larger tax bill looming.

You may read lots of "awesome coder, great bizdev person" stuff online but 95%
of the people out there in Tech are just working on someone else's
idea/company bringing home pay. You are free from that now.

Be bored for a while and your interests will emerge. Take up a hobby, be a
stay at home dad, think back to what excited you as a kid and explore those
things.

~~~
tim333
Retiring is pretty dull at age 43. Maybe work on something you're into but
which doesn't necessarily bring in much money. Personally, also having some
money, I'm working on startup idea to fix the world etc which currently brings
in zero money but is fun. Maybe it'll turn in to something real later, who
knows. By the way re investing I recommend mainstream stuff like blue chip
stocks, income producing real estate etc.

~~~
paulcole
I "retired" in my mid-20s for about 3 years. I only went back to work when I
ran out of money.

Describing complete freedom as "dull" is an insane concept to me. You can work
out, read, watch TV, go to coffee shops, cook, or even just sit around all day
with no commitments.

~~~
pixl97
You didn't retire, you just quit working until you went broke.

~~~
tthrowawayy
That's exactly what retiring is, only with the hope you die before your funds
run out.

~~~
icedchai
It should be more than a "hope." If you really retire (and _really_ plan to
never work again), you should have some reasonable confidence that you will
never run out of money. Having 25x to 30x current expenses saved and invested
is a good starting point.

~~~
paulcole
I did have ~40x my monthly expenses saved. I just spent them over the course
of about 40 months!

I had no illusions about not working again, but I did do what retired people
do: whatever the heck I wanted!

~~~
icedchai
Sorry, I meant _yearly_ expenses!!!!

~~~
paulcole
I knew what you meant.

------
ChuckMcM
Having been in your shoes, and having had many friends in a similar place, I
can only share what did and didn't work for us.

Diversifying was a positive for everyone who did it. John Doerr's advice to a
friend was 'sell half' and diversify that. Because of the dot com crash (which
may have been an anomaly) the folks who diversified completely (sold it all
and moved into a balanced portfolio) did better.

Not changing your lifestyle. You have a 'burn rate' just like everything else
(car payments, house payments, tuition bills etc). Leave that alone and your
life will continue as it has, only more securely. One of the folks I know
switched over to the lifestyle of the 'rich and famous', lots of parties,
upgraded house, new cars, vacation trips all around the world. Burned through
all their wealth and when it became obvious they had to go back to work, was
in the place of going to people who had known them as the rich playboy type,
and really impressing upon them how much they needed a job. It wasn't fun for
them.

I would recommend you work with a financial adviser, or take a class at a
community college on the basics of finance, or both. Back in the dot com days
when I thought I was going to be a zillionaire I took the Forbes Wealth
Management home study course. It was like 30 cassette tape lectures and a
workbook. It did a good job of covering the foundations so that I could
understand what people were talking about when they were comparing various
options.

Put some aside for your kids college, giving them a debt free college
education has a strong positive impact on their future success.

Sleep better and take care of your health.

EDIT: And talk to a tax accountant. Seriously. Moving around money in the
"wrong" way can expose you to serious tax liability that might be surprising
to you come April.

------
throwaway94305
Be careful: You can burn through $8M post-tax quicker than you think. We have
a annual household income of >$1M pretax, so I have some experience here.

I'm assuming you live in the bay area. The price of nice but not stunning
houses in many desirable areas is around $4M. Assuming your life expectancy is
another 50 years, that's at least $45K/yr in taxes, so at least $2.2M in
lifetime property taxes. The median home in Palo Alto is now >$3.2M, and that
figure includes small or decrepit teardowns listed for land value alone. You
won't be able to afford (and it would be a mistake to buy) some of the larger
or newer houses on the market for $8M+.

Private school for two children can approach $100K a year (Castilleja in Palo
Alto is $44K/year). You didn't say how old your children are, but if you
include preschool and college, that could be $2M. You might want to hire a
nanny. That's $30/hr, or over $70K/yr with employer taxes, or $1.4M without a
raise for 20 years.

That's $9.6M for just a house, schooling, and child care. That doesn't include
food, household cleaners, insurance, clothing, landscaping, pool maintenance,
cars, a second house, hobbies, gifts to children, travel, etc.

Sure, maybe your investments will do OK. But on the other hand they need to
beat inflation. Castilleja isn't getting cheaper. Your property taxes will
increase, slowly but steadily, every year for life, and then there are local
bond measures for additional taxes.

So my advice is to live below your means. We've tried this ourselves. Also you
might want to stay employed, at least one of you, to extend your runway.
Finally look for something meaningful in life. Attend a local church service
over Christmas. Spending money by itself won't do it.

------
athrowaway87965
As one of the "wealth managers" who you apparently should avoid like the
plague, I'll just put my $.02 here for what it's worth.

There is undeniably a lot of crap in the financial services space. I live in
it and I could not agree more. I have to face this down every time someone
asks what I do for a living. But this isn't really relevant to whether or not
OP should hire an advisor. It just makes the job of finding a good one more
difficult. But they exist.

The HN community is mostly made up of DIY types, so there's lots of advice to
that effect popping up here. But, much like the infamous Dropbox announcement
comment, some people don't want to "get an FTP account, mount it locally with
curlftpfs, and then use SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem", as "trivial" as
that might be. Some people just want a little green check mark telling them
that their files are synced. I'm 100% pro-DIY for the person who has the
capacity mentally and emotionally. (Sidenote: the significance of the
emotional capacity peace is severely underestimated by almost everyone). And I
will happily tell a prospective client that they don't need me and wouldn't be
happy with me if I can see that's who they are.

Finally, most people think my job is making money for people. It's not. I'd
argue that one of the most significant pieces of info OP shared was:

> I am freaking out.

That's my job. Talking people down and helping them avoid all the bad advice
their getting from family, friends, and internet strangers (there's a lot of
GOOD advice here, for the record).

Congrats on your success, OP. Best of luck. $8M is a good thing. Don't freak
out.

~~~
qaq
Well that the thing though a therapist will cost way less than 80K a year.

------
whack
$8M is a big chunk of money, but most retirement advise being followed by the
upper-middle-class still applies to you. If you follow the recommended
investment advice given to retirees, you can afford to withdraw ~4% of your
principal every year in perpetuity. This comes out to ~$320k (inflation
adjusted) per year. Find a financial adviser with fiduciary duty, and he can
help you get set up with this.

If your wife is working, I'm guessing $320k/year is a little higher than your
existing household income. What that means is that both your wife and yourself
can now quit your jobs and still maintain the same quality of life you
currently have.

Note that quitting your job doesn't mean doing nothing. It just means that you
can be intentional about what you _want_ to do. If you want to spend time with
your kids, read books and travel the world, you have the option of doing that.
If you want to work as a teacher or non-profit volunteer or even start your
own non-profit, you have the option of doing that. If you want to go back to
work as a tech manager, you have the option of doing that too.

It may take you a while to figure out what you really want to do with your
time... but don't try to rush it. Once you've quit your job and have time to
think and experiment, you'll eventually figure it out.

The most important thing you can do in the short-term is to not burn your
principal on something stupid like a private concert with a celebrity. The
$320k/year I mentioned earlier is assuming that you have the entire $8M
invested. If you splurged half your $8M upfront, your investment income will
drop to ~$160k/year. Still a nice amount of money, but you'll find yourself in
a situation where you have to continue working to maintain your desired
lifestyle.

------
triviatise
Friend of mine in his 60s who was semi retired for the last 15 years had all
his brokerage accounts emptied by hackers this year. He might get his money
back, but might not. Make sure you use 2fa for all accounts. I prefer RSA
secureID where you have a detached fob. Your phone can be hacked and hackers
can then get verification codes.

Dont invest in anything except (almost) guaranteed returns for now(1 year CDs
are starting to pay 2-3%) .

An emergency fund of 2+ years expenses in cash.

Slowly increase your standard of living over a long period of time (or not at
all). I operate from a budget, not from cash in the bank. Religiously stick to
the budget (this is hard) but dont beat yourself up if you go over. Quicken
does a reasonably decent job of setting up a budget and allows you to keep
spending in various "accounts" under control.

The standard safe withdrawl rate is 3%. Im planning for a more conservative
1.5% approach. This means you can take out up to 3% of your total funds each
year and never run out. At 8m and 1.5% safe withdrawl you still need to work.

The strategy requires you to have a reasonably significant percent in the
market. While the market could keep going up, I think you can wait a few years
for the inevitable recession, but eventually you will have to get it into
index funds.

I make a good income from my business and it is _easy_ to get sloppy when I
have too much cash. Last year at a fundraiser I got drunk and dropped 30K. Im
not mad about the donation, but Im mad about the way I did it while being out
of control.

Also this account is an example of a wasted $100k :)

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
> At 8m and 1.5% safe withdrawl you still need to work.

$8m at 1.5% is $120,000/year. Since he's already mentioned the house and cars
being paid off already, that's going to be a living wage even in Silicon
Valley, especially considering he also said the $8m is AFTER taxes. He doesn't
need to work.

------
topmonk
I came into a windfall about a year ago. I found that it's easy to fall in a
rut. Having so much money made me feel like that what what other people
perceive as the biggest thing about me. I miss the praise and respect that a
job well done gave me, that I had while working. After retiring, it's easy to
think that, besides the money there is nothing worthwhile about me.

Then there is the question about what to do when meeting new people and they
ask what I do? Tell the truth, and I create this weird social dynamic. Mutter
“computer programmer” and I've just stunted any possibility of a real longterm
connection by not describing who I truly am. Not sure what can be done about
this, except say to prepare for loneliness.

The other piece of advice is to get deeply involved in learning _something_ or
creating _something_. I was amazed by how much the feeling of accomplishment
gave me happiness and contentment over going to a fine restaurant or buying
expensive clothes.

~~~
jxub
Maybe don't associate your existence with programming, tell them you're a guy
with interesting hobbies and wide knowledge who just happens to do programming
to empower people to do things/pay the bills/insert narrative here.

As with everything, it's more about the perspective and delivery than actual
message.

------
vader1
Congrats! Perhaps start here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall)

~~~
maaaats
I see reddit mentioned by multiple people. I think the sub
[https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/)
might also be a nice fit, as it is about how to become financial independent
(already achieved by OP) and then what to do after (retire early? how to
manage the money? etc)

~~~
kkarakk
warning: high value individuals can expect a fair amount of abuse on that
subreddit, it's for how to get to FI not how to manage being there

~~~
bitxbitxbitcoin
For those that fall into this abused category, a lot have moved to
[https://www.reddit.com/r/fatfire](https://www.reddit.com/r/fatfire)

------
thescriptkiddie
Put it all in VTSAX. Sell 4% or less per year. Enjoy a six-figure income for
the rest of your life. If anyone ever asks you to do something you don't want
to, tell them "fuck you".

~~~
m0rose
This. Mr Money Mustache and JCollinsNH (Simple Path to Wealth) all rolled into
one comment. Wish this was higher up.

------
CyanLite2
I don't suggest the 'do-nothing' route. Time is limited. I'd suggest:

1) Splurge a little bit. Like $100k. Buy that Oculus VR you've been thinking
about. Trade in your car to the new Tesla Model 3. Your wife has been eyeing a
vacation to Hawaii for a few years now, go do it. Finish off your mancave
basement project. Life is great, enjoy the fullness thereof. Don't feel bad
about buying your kids a dozen new nerf guns and video game systems.

2) Focus your time now on improving the quality of life for others. You're
rich. You've made it. You can live off of 2% interest the rest of your life
and so will your wife/kids/grand-children. Now.... what are you going to do
about the other 5.8 billion people on this planet who are struggling to make
ends meet and are literally a few dollars away from death? Are you going to
sit in your high-castle and collect bond coupon payments the rest of your
life? Life is too short. What will be the legacy you leave this world? You
have to do it now while you're still relatively young and healthy. Just
volunteering your time and technology skills can affect the quality of life of
thousands of people and their offspring for generations. Trust me, that's more
fulfilling than buying a bigger house.

~~~
askafriend
I just wanted to chime in to say that this is just terrible, terrible advice.

It's clear you're not speaking from experience.

One has to be incredibly careful with a windfall like this. $8m is not a whole
lot - certainly nothing like what you're fantasizing. Behaviors like you're
suggesting can be incredibly damaging and snowball fast.

This is why most people who obtain sudden windfalls (an extraordinarily high
percentage) go broke within years.

------
sokoloff
First of all, the taxes are probably not all paid on it. Some shares have been
_withheld_ (perhaps at 28%) when the actual figure is going to be higher (if
ordinary income) or lower (if capital gains). You will need to find out next
year when you actually file what the figure will be and be prepared to cut
your state and Uncle Sam a fair-sized check.

Second, there may be a lockup period where you can't actually access all of
the funds for perhaps 6 months. Then, if lots of people stampede for the exits
on the same day, you could see some volatility then.

In your situation, I'd plan to keep working (or doing whatever you currently
do) for at least 6-12 more months. You have enough money to retire (figure
that you can treat as income 3.5-4% of your investment portfolio each year,
provided it's invested appropriately [mostly in equities], so you're looking
at $200K-$300K in pre-tax income just from the portfolio).

Why keep working? Well, you need something to create stability, normalcy,
provide the same social interactions (with other people going through some
similar things, presumably) and it keeps your health insurance and everything
else "normal" for a while.

Other advice around is mostly good. It's a retirement amount of wealth, but
it's not a crazy-large amount, so your lifestyle doesn't have to change much
(and probably shouldn't) If you were happy 3 months ago, you should be about
as happy now (not a ton more and not any less).

 _Don 't buy annuities_ with it. Or at least not without talking it over with
at least 3 financially savvy people that you deeply trust and letting the idea
kick around in your head for 45 days.

Give it time to settle. Don't be in a rush to go through any "one-way" doors
(quitting job or locking the money up in complicated investments). Put the
money in something like VTSAX while you wait (that will give you broad-based
stock market exposure).

~~~
joshmlewis
I don't see how not having access to the funds applies or that the stock price
might have volatility since he said the money was in his bank account already.

~~~
sokoloff
OP called them both "stocks" and "money" seemingly interchangeably. (I don't
recall the title showing "all cash" when I replied but maybe it did.) If it's
actually in cash, you're totally right of course. Some people treat vested and
released shares as if they were cash and look at the balance (shares times
last trade), call it "money", and start making plans based on that.

------
drcongo
Spend time with your kids. You'll never get another chance.

~~~
Waterluvian
This. At 43 you're about half way done if you aren't unlucky. Spend time with
the family. They're all that will matter to you later in life.

------
mezod
There are many valuable answers here. I just wanted to say that you seem a
humble guy and I'm happy that you are aware of it because that's what puts you
in the right starting position. I think if you manage to keep your head there,
you'll make the right decisions.

------
alexmorenodev
Congratulations! You've finished the hardest game of life. Now you can never
do anything you do not want it again, if that's your wish.

Now you can do whatever you want. This includes: Spend how much time you want
with your family and important people to you; Work on something you really
want, or some significant project for you; dedicate your life to arts or an
hobby; Have time to know wherever you want; Take maximum care of your health;
Take some risks in general, but not so much, or you might end up dying or
being broke again; etc;

You have three resources to manage now: Time, Health and (assuming you won't
spend all your money at once) your stocks/bonds [EDIT: or any other passive
income of your wish.].

------
charliecat
i invested close to the ETH ICO. just $10k or so, but that gave me a windfall
of $3.5m (I sold in early to mid-December).

im not super conservative with my money (i.e., i don't do t-bills, and other
"super safe" investments).

i am just dollar cost averaging into index funds, like ive always done. I
anticipate that I'll get anywhere from 5% to 15% per year, compounding.

i also have pre-tax income of roughly $500k. i still abide by my financial
plan as if my windfall didn't exist. we save about $100k a year.

im around 31, so im hoping that the combination of these two will lead to
enough accumulation in wealth by the time im 40 that i can retire early and
live off investment income.

by my current calculations, assuming increases in compensation (and retirement
contributions) that match inflation, and based on my current war-chest, I
should have between $8.1m to $19m by the time I reach my 40s. If I average out
investment gains to 8% compounding, we're looking at $10.5m.

By that point, 5% gains should give me around half a million to live off of
every year. And anything higher is icing on the cake.

And I can definitely live very well on that budget. That's basically life now.
And life is good.

i'm not going to tell u what to do, but just sharing my experience.

other people made a lot of money doing similar bets in crypto. they decided to
launch crypto funds, buy altcoins, do more investing.

i just recognize that i got very, very lucky, and decided to take cash off the
table. ill still do some risky betting with my money, but that's with a very,
very small % of my investment capital.

~~~
tinktank
What are you doing that you have a take-home of $500K?

~~~
charliecat
I work in venture and my wife is a consultant.

~~~
tinktank
Damn. How do I get into venture? I'm ecking out a living as a chief architect.

~~~
charliecat
My path is 1% hustle and 99% luck. Given how lucky I've been, and worried
about regression to the mean, I play things relatively conservatively :-)

~~~
tinktank
Good on you. I might ask for some lottery ticket numbers at some point :)

------
soVeryTired
Figure out what your liabilities are. Wealth is one side of your balance
sheet: liabilities are the other.

Want to retire in the Bahamas? Want to make sure the kids are mortgage-free?
Want to make sure the kids don't have to take a soul-crushing corporate job
and are free to pursue their art? Those are liabilities.

Once you know your liabilities, figure out the best investments to match them.
If you want to retire in the Bahamas, buy a place in the Bahamas. If you want
to hedge against price rises in elderly care, invest in the healthcare sector.

Just make sure your assets match your liabilities and you'll be fine.

~~~
erfgh
Assets matching liabilities is an accounting idea that has nothing to do here.
Wanting to do something is not a liability.

~~~
michaelt
Liability may be the wrong term for it, but if you want to do several
expensive things, you probably want to make sure you've got enough money for
all of them and prioritise if you don't.

Maybe you never want to work again, and you want to buy a yacht. It'd be poor
planning to end up back in work at age 60 because you got a bigger yacht than
you could afford at age 45.

That doesn't mean you can't buy a yacht, it just means you might want a 60ft
yacht instead of a 100ft yacht.

------
charlesdm
You're free. Don't take up another job unless you want that. If you want to
slouch on your couch, go for it. Want to learn how to sail? You can do that.
Want to teach kids how to code? You can do that.

Don't put the money into the stock market -- we've been going on a bull run
for 10+ years.

You've got plenty of cash to wait out a next crash.. it's not going to take
another 5 years before a next recession hits.

But realistically you'll at some point want to reinvest most of that money
into passive, safe(r) investments so that you can book a x% annual return and
live off capital gains. (Fun fact; capital gains are taxed lower than income)

Feel free to put some (i.e. $500k to $1m) aside for higher risk investments if
you feel like you wouldn't mind the money disappearing or going 50x.

Also: DO NOT JUST GIVE IT TO A BANK -- best way to pay a ton of fees and end
up with no (or worse, negative) returns.

Also: (but this is me) I would give back to a cause you care about. Maybe
something local where you know the money will have a big impact? Those
donations are often also tax deductible (so might as well).

~~~
kmlx
interesting comment.

since the bear market started, wouldn’t this be a good time to buy at bargain
prices?

~~~
tzmudzin
Bargain prices are at the crash. Beginning of the bear market is by definition
the time when prices will continue to decline.

(I'm leaving it up to you to decide if it's a short-term correction, beginning
of bear streak or anything else)

~~~
pepy
buy when there is nothing but negativity and depressive comments on the stock
market; once we are there it is a signal of the bottom

------
schnevets
I recently met a friend's father-in-law at a party. He seemed like a super
modest guy, and then I realized he acquired a similar windfall twenty years
ago. He kept working at the same company, and then jumped to a project manager
role at a new company. Even after major back surgery, he kept working like an
average joe (and seemed to enjoy his job). Outside of family vacations, he has
only made one major purchase from his fortune - a crash-pad apartment in the
Upper West Side that ended up doubling in value since the nineties.

At the time, I thought he was a bit eccentric; maybe even a workaholic.
Especially after reading this thread, I think he did absolutely everything
correct.

------
dubhrosa
I went through something similar a few years ago. Briefly, the things that
stand out for me now are: depending on your circumstances and where you live,
and your goals for the future, this windfall may not be as big a deal as you
think at first. Create a spreadsheet and calculate how much you want to set
aside for your kids, do you want to at least give them the option of studying
at a top US University on full fees? Do you want to get them a foot on the
property ladder? Do you want to fund a trust for them and your wife that
matures at some point in the future and provides meaningful means for them to
live on? What investments do you want to make in order to feel secure? For
some people, this only comes through ownership of physical assets like land
and buildings in juristictions that are stable and have well developed legal
systems. Once you've got a handle on the long term goals, then make a habit of
keeping a budget for your spending, there are lots of tools for this. It keeps
you grounded and reminds you that every decision to spend money on something
impulsively means you are taking money out of some other category. This
doesn't change just because you have "lots" of money. I've seen many people
(working in finance in London) who regularly got annual bonuses in the
millions, who are now having to live very modestly because they allowed their
lifestyles to expand unfettered and forgot the basics of long term planning
and daily budgeting. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you are "rich", you
have the means to have funded some of your long term goals but only if you are
disciplined in future and continue to be diligent about money.

Best benefit of all is if this helps you spend more time with your family, and
doesn't add stress to your life. Having lots of investments can be a lot more
stressful than just having an adequate income and living within your means. Be
careful of bankers selling your "wealth management" services.

------
Animats
I've been in that situation since the 1980s. I put the money into T-bills,
back when they paid 7%. Now it's mostly in brokered CDs and index funds. I
still have about as much money as I had back then, although I haven't quite
kept up with inflation. Brokered CDs are useful because you can spread them
out across multiple banks and get the $250K FDIC guarantee at each bank.

Most people who get a lot of money all at once blow it within 7 years. I found
"The Challenges of Wealth", by Domini, to be useful.

The trouble with investing is that you're competing with people who are
smarter than you and do it full time with other peoples's money. Not that they
do it very well. VC funds, as a class, lose money. So do hedge funds. There
really aren't many good investments right now and there's too much money
chasing them. So go for safety, not yield.

------
Lucent
Find an ACTEC estate planner who will help you with putting the money in a
revocable trust, depending on your state, which may shield it from estate tax
for generations to come. So long as you're the only trustee, it's like you
holding the money personally. You're married, so you're a safe distance from
the lifetime exemption for now, but laws may change. Find a tax attorney who
understands estate issues. Sign up at Vanguard and you'll get preferred
treatment and access to advisors of many kinds free just because of the amount
you hold.

Now for the controversial advice. As far as lifestyle, stick with what you
care about. The things available to buy now for the wealthy are not
particularly interesting unless you're vacuous and vulgar or your time is
extremely valuable. Fractional jet ownership that gets you where you want to
go a few hours faster? A huge house that you can fill up with stuff you don't
use or care about? A car that speeds up a little faster or looks a little
nicer? There’s nothing available now qualitatively inaccessible to someone
middle class.

That won’t always be the case. Invest with a strategy that’s been successful
if back-tested for 100 years, like total market index, and in 20 or 30 years,
there will be extremely interesting things worth buying. Life-extending
treatments, trips to space, Chappie-style robots as bodyguards (or
dishwashers), brain implants, organ replacements, brain backup services.
Things we can’t even imagine. Hold onto your money until there’s something
worth buying.

------
circlefavshape
If it was me I'd take whatever your current annual post-tax household income
is, multiply by 22 (to get you to 65), and put it in the bank. This is the
money you'd have made between now and retirement - treat it as a salary,
paying yourself out monthly, and contribute to a pension as you would have if
you'd been working.

Doesn't really matter what you do with the rest of your money, but I think
hiring a personal wealth manager is pointless - you have enough, you don't
need to grow it.

------
bobjordan
One thing for certain, it can go quick. If you do anything entrepreneurial,
start with a small allocation of your total net worth, and keep your overhead
low as possible. It is really amazing how easy it is to get trapped in sticky
things like rental leases and salaries. I'd also remind, don't forget about
basic safe fixed-income investments like USA Government Bonds. Sticking most
of it in bonds at 2-3% is probably not the worst move you could make, over
these next few years.

------
hef19898
First, I would put my money somewhere safe, with close to zero risk until you
figure out what to do. Depending on your living cost around 1% guaranteed
return should be enough to not work again for quita a while, possibly for ever
(that means you do not have any pressure on your finances ever again if you
don't change you lifestyle). Put some money aside for your kids (education,
base capital for a house one day,...).

Educate yourself on investment and then find someone to manage your money, in
Germany I would go maybe even for some rich-peoples bank and invest with the
lowest risk portfolio possible.

In zhe meantime, enjoy life and your _complete_ freedom. I know it is hard,
but now you can do whatever you want and you have the time to figure it out,
too. Go back to college if that's your thing. Tutor students from troubled
families or not so well off backgrounds (you think about donating, so I assume
you have a social sense). Or do some consulting on the side. I would suggest
to not brcome idle, that breeds boredom which doesn't go well along with $ 8M.

Or go a long vacation with your family, visit the world. That is if your wife
and kids can come along with you.

In general, be patient, stay cool and take your time to figure things out. Be
conservative with the money.

And finally, congrats to your near complete freedom you and your family have
now!

~~~
mtgx
> Depending on your living cost around 1% guaranteed return should be enough
> to not work again for quita a while, possibly for ever

Just a nitpick but even the "official" inflation rate is somewhere around 2%,
is it not? The real one is probably 3% or higher.

~~~
soVeryTired
Inflation is just an aggregate, based on a reasonably arbitrary basket of
goods that someone decided is representative of the public's expenditure. If
the basket doesn't reflect your consumption, then the rate of inflation isn't
really relevant to you. Almost all PCE inflation in the last 20 years has come
from housing, healthcare, education, and pharmaceuticals. On the other hand,
the price of durable goods has fallen. The idea that inflation moves all
prices together hasn't been accurate since the 80's.

The trick is to figure out what _your_ liabilities are, how you might be
affected by the price of _X_ changing, and invest accordingly to attempt to
hedge that risk.

------
chrisgoman
Just continue your normal life of "average" (as you say).

If all $8m went into your checking account, the first "simple" step you can do
is to start breaking up the $8m into different account types at different
banks with you and your wife as depositors for FDIC insurance purposes, in
case you are not paying attention or ready to do anything immediate with the
funds.
[https://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/](https://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/)

Then after this, your full time job can become just learning how to manage
your money which includes self-education first, before hiring anybody. It is
not _that hard_ and I'm sure you can do that on an average, not very
hardworking 8 hour day, 5 days a week :)

Since you are a tech manager and seem to know "pieces" of your job (coding and
business) but not enough to consider yourself a specialist (like a coder or
the business guy), use this same mindset to be a manager of a team you can
build around how to manage this $8m. In truth, $8m is not a lot of money per
se so you may not need a team ... most people will want 1% of that per year to
manage it. Your hope is that they are making at least 1% + inflation rate but
you would probably do better yourself.

Good luck and congratulations!

------
Flavius
Don't buy expensive stuff, including houses and other properties. Maintenance
cost a fortune and it takes an eternity to sell them if you want to cash out.

Don't lend money to people. Give money to people to help them if you want, but
don't expect them to pay it back.

------
bingobongo2
You now own yourself. You only have to work if you like working, and you can
work at something that doesn’t pay much since you don’t need the money.

Watch out for isolation.

Try to change as little as possible because the truth is not much has changed
except you owning yourself.

Don’t give it away. Don’t give it to your friends, they won’t be your friends
if you do.

------
IkmoIkmo
Put it all in a mix of a worldwide stock and bond index, look up the suggested
distribution fitting youe age, probably like 60/40, then take a supet
conservative take on the trinity study which suggests a 4% safe withdrawal
rate and make it 2%. This puts you at 160k per year. In virtually every
circumstance, you can reasonably rely on spending this amount annually,
adjusted for inflation, and not run out of money, same with your kids after
you die.

Is this enough? Then you may retire, if you don't like to work, or switch work
to anything else regardless of pay. That is a personal question, talk to your
family mostly, and experiment. Volunteer, travel, sabbatical. Take it slow,
don't rush. Like something? Build it out gradually, but don't change
overnight. Most people don't enjoy permanent vacations for example.

Donate part of the 160k annual budget as you please.

Hire a wealth manager for a few sessions for advice. But managing it yourself
is easy if you stick to simple strategies. No need for exotic investment
products or a manager.

But, do hire an accountant. Understand your tax obligations first and
foremost.

That's your base. From there you can breathe and think about bigger plans.

------
qnagel
I almost never post but here I am for you mate! I had a smaller version of
your life but at 30 and have spent the last 12 years living happily with my
family; wife and two children. We travel, still work from time to time when we
feel like it on projects that interest us, but our family and selves come
first. I exercise, took up squash, we went on a 7 month trip around the world
last year etc etc. Our kids or not spoiled, other than the travel, which they
would prefer to not do in order to stay in school :)

Do not squander, DO NOT work because everyone says you should. FOllow your
bliss, read, learn, explore.

~~~
arbol
Amazing

------
mapgrep
As a father, if I came into that money I would use it to spend all the time I
could with my kids. You don't get that time back and it's really precious and
easy to take for granted.

Obviously you have to be guided by your own priorities which are different
from mine. But I wanted to counterbalance the idea that you should "not do
anything rash." Certainly, financially this makes sense; upgrading home, cars
etc could bite you by raising your cost of living.

At the same time, you no longer have to give the best 8 hours of every weekday
to a company. Your time is the most precious thing you have. At a certain
point you will probably want to assess -- and I'm sure you would, regardless
of my comment! -- if you want to keep allocating it to an activity that from
what I can tell serves primarily to generate monetary income.

Just my $.02. In a way, like everyone in this thread, I'm living vicariously
by giving it so do with it what you will.

------
ForrestN
Practical advice aside, take a step back and bask in the pleasure of the
wonderful, unambiguously lucky thing that's happened to you. It's OK to feel
excited and happy about all the freedom and peace of mind you now have.

Loved one gets sick? You don't have to think about money. Kids need something?
It's taken care of. Getting 8 million dollars out of thin air is amazing and
you shouldn't let your anxiety and self doubt stop you from feeling happy for
a while.

You can figure out what to do with it later. Just enjoy having it in your
checking account and looking at it every few hours in your bank's app. Buy
something frivolous that costs $10,000 that you've always wanted. Give each of
your family members a great gift. Donate $10,000 to something that matters to
you. Let yourself spend $40,000 or so to celebrate, and then be responsible
with the rest.

Congratulations, my friend!

------
sulam
$8M is fairly close to the number that I use for calculating "retirement
ready" in the SF Bay Area. Assuming you live somewhere cheaper, the number is
lower. Also my calculation involves some very large annual expenses that most
people don't have, so your number is probably lower regardless.

So, you could probably retire.

------
hkmurakami
First, congratulations.

Second, now you have the not so easy task of running family assets as your #1
job to provide security and freedom for your family.

The most important thing is to educate yourself. Hopefully you enjoy reading
macro economic news and investment books. It’s not necessarily to DO anything.
It’s often so you have the confidence to not do anything.

Regarding asset allocation, standard allocation to liquid assets will do.
Plenty of literature on it.

Running family assets is not about maximizing EV. It’s about minimizing risk
of ruin, and asset preservation over asset growth.

The emotional side of investing is often harder than the numbers side of it.
Feeling like you’re being judged by others for your newfound wealth is hard
too. A support group of peers with similar asset levels who are also searching
for balance will be really helpful, though hard to find.

Happy to talk more via email.

Again, congraulations. We all need to get lucky. You deserve it.

------
neves
Make a safe investment and go to work in a NGO which goals resonate with you.
I'll get all the stability of a job, have social interactions with interesting
people, and do good. Remember that now you have free will and you f _c_ them
all at any moment. A real superpower.

~~~
readhn
> Make a safe investment

there are no safe "investments", everything is a speculation.

that said, yes one could try and keep it conservative.

------
resters
First, congrats. I think your humility comes through in your comment, which is
refreshing.

The nice thing about money is that you can simply put it into an investment or
savings and defer the decision about what to do with it. I recommend against
pressuring yourself to make a quick decision.

I recommend just finding a new job or taking some time off and thinking about
life for a while. Based on the time it has taken people I know to adjust after
retirement, I'd give it 6-8 months before you can trust yourself to really
know what it's like not to be obligated to work and to have your self worth
defined that way.

So you may not want to retire, but I think an 8 month break would be a nice
period of time during which to evaluate all of the options.

One thing that I think about is that in many ways my life is about as
comfortable and pleasant as it could possibly be, even though I have not had a
major exit. In one sense this is a good thing, but many philosophers tell us
that struggle is what makes life meaningful.

So you might frame the question thus: Now that you no longer have to worry
about basic financial security, what struggles might you choose to undertake
that you could not undertake before because of your duties?

It might be a personal struggle (learning, accomplishment) or an inter-
personal one... maybe political, maybe athletic or philanthropic.

The biggest thing to watch out for which you may or may not have encountered,
is that people will flatter you extensively. While $8M isn't major wealth,
it's enough that you will attract flatterers and your ideas will be given much
more serious pondering. People will act toward you as though you are more
attractive, smarter, and more insightful than you actually are. Beware of this
because it is a reality distortion field.

Getting rid of the money quickly to avoid this sort of thing is a mistake,
because dealing with it is just an important life skill just like learning to
avoid people who are overly negative or mean-spirited.

Good luck to you!

------
arvigeus
I remember watching a sketch about a genie that was supposed to grant wishes,
but instead gave reasons not to do it. The guy asked for one million in cash,
and the genie told him that if he was capable of handling that amount of
money, he would already have them on his own, so fulfilling his wish would be
a total waste.

People already said it many times. Don't go in "rich mode". Take your time to
figure things out, not changing your life too much. If you look at all rich
people on the world, most of them work even harder than common folks to keep
their wealth. Make sure your kids will learn to appreciate life and won't go
poor without your support.

Congrats anyway!

------
DanHulton
Precious little conversation going on here about donating...

Lemme start by putting my cards on the table - I think it's morally wrong to
be rich. In a world where people are starving to death for the want of a few
dozen dollars a week, people with billion-dollar valuations and extravagances
are among the worst people I can think of.

That said, I'm not going to stand here and say "if you don't give it all away,
you're evil". It's absolutely a logarithmic thing, and even at $8m, there are
a lot of questions and plans you have to make to ensure that you don't do the
whole "sudden windfall" thing and end up worse off than before.

But I'm in a similar situation to you (sans windfall), and I know I'd feel
awful not using at least _some_ of that money to improve the lot of those less
fortunate than myself. I keep a running list of organizations that I
personally feel do plenty of good to causes that are important to me and don't
just exist to funnel donations into operating expenses, just in case of a big
exit or whatever, and I plan to start with 10% of the total and work my way up
to as much as I can stand.

So definitely make sure you and your family are taken care of, take things
slowly, try to get over the rush. But maybe re-watch Schindler's List, and
consider investing as much as you can stand into good causes.

------
h2onock
Firstly, congratulations! You sound very level-headed about it all which is
refreshing. If you're UK-based I'd withdraw it all and hide it in a safe...
FCS only protects up to about £70k (from memory) and who knows what state the
banks will be in post brexit!?

~~~
petercooper
_If you 're UK-based I'd withdraw it all and hide it in a safe... FCS only
protects up to about £70k_

OP almost certainly isn't in the UK, but even if so, you spread it around
numerous banks and different asset categories (stocks, gold, bonds) rather
than risk it all in a safe. Even just dumping £1m into an NS&I Income Bond
would keep it pretty safe.

I'd personally diversify as much as possible and buy into a variety of funds
covering most major geographic areas (e.g. a fund that tracks the Dow, one for
the Asian markets, and so on.)

~~~
h2onock
You're almost certainly right, I was being a little flippant.

------
pc86
Even in the most expensive areas in the world, this is a life-changing amount
of money. Assuming that as you said this money is post-tax and you're not
going to pull large pieces of it out to pay off debts, you're looking at
_conservatively_ being able to pull off $300k+ a year, every year, without
touching the principal (assumes a 4% annual withdrawal).

I can only speak to what I would do as a 32 year old without kids. I'd follow
the top comment and basically pause for a year. No big purchases, no
extravagant vacations, keep working if you enjoy your job. Without touching it
that amount of money is only going to get even bigger. And I'd find an estate
attorney and fee-for-service financial adviser that I trust.

After that, chances are I'd retire. This is nearly 1% level money (in terms of
income you can pull off it's like 90% of the way there). But it really depends
what your _goals_ are. This is truly enough where your kids would not have to
work. You could work for a non-profit if there are causes you care deeply
about. You could donate half of it and keep your job and still be in the
$300k/yr+ club.

You could also risk it all and start a business or start investing in others'
businesses. The world is your oyster at this point, man.

------
gtvwill
Hey mate its understandable you are freaking out a little. I would definitely
suggest starting to do some education on basic finance and investment. Please
tho dear god can you not do TWO things...just two things.

One...don't donate your money...donate some for sure, but most organizations
generally fail by eating up the lions share of donations through
administration costs and other costs of business. So your money gets
nowhere...now if you want to make a difference this leads to point two.

Two. PLEASE dear god don't invest all of your money in stagnant safe
investments, invest some small portion of your 8 million into starting a
business. I don't mean this in order to grow your own wealth...but to help
grow that of your community. I don't know where you live...but in
Australia...the hoarding of wealth through property and the stock market is
basically killing small towns/communities left right and center. Investing
money in that doesn't really grow the economies of small towns/communities.
Start a business, nothing huge, nothing too fancy, but invest in training you
community/small towns! Seriously it will provide a bigger difference to those
whom you employ than if you were to give to a charity supposedly servicing
them!

------
buboard
You should not retire, but quit working. If you worked 9-5 you ll realize how
much time was wasted in daily routines. What are your interests? Would you be
interested to devote time to studying something (a phd maybe? you re not that
old :) ). Why are you freaking out? money is a tool, it gives freedom of time
and the ability to say FU to some thing, think of it like a tool not as a goal
in itself.

Yeah, you should probably invest most of it responsibly. Don't buy yachts.

------
CaRDiaK
You have a once in a lifetime opportunity to be there for everyone you care
for no matter what. Seize it with both hands. Don't tell people, just be your
best self.

------
kelvin0
Was watching an ESPN doc about professional athletes that had earned a lot of
money and suddenly became rich. These people usually came from low income
(broken) families and had no idea how to manage this sudden financial change.

One of these ex-athletes now tries to educate the younger generation about
this. He tells them:'Better to live like a prince for your whole life, then to
live like a King for 5 years'.

------
elliotpage
I would recommend retiring and enjoying your time with your family. The money
can come and go, but the time you have is irreplaceable.

Please consider donating and investing it in causes you believe in. There are
so many ways this money can have a real positive impact to people and the
world. Don't feel you need to throw massive gobs around - talk to the people
running these causes and see what would help them out.

------
richev
Sounds like you're in a state of shock. Understand that you don't need to
decide anything now. Don't make any irreversible decisions yet. For now, why
not take a year out, spend time with your family?

------
jordan801
1\. Get an attorney to make sure you don't get screwed in taxes or by some
wanker trying to make a dime.

2\. As you described it, I would say invest all of the money. If you're fine
living humble, then use the money as security. With eight million you can
pretty much comfortably. A low risk investment like a CD can provide you with
roughly a 120K (@1.5% interest) salary.

3\. Continue to work. But rest easy knowing that if you have a trash job, you
can quit and find a new one without worrying about how you're going to
provide.

4\. Pay off everything.

5\. Find a couple decent indulgences. Buy a Corvette or take the family on
vacation. But don't go crazy. Spend 100k.

Lastly, I think being too comfortable makes people unhappy. Personally the
times when I am most secure, are the times I am least happy. Take up rock
climbing, skydiving, marathon running or anything that makes you uncomfortable
(preferably without destroying yourself). It'll keep things in perspective. I
rock climb, canyoneer and run Spartan races and those make me far happier than
any amount of money I have earned thus far.

------
lazyjones
Put most of it in the stock market. Set aside some cash and use it to improve
your everyday life whenever you feel like it. For example, don't fly Economy
class if it's crowded and uncomfortable. Spend your holidays in a nice place,
better hotel. Eat at better restaurants. But a safer (larger?) car. Do NOT
hire a wealth manager or go to some private banking advisors.

~~~
readhn
this is probably some sort of contra-indicator when average joe off the
internet recommends Putting most of your money in the stock market. We must be
near the Top of this bull run.

This bull market is almost 10 years old. We are overdue for a "breather".

~~~
matte_black
Haven’t you been paying attention? We’ve been breathing for the past two
months. My tech stocks have lost over $120k of value since September highs, in
just two months.

~~~
madengr
Ha ha, I sunk a few $k in NVDA at $235, thinking they would not be affected by
crypto currency (since most people use AMD).

------
arbol
I have been in your position for a month. I can honestly recommend leaving
work and pursuing things that interest you instead of continuing to go to
work, m-f, 9-5. It's just much nicer to operate on your own schedule.

Isolation is a thing though so make sure to maintain contact with friends and
try to work with others. Contribute to open source?

------
ryanmercer
Retire. I'd buy myself a hundred acres or so here in Indiana (probably not for
you, but I like quiet), make a lazy 3-fund portfolio (
[https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-
fund_portfolio](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio) ) with a
million in each fund, throw another million in a robo advisor and leave
whatever was left as cash. I'd never have to work again, I'd have many times
my FIRE number.

Then schedule a physical, an optometrist appointment if you wear
glasses/contacts and a dental checkup. You now have time to be mindful of your
health.

Then I'd just take a few months off. Do absolutely nothing. Just relax, think,
recharge.

Then I've always got a bazillion ideas I want to pursue, I"m sure you have
some too. I'd probably start working on the idea I'm currently waiting to hear
back from YC for the winter 2019 batch. I could spend 20-30k of my own money
collecting a lot of data and quietly looking for a key person or two to help
me with the project and I might actually pivot and go more of a non-profit
route with the idea.

You do you though, just be sensible about it.

Read about the Trinity study
[https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Trinity_study_update](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Trinity_study_update)

Basically, if you put some money into a lazy three fund, or just a broad
market/whole market fund you can likely retire and withdrawal 3-4% of the
initial amount for the rest of your life depending on your risk tolerance. If
you just did 3 million like I suggested above if I were in your situation, you
have 90-120k a year to live off of relatively safely.

If you move somewhere with sane housing prices, pretty much anywhere in the
midwest, you can live fantastically wealthy off that as the median household
income in the country is 59k.

What I'd also do is take a small percentage of the money, maybe 50-100k and go
Brewster's Million(s). Go spend it on something fun or goofy, something you've
always wanted or wanted to do but could never justify. Get it out of your
system. Something like these vacation experiences (secret agent for a day,
vomit comet, shark diving) or buy that car you always wanted, or take a
700-702 AD French drunken pottery spinning while standing on one leg while
singing Won't You Be My Neighbor class that you thought would be fun.

------
davidmw
Here's some of the things I did in a similar situation- \- I told work I was
cutting back my hours. They had some concerns, so I'd start the conversation
early. Currently I'm only working 4 days a week & it makes a huge difference
in my life. \- My wife & I picked out "IPO presents" for ourselves. She got a
minivan, I got a nice grill. This seemed like a good balance between "don't do
anything for a year" & "we worked hard to get here & can afford it". \- if you
can find a good fee only financial planner, hire them. We pay ours a ~$200/mo
retainer to just talk about money things on our mind. She's been able to make
many valuable insights & suggestions as we've been trying to adjust to the
changes in our lives & futures.

------
iooi
Not to be a downer, but you might want to look into getting a post nuptial
agreement and parking a good chunk of that money in trusts for your kids that
you'll have access to for the next 10 or so years. This kind of money can
change people, depending a lot on their background and upbringing.

------
alanfranzoni
Staying unemployed (if you're planning about leaving) is usually hard on most
people mind. Try asking for a part time job (or look for a part time job) -
that will leave you with enough time to think and find out new hobbies or what
you'd like to do in the future.

Spend time with your wife and families, save in different
places/accounts/things so you don't risk too much. Very often you don't have
hobbies because you feel you don't have time - now you have that.

Just, imho, don't start overspending in stupid things, like luxury cars or
boats or huge houses, or your expenses can go quickly out of control.

If you want a hobby, i suggest things that are 'physical' and group/community
activities, maybe some sport or building things. See mr. Money mustache for
inspiration.

------
catwell
Apparently you think you are average at everything, but it looks like at least
once you were good at picking a successful tech company. If this sounds right
to you, why not do it again?

I would set the money aside (invest it like others said in this thread) and
join another company which looks like the one that just exited, but at the
time you joined it. You should be valuable to them, especially since you have
experience with hyper growth now.

If it works, you hit the jackpot twice, and you have learned that maybe you
have a knack for this. If it doesn't, you didn't lose much, and you have $8M
so does it really matter?

The only caveat is: avoid telling people at the new company how rich you are,
and under no circumstance let them have you invest unreasonable amounts of
money in them.

------
sgentle
Don't do anything. The number one difference between needing and having is
that when you need, the status quo is your enemy; when you have, it's your
friend. If you need to pay rent, you gotta make money. If you need a new job
or new clients, you gotta hustle. If you need to keep your bosses or investors
happy, you gotta watch those metrics and keep on grindin'.

You pushed because you needed. Now that you have, stop pushing and learn to
wait. If life was fine two weeks ago, it'll still be fine two weeks from now –
as long as nothing changes. What $6M buys you is as much "nothing changes" as
you want. The status quo isn't everyone's friend, but it's yours now and it
takes some getting used to. So take your time.

------
philsnow

      make yourself a million bucks
      partly skill, mostly luck
      now you can afford a down payment
      on a small house
    

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6IQ_FOCE6I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6IQ_FOCE6I)

------
thisisit
My two cents:

First, Congratulations.

Second, breathe. Take your time. If you are still stressed about it, talk to
someone IRL. It will really help to get the weight off your shoulder.

Third, beware of self-doubt. It sounds contrarian but I see lots of people who
have a big win - money, beautiful girlfriend - start to doubt if they ever
deserve any of it. They tend to go the "I am not that great. It is just a case
of being lucky". And my answer is - You deserve it. You worked for it. You are
awesome. Believe that.

Fourth, take your time understanding your options.

IMO, Bogle heads is a good start:
[https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Managing_a_windfall](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Managing_a_windfall)

------
bbarn
Have you tried playing Warhammer? Eat up that 8 mil real fast ;)

In seriousness though, I think changing that "no real hobbies" statement is
the way to go. Find something not work you enjoy doing, or if it turns out
work is really what you enjoy, keep working! Don't let the money burn a hole
in your pocket - you don't need to change anything at all.

Another option is do work you think matters or would be fun if you never had
to think "but I couldn't support my family doing that.." Working at a bike
shop is that for me. Charity work, maybe getting involved with your kid's
education boards, etc., something out there must make you tick that you
couldn't afford to do before.

------
bsvalley
First of all, congratulations! I've had a similar situation (with less money)
but still, I went through the exact same exercise. You have 2 choices
basically, you can keep working or you can retire.

When I say keep working I mean working for someone. Let someone dictate your
day, week and year. Some people need structure in life to function properly so
if you're one of them, I'd highly recommend you to get another job at another
company in order to learn new things. Ideally, you'd study a new position in
between so you wouldn't get bored too quickly. Switch to Product, design, or
dev for example. You're not chasing for high incomes so that allows you to
come in as an "entry level". You seem to be humble so that could fit you well.
But definitely look for new challenges since you'll be spending most of your
time at work. There's also the entrepreneurial route but I'd put that into the
second bucket.

Retirement. Unfortunately, unlike you, I could not simply retire from the 9-5
life. When I say retirement I mean not having to work for anyone. What I would
do is to work on my own projects and take a year or 2 to explore different
domains and ideas until I'd find something promising I'd be deeply passionate
about. Needless to say you'd be learning every day.

In terms of what to do with your money? Here is exactly what I'd do
personally. I'd put $5 million into government bonds with a 100% guaranteed
return of about 2.5-3%. That would bring you about $150k of passive income per
year for the rest of your life (based on inflation rate). That's it! I'd move
to a not too expensive place and I'd still have $3 million dollars left. I'd
actually split it in 3 in your case. $1 million for each of your kids. For
each kid I'd split it like this: 50% into a more aggressive portfolio like
stocks, then 50% into bonds. I don't know how old your kids are but the idea
is to lock these accounts until they get old enough to understand the value of
money. With your million dollar left, I'd buy a new house for about $300-400k.
Then I'd leave the rest into a savings account to be used for fun, big
purchases, etc.

------
sjclemmy
You know what? You don't need to do anything for now.

What you need to do over the next few months is answer a single question:

"What do I want to do with my life?"

~~~
kowdermeister
> "What do I want to do with my life?"

That's a hard question without the $8M too :)

~~~
sjclemmy
Indeed it is!

Also to add. If you can't work out the answer to that question then don't feel
pressured into trying to force it.

It's ok not be able to answer the question. Life is a search for meaning.
Sometimes it comes, sometimes it doesn't. The money in and of itself isn't
going to answer the question. And in fact, freedom from the 'toil' required to
make ends meet might remove some of the purpose that OP previously felt. But I
think when faced with change and upheaval that removes the certainties of life
(in this case 'work, eat sleep, repeat') you owe it to yourself to see if you
can work out the answer.

------
ian0
There are good threads on reddit and other money forums that have advice on
things like this, as I recall:

\- Don't make any drastic changes to your life now

\- Learn how to make your money work long term (diverse investments with
plenty low risk etc)

Give yourself time to understand what you are going to do with it. You don't
sound like the type of person that will end up like the lotto winners, but
bear in mind a sudden increase in wealth can lead to pretty negative things if
not managed.

Of course - it can bring a boatload of positive things too. Think of the
things you could do. Retire early, help others, work on something special
without worrying about salary, find a hobby :P Congratulations!

------
grondilu
IIRC there exists an association created to help lottery winners. Your
situation is kind of similar. I forgot the name, but if you google "curse of
lottery winners" or something like that you should find a link somewhere.

According to some random article I've just found[1] for instance, one of the
first things you should do is hiring an attorney. Sounds like a sensible
advice.

1\. [https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/what-it-is-really-like-
to-...](https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/what-it-is-really-like-to-win-the-
lottery-2018-10)

------
AndrewDucker
"Normal" Work is unlikely to provide you with much meaning from now on, as it
won't provide an appreciable change in your living standard.

So, instead, look around at charities, or other positive works, and see what
you can do to help them with your time.

Read the local news, and see what leaps out as being unfair or unreasonable to
you. Spend some time researching it to make sure it's not just clickbait, but
actually a real problem, and then go offer to work for them for free. A decent
manager can do an awful lot to help a small organisation work well.

------
AnimalMuppet
Don't do anything sudden, as others have said. But as you start to adjust to
this, you may realize that there is something, or a few things, that you have
wanted to do, but never could because of money. That place you wanted to go on
your honeymoon, but it would have cost $2000 more than you could afford? You
can go there now, on a second honeymoon. Take in a game at Yankee Stadium,
even though you live in the Bay Area? You can do that now.

There may be several such things. Most of them don't take that much money
(from your current perspective). Pick one of them and do it. (Note well: _don
't_ go do everything that you've ever wanted to do but couldn't afford to do.
As I said, pick _one_.) You don't have to do it right away. It can wait a
month, or a year, until it's sunk in that _it 's OK to spend a bit more money
than I used to_. Not a lot - you don't want to drastically change your
lifestyle. But you also want to have _some_ benefit from the money. When
you've adjusted to the point that you feel free to spend $2K or $10K on
something that you've wanted to do, but couldn't, well, go do that.

And now a negative: _Pay attention to your marriage._ As others have said,
spend time with your kids, but don't forget your marriage. Bluntly, your wife
can now afford to divorce you. _Do your best to see that she never wants to._

------
portraitman
Congratulations! This is a blessing, not a burden. You are not "average." You
saw something in this business that made you want to work there, you took
stock and held it, and it paid off. Some luck, sure, but also good business
sense. You're also good with money, not average. How many 43 year old's do you
know that have a house and two cars that are paid for? Nothing average there.
Focus on you and your family, not on the money. Take this opportunity to teach
your children about money and giving, go back to school, or follow that
passion you've always had.

    
    
         As far as what to do now, find a good family attorney, you now need a will!  He or she can also help with the money.  I think putting it in a 6 month CD so you can take time to think about your future is a great idea.  That way, when everyone comes to you for a loan, and they will, you can say, sorry, the money is all tied up now.  Take some of the money and enjoy it.  Go on a nice family vacation, buy that new car you always wanted, donate to your church, the Salvation Army, Red Cross, or your neighbor who is down on his luck and needs some help.  In the interim, keep the simple life you have, keep working, and feel good about yourself.  You don't seem average to me, I think you're a very smart guy.  Congratulations again, and good luck!  Tom.

------
mark_l_watson
Great advice here to not to do anything rash, keep your current lifestyle with
some modest splurges for your family.

I would advise you, after a waiting and thinking period, to diversify
investments instead of maximizing return. Something people don’t think about
is buying inexpensive income properties, small houses and condos. If the US
dollar ever loses a lot of its value, then having about 30% of your assets in
income producing property will make a dollar crash a little less painful to
your family.

------
mysterydip
There's a lot of good info in here so I won't repeat. I will say
congratulations, and the fact your reaction is to freak out instead of party
like it's 1999 seems like you're in a good start already. Take some time to
read the advice here and do the "right thing" for you.

My only other input would be to take some percent of it and use it for some
cause you find worthwhile, whether it be a lump sum anonymous gift or payments
over years, or getting involved with your time.

------
chx
Noone mentions a vital fact: you want a fiduciary advisor, everyone else will
fleece you. They are mandated to have your best interest in mind unlike
financial advisors and such.

------
module0000
Hire a financial adviser - ask friends or relatives with similar net worth
about their advisers. A good adviser can give you peace of mind, and help you
avoid an awful lot of undesirable scenario's. I would suggest a fee-based
adviser with fiduciary responsibility. That person will have a vested interest
in preserving and growing your wealth, since their fee is a portion of that
growth. Also, congratulations! Celebrate with your family and don't buy any
lambos.

------
sixdimensional
I don't have guidance for you, my friend.

But I do have a question and maybe it would help you.

Had you ever thought about what came after work, before you had the windfall?
Like, what you might do if you could retire?

I have worked full time since school, without many breaks. When I've had a few
breaks in between / unemployment, the first few times were scary and
depressing. The third time it happened, I saw it as an opportunity to take a
rest, sit back and think a little, and then find a new pursuit, maybe even my
own business and started planning for how to do that.

If you are like me and didn't have a lot of gaps in your working life, it
might be shocking to be able to have a break. What I found was that if I put
myself into the right mentality... to let myself have a break without guilt (6
months or so - like a sabbatical), to let myself think, and then to slowly
build up action to the next thing, it worked out.

That said, normalcy seems to help people. Maybe keeping your routine without
the worry about having to pay the bills could be refreshing, if you can frame
it the right way.

I wish you all the best. I'd like to dream someday I might be you, but then
again, the struggle has always been to find happiness where you are now, money
or not. I think maybe that never changes.

Best!

------
flavor8
a) Find a financial advisor who takes a fee rather than a portion of your
investment. (And/or talk to multiple of the "free" advisors at
Schwab/Vanguard, etc.) Get the money working for you. Just be aware that
there's (probably) a recession coming soon, so you want to make sure you're
very strongly diversified - probably go heavy on bonds, cash. (Get their take
on it. IANAFA.)

b) Are you worried about going (stir/)crazy if you retire? Put it this way -
you're not going to be reincarnated, and you're not going to spend eternity
playing harps. You've got 20 to 40 years left on the planet (i.e. between 7.3k
and 14.6k days,) depending on how well you've been taking care of yourself,
and you're only going to be truly fit for about half of that, barring
misfortune. Your forties and early fifties are your remaining chance to do
anything reasonably energetic outside the norm. Spending them in an office
working on meaningless products for somebody else would be a waste.

Don't freak out it if you don't yet have any ideas about what you would do.
Keep working for at least 6 months. In the meantime both you and your wife
should come up with "dream lists" / "bucket lists" \- 100 items each -- things
you want to do (anything from places to travel, skills or subjects to learn,
books to read, things to create, experiences to try, etc) before you kick it.
It'll take a while if you haven't done this before. Don't compare lists until
you both have them. After you both have lists, read through them together. If
you're not convinced about any, strike them and replace them. Prioritize them.
Start doing them. Quit work once you get into it sufficiently. Enjoy life &
freedom.

------
m-i-l
A couple of similar questions on HN from a few years back:

\- "Ask HN: Steady 4-5% on $5 million?"
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1108163](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1108163)

\- "Ask HN: Just cashed out for 2M. What now?"
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=486755](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=486755)

------
codingdave
> I do not think I have any real hobbies.

Serious question - why not? If because of a lack of time or money, that
problem is now solved. You have enough money to retire. You have the resources
to sit down and get good at whatever you want. Which means that 43 is not to
late to start a hobby.

Just as an example, since moving to Utah a few years ago, I switched my
hobbies around, and they built into a whole new way that I spend my non-
working time. I take my kids out on 'adventures', going out into the mountains
and the desert, taking photos, coming back and painting landscapes based on my
photos. I also collect rocks and gems from my trips, make jewelry out of them,
and just picked up woodworking and am building furniture with inlays using
those same stones.

It is possible that by trying a few new things, you'll also come up with a
whole collection of things to do. So I recommend spending time exploring all
your options. Get out, do things, explore, and talk to a variety of people.
While the feedback you'll get from HN certainly will have merit, this is a
very small slice of the world. Ask these questions to a broader audience as
well.

------
logfromblammo
Hire a fiduciary management firm at 0.5% of invested assets per year--fee, not
commission--to pay you 2.5% per year. This will likely last you forever, and
then your heirs will get it, so also draw up a will and keep it current. Your
annual income, inflation adjusted, will be about $200k, and probably
increasing more often than decreasing. That's enough for some comfort and
occasional luxury, but not very significant lifestyle change. Don't trade up
unless you find that you can't spend everything your fiduciary firm is dumping
into your account every month.

Keep working, but know now that you have "f-you money", and don't take crap
from anyone. Don't retire until you can come up with a hobby that will occupy
you for at least 4 hours per day, and your kids each have bachelor's degrees
(if they want them) and their own place to live.

Now you can afford a nice, new car every two years. Make sure you do it, to
support the used market for the rest of us.

Treat your spouse right, to avoid divorce--or even threat of divorce--at all
costs. So buy your spouse's new car first.

------
pasbesoin
Take the time to get one or more really, really good references to true,
professional investment management services. (Not showy and "expensive", but
_good_ \-- not "cheap", either, but real value for the real money you spend.
This can be hard to determine, if you don't already have connections. And it
can build on personal relationships; however, those can cut both ways, so be
cautious.)

You want safe, diversified portfolio. You may be a bit challenged, near the
end of the year, trying to position to manage tax exposure. But overall, be
thinking long-term, not short-term.

Add to your daily, weekly, monthly schedule, time and resources for learning
investment management. You don't have to do it all at once and overwhelm
yourself. First, get safe. Then, learn, so that you can speak with and
interact with your advisors from a knowledgeable position. You'll come to know
what investments you're comfortable with, and what not. You may well also get
better service from them, as a result. The good ones appreciate well-informed
clients; they may even enjoy talking with you, on a personal level but also to
the extent you have knowledge of and insight into your industry/segment that
they may be interested in (not confidential knowledge).

This is what I know not from having large assets, myself, but from observing
and speaking with a family member who does.

The professionals really do help, but he's also had to bring his own
considerable knowledge and smarts to the table and sometimes override their
advice. It's really more of a partnership, than one side or the other calling
all the shots. If the people you are working with don't have this perspective
(especially once they get to know and hopefully respect you), you may be
working with the wrong people.

------
sytelus
According to one survey many rich people who lose most of their wealth have
two causes (1) divorce (2) bad investments advice.

The 1st comes not only for lifestyle changes but also the fact that your
spouse may realize she can easily just live by her/himself in case a severe
disagreement occurs and hence there are less chances of negotiations and
moving on.

The 2nd happens because money managers, wealth advisors are going to swarm
you. All your friends and their uncles are suddenly going to have once in life
time gold plated locked in deals.

So my advice would be to keep life simple, don’t advertise your wealth and
don’t rely on managing your wealth anyone but yourself. Remember Warren Buffet
stayed in same house and didn’t even told his family even when he became one
of the richest person. Study all your investment options intimately, think of
it as your new job. Avoid investing more than 5% of your wealth in any single
option that is not backed by government guarantees directly. Make friends with
other people with similar networth and learn from them.

------
whiddershins
Don’t donate it. That would be rash. You can always donate down the line once
you’ve wrapped your mind around it.

Depending on your lifestyle you should be able to basically retire. A decent
rule of thumb is 4% (maybe less) income on conservative investments, so that
should get you around $300,000/year in income if you just take a deep breath
and learn the basics.

Lots of advice on this thread is good, definitely put it somewhere safe and
get your bearings.

Also, this windfall means your kids can graduate college with no student loan
debt, that’s worth something.

Definitely be chill, read all the advice, do basically nothing, read all the
advice again, and start to figure out what matters to you. How do you want to
live your life for the next couple of decades?

And what does your wife want? That matters, I imagine.

Edit: the implied assumption of this and many other posts here is “don’t spend
your capital.” Start there. Preserve that 8million, never spend (including
donate) any of it. Use it to make interest in a conservative manner which you
can spend as you like. (Including donating to the needy)

------
eqdw
Invest in the safest assets that you can think of.

If they pay 3% interest, you have a $240k salary for the rest of your life. 3%
is a conservative estimate

------
love-danie60

      start anon profit put in all moneis.

put it in 7%to10% gariantead no loss always up not annuity only goes up not
down.

start at 8miil then reinvest the 8ook interest less 80k salary +320k to
charities

    
    
             that gets 8,400,000
             then        840k -(80ksalary+380kdonate)
             then      8,780,000
             then       878,000
             then     9,658,000
             then      965,800 965,800-(80ksalary+442,900donate)
                       +442900 
            then     10,100,900
    
                when you get to 11,000,000
        increase salary to 100k.
                always 1/2 back in 1/2 to donate.
        when you get to 15,000,000 increase salary to225k
           always donate 1/2 back before you take out salary and donation.
             Cap salary at375k,
    
     donate to shrine's,st Jude, wounded warrior make wish  proportionately.
    
             there will be some compounding yearly.
             in 20 years surprise.
                              " GOD BLESS"

------
ace_of_spades
My suggestion would be to set aside a reasonable amount of money to be able to
continue a normal lifestyle if something should ever occur and then try to
figure out how you can habe the most positive impact in the world.

There is a movement called effective altruism (EA) which specializes on the
topic of how to do the most good with the resources you have. For example,
there ks the website 80000hours.org which does research into the worlds most
pressing problems and how you can use your career to solve them.

For me, the most interesting thing about EA is that it combines a challenge to
develop yourself with a meaningful goal and a supportive community to help you
along. You could certainly contact 80000hours to get personalized
recommendations if you tell them you have say 7m available. Other
organizations which may be interesting to you are: givingwhatwecan.org;
founderspledge.org; or more generally effectivealtruism.org.

You could also ask more specific questions here and I will see what I can do
for you :)

------
AnnoyingSwede
Pump as much as you can into your retirement savings, where i live this has
the highest return and makes sure whatever happens later, you are covered. I
would also aim for low-risk/low-return saving fonds for your kids. Needless to
say, retire and find something fulfilling to do with your remaining days. Like
many other say, enjoy times with your kids.

------
holdenc
You've got lots of good advice here, but much of it seems rather boring, and
you seem like someone searching for the fire within.

So, here you go:

Step 1) Forget you have any money at all.

Step 2) Withdraw $5000 in cash and buy a plane ticket to Pattaya. Bring only a
backpack. Get a room for $15 a night. Budget about $15 a day for food, $10 a
day for a motorbike, and perhaps another $20 discretionary. Your total burn
rate is $60 day. One more thing -- leave your computer at home. Now that
you're a multimillionaire, you can actually afford this.

Step 3) Live your life. Find things that attract you or repulse you, and make
decisions around that. Maybe you hate Pattaya! No problem, take the train
north to Chiang Mai, or if you feel like a true hippy, try Pai. Keep a journal
if you want. Send emails from hostels, and crash there if you need.

You'll return with a new appreciation for yourself, and the world around you,
and material things like a shiny new car, or a mcmansion will seem a lot more
boring.

~~~
lbriner
I'm not sure the wife and kids will like this, unless you suggest they go
along for the ride?

------
kanon
You can change the world :)

And you can do it anonymously at your own pace.

I'd invest in the climate, most importantly alternatives for plastic waste and
meat.

~~~
akuji1993
You realise you are suggesting to somebody to put their money into high risk
investments that might completely crash before they can earn him any reward
right?

This guy just won the startup lottery. He needs to invest in low-risk and
assets, not in phylantropic issues. 8 million is not enough to start thinking
in that direction.

------
hangonhn
Now that you're sort of free from the constraints of a normal 9 to 5, perhaps
it's a good time to consider doing jobs that you might have not considered
before. A lot of very skilled friends who've retired from industry ended up
doing non-profit work and found it very satisfying. From my own experience, as
an engineer still working, my time spent as a volunteer are among the things
that gives me the most satisfaction. I'm about as satisfied at having run
marathons, been part of an IPO, done some good engineering work, and literally
put 200+ roofs over people's heads as a roofer for Habitat for Humanity.
Mentoring high school students from East Palo Alto and seeing them graduate
and becoming the first college students in their family are among the works
I've found most worthwhile. Non-profits often need the type of specialized
skills people like you can bring but can't afford.

------
rsweeney21
Large sums of money gives you freedom. Don't like your job? Quit and hold out
until you find your ideal job. Don't want to work? Retire! Want to travel? Now
you can!

If you are happy in your life, you don't have to change anything just because
you have a lot of money in your bank account.

I'd recommend considering three things:

1\. Try helping people with your money. Start small - pay for someones
groceries at checkout, pay a small medical bill for someone that needs it
(checkout watsi). I find helping people very rewarding and you might decide
it's something you want to start doing.

2\. Travel. Traveling can give you perspective on life that can help you
figure out what is important in your life.

3\. Park your money in real-estate that produces income. Your money will grow
with the increasing real-estate value and also provide you with income to live
on. So your $8M grows slowly, you have money to live on and you aren't slowly
draining your bank account.

------
fcurzel
Take a vacation with the kids, just a few days, then go alone with your wife.
Do no stop working as "work ennobles man", just figure out what you like
first. And yes, hire someone to figure out how to secure your money.

I, like many others, could use some money right now. Why don't you give some
money to the best pitch you receive?

------
samfisher83
Do what Warren Buffet says:

Buffett specifically recommends them as a way to boost retirement savings.
"Consistently buy an S&P 500 low-cost index fund," he told CNBC's On The
Money. "I think it's the thing that makes the most sense practically all of
the time."

Most likely in the long term a hedge fund is not going to beat it.

------
dancek
1\. Don't start spending. 2\. Get a part-time normal job, at least until you
figure out a meaningful way to spend your time. 3\. Help people who have
nothing and face a crisis. $1k could completely change someone's life or it
could give you a tiny bit of fun.

The last point goes for all of us earning more than enough to pay the bills.

------
dh
These links will give you everything you need to know about what to do with
the money.

[http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/the-best-
inv...](http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/the-best-investment-
advice-youll-never-get)

[https://www.betterment.com/](https://www.betterment.com/)

[https://www.adviceperiod.com/](https://www.adviceperiod.com/)

[http://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Down-Wall-Street-
ebook/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Down-Wall-Street-
ebook/dp/B00QH9NTSI/)

[http://www.transparentinvesting.com/uploads/wholestory.pdf](http://www.transparentinvesting.com/uploads/wholestory.pdf)

------
graeme
First of all, avoid losing it. From what I've read, bad business deals and
shady investment managers are the easiest way to lose money. It will be easy
to think, at some point "I'm an engineer, I'm smart, I can do this investing
thing"

Nope. Index funds are your friend, with reputable institutions, covered by
some kind of fraud insurance or regulation. (I don't know how the latter works
in your area, but see how your money is protected)

Let's say there is a market crash and you lose 30%. You're still set for life,
and it will come back as the market grows. But bad deals, fradulent advisors:
they can take 100%.

Do nothing fast, and avoid telling people you have money. Your life sounds
nice, this will help you avoid changing that. You have plenty of time, and a
wonderful gift that will make the rest of your and your family's life more
comfortable :)

------
jimnotgym
Get advisors that are paid by the hour, not on a commission.

Get a tax accountant

As Warren Buffett had demonstrated, simple index funds can outperform more
complex investments for a lot less risk

Portfolio theory, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. More than one
bank, more than one broker, more than one fund.

Do the boring stuff first. Pension, life-assurance, etc. Then the next most
boring, treasury funds, index funds, property Etc. Once you have that in place
you could find that investments interest you, you could dabble a bit with a
small piece of your fund.

Have you looked at voluntary work? Is there a charity you care about that
needs a good project manager/board member?

Owning property can keep you really busy. You can run around fixing stuff, or
even mow the grass! Or you can project manage refurbishment or something.

Don't rush. Once your money is spread around a little bit you are under no
pressure to do anything at all.

------
cik
In windfall cases, people tend to change their lives - which ultimately is for
the worse. Several people have said the right thing: do nothing.

Keep working, but now spend time thinking about you and yours - rather than
your career and the struggle. Invest the money temporarily in fixed-income
returning vehicles; we're talking about TBills/Bonds/GICs (depends on your
country). Remember, if you're post-tax, sitting on $8M, then an extremely
conservative 2% means you're looking at $160K for the year you're learning and
thinking. Yes, this isn't a good return, or even long-term. But you're
ensuring that your money starts to work for you, while you work on it - all
without having any pressure whatsoever.

You absolutely should not make long-term decisions when you're in a short-term
state.

------
jtl
There's nothing to freak out about, you hit the jackpot. First of all I would
say head to bogleheads and educate yourself a bit on investing and personal
finance.

This is not financial advice, but if it was me I'd personally just live off
the interest and spend the rest of my days doing what I enjoy.

------
WheelsAtLarge
The best advice you can get is to guard the money from yourself. It's very
easy to 'invest it' in crappy ventures. Seek financial advice but spend some
time learning how to properly manage it.

Also, the moment people know about your money they will want to get to it,
legally or illegally. Best to be quiet about it.

It's very very common for people that get lots of money to lose it eventually.
Make sure that does not happen to you.

8mil is enough money for you and your family to have a very comfortable life.
Don't get greedy and try to increase it and end up losing it. Put it in a safe
investment for at least a year while you learn how to manage it. These days
you can get over 2% in a certificate account. After taxes you'll keep 4 to 5
mil so you can get 80k+ for the year.

But remember, try very hard not to lose it!

------
radicalbyte
You sound similar to my family :) People keep asking us why we're not living
in a big house or driving big cars. Why would I, I don't need it?

First, get financial advice. You want to make sure that you've got a pot for
your kids and enough set aside that you don't have to work.

Then have a look at what you want to do. What makes you happy? I'm
freelancing; this year I worked half a year because I don't need the money.
Spent the last week building a "food forest" at our local primary school, it
was the most fun I've had in years.

Personally I'd put at least some of my money towards combating climate change;
but I see that as an investment in the future of my kids (and hopefully
grandchildren). I also would not stop working; I would just work less and on
my own terms.

------
philodough
1\. Sell!

2\. Read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"
[https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Ds...](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Dstripbooks-intl-ship&field-keywords=rich+dad+poor+dad)

------
orwin
Talk about this with someone you trust (wife, kids if they're old enough,
brother and/or sister, best friend...). Talking with people you don't know is
nice, but if you're anxious you need to have an open conversation with someone
who has known you for a long time.

For financial advice i can't help you, though i can give you advice for
travels, especially if you don't particulary ike visiting cities: pick a
place, then pick something (a hobby) you can learn within two weeks at this
place. I've learn skydiving, kitesurfing, and i've improved my windsurf and
kayak skills this past two years, and it was much more enkoyable than siviting
museums/bars and so on. Also i got back in shape a little, so there is that
too.

------
gboone
I'm like you, without the $8M and have an additional kid.

I'm also a financial advisor with a tech startup.

It's just money. Money doesn't do anything, so don't love it. However, your
responsibilities with it just rose far beyond what you were prepared to
handle. Take your time and find a professional. If you want to learn to do it
yourself, find a professional who will teach you.

The job produced the money, but there is still work to do as a man. So plan to
work. Work is hard, but work is where the meaning lies, not the money that the
job pays. Is also important for your kids that they see you work.

You have reason to be concerned. Many would stop working altogether. I've seen
it over and over. They end up with all the vices.

Plan to work. If you like what you're doing, keep doing it.

~~~
nathan_f77
I think this is good advice for a lot of people, maybe including the OP.
Sadly, some people will never be prepared to "unplug from the Matrix". They
wouldn't be able to handle the unlimited freedom and time without turning to
vices. Especially if they've had their soul crushed by 20 years of a career
and responsibilities, and they've forgotten all of their hobbies and
interests. I'm not being sarcastic, I think this might actually be true for
most people.

This advice doesn't really apply if you are any of the following: young,
creative, already self-employed, an entrepreneur, or you don't care if people
say that you're "not a man".

I've been freelancing for many years, so I feel like I already have one foot
in the door. I'd much rather have a lot of free time to work on my own
projects and hobbies, especially the ones that will never make any money. Even
5-10 hours per week on freelance work is really annoying (because of context
switching), and I'd much rather be doing my own thing.

~~~
gboone
Yep, different people/situations should get different advice.

------
dec0dedab0de
I don't know what you should do, but I can tell you what I would do. The goal
being to spend more time with my family.

First thing I would do is split the money into different accounts and banks
because it is not insured over 250k per bank + category

Then I would put a large chunk in stocks of big companies I personally heard
of and think will last.

I would buy a few gold bars and a safe and bury the safe, and pour cement over
it. Probably not the best advice, but the wannabe-spy in me thinks this would
be fun.

Basically I would lock myself out of large chunks of the money for the future,
while trying to resist inflation, and continue living.

I would take my family on trips, and spend time exploring my creative side.
Maybe even creating something that could turn into a business.

------
keiferski
You have a life-changing amount of money. I’d take this opportunity to educate
yourself on the possibilities now open to you.

1\. Take a million of that and move to a nice European city. You can buy a
literal mansion in somewhere like Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Lisbon, Vienna.
Comparatively, a million bucks will get you an average normal house in SF or
NYC.

2\. Take a million and put it toward your children's future education.
Consider enrolling them in a better school and/or hiring private tutors.

3\. What did you want to do as a child? Be an architect? Design video games?
Whatever it is, you can now afford it. I highly suggest really taking the time
to introspect and figure out what is meaningful to you in life.

~~~
StriverGuy
a million dollars will barely buy you an average home in NYC - unless of
course you call a 700sft 1 bedroom average.

~~~
keiferski
A million will get you an average little house in a non-sexy part of Queens.

------
lightnorth
Do NOT hire a personal wealth manager at the moment. We are at the top of the
bubble.

Tax planning is important. A small family office might be a good solution for
you to help handle the burdens that come along with this money.

Make sure you google "multi-family office" in your area and then google their
name and that they have north of $500m AUM.

Google "[name of family office] AUM" to get that figure.

As it relates to investments, you can either buy good cap-rate multi-family
properties or do some hard money lending. Look for an area where you can
purchase a multi-family performing property at a 10-cap or higher. These will
survive the next downturn well and help you generate asset-backed income that
is safe.

------
jasonhong
I recently went through a major liquidity event myself a few months ago
(Wombat Security Technologies). Here are some things my wife and I have done:

\- Get a financial advisor. Make sure that they have fiduciary responsibility,
that their job is to help you, rather than just fees. Talk to several
different ones and find one that you're comfortable with. Note that you will
eventually have to spend a fair amount of time learning about all the
different kinds of investments that are out there. One surprise for me: I
already knew about diversifying your portfolio, but had previously only heard
about doing that based on assets. It's also useful to diversify over time too,
that is slowly add more investments over time, rather than doing it all at
once (since that's timing the market, and you might get lucky, and you might
not).

\- Get an accountant. You will absolutely need one to handle the taxes.

\- Read up on Qualified Small Business Stock. If your company and length of
your stock ownership qualify, it could be a quite large benefit for you
regarding taxes.

\- Set up a Donor Advised Fund. Ok, it's probably too late if you already got
the money in the bank, but this would let you donate the stock in a way that
would save you a lot on taxes, and allow you to direct money to charities you
and your family care about.

\- Get this book: Silver Spoon Kids. Our financial advisor got this for us,
and I found it incredibly helpful as to how to talk to kids about money,
especially to make sure that they don't end messed up. This can be quite
common among financially well-off folks.

\- Set up a last will and testament. This should be done after you have kids.
It's no longer just about you, you have your kids to think about, and what
happens if both parents meet an untimely end. You will want a probate lawyer
to go through this process.

\- Max out your insurance, ie auto, home, etc. People with money can sometimes
be targets for lawsuits, for a variety of reasons. Maxing out insurance will
help with a lot of things.

\- Also echoing a lot of the previous advice, take things slow. Don't make any
rush judgements or investments. Time is on your side, and besides taxes,
there's no rush here. The interest you would get from just a money market fund
will be ridiculous.

Also, the big surprise for me? Well, as you can see above, managing a windfall
is actually _a lot of work_. But think of it as an upfront investment, to make
sure that things go more smoothly later on.

Good luck!

~~~
jasonhong
Following up on my own comment, a lot of folks are saying, don't get a
financial advisor. My wife and I discussed this quite a bit, and I was also
lucky to be able to ask a lot of questions to my brother, who previously did a
lot of work in hedge funds and has managed his own portfolio for decades.

It's a perfectly fine strategy to manage things yourself, as long as you
diversify. Be sure to get things that are non-correlated with the market, and
diversify over time.

The thing that a lot of people are missing in their "don't get a financial
advisor" advice is _access_. Access to hedge funds, access to some investment
vehicles designed to hedge your bets, access to early stage funding of
companies. These are things that you would not get easy access to without a
good financial advisor.

Again, you can do perfectly fine managing things yourself, so it's basically a
judgement call here.

------
mettamage
I've seen good financial advice in the comments. Other than that you now have
more value of answering the question: if money would not be an objection what
would you do?

In my case: I'd be learning more things, helping more people in ways that
makes me feel good but are still productive. I'd also do more things that I'd
find fun. I'd still enforce a relatively strict rhythm because I know what
happens when you lose that.

I might become a musician and go all out with that.

If you never had an urge or yearning to do anything else than your life right
now, then why change it? Live the life you want to live and try to stay
sensible / use common sense.

------
sroussey
Do nothing for a year. Put it in treasuries, minus 5%. You can do this
yourself.

You need to come to terms with having money, and that just takes time. Go
through all the seasons, all the birthdays, holidays, etc, while doing most
everything the same.

------
YouKnowBetter
Not been in your position, but what truly spoke to me was the book by
Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, titled:

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending

In short: The key lies in adhering to five key principles: Buy Experiences
(research shows that material purchases are less satisfying than vacations or
concerts); Make it a Treat (limiting access to our favorite things will make
us keep appreciating them); Buy Time (focusing on time over money yields wiser
purchases); Pay Now, Consume Later (delayed consumption leads to increased
enjoyment); and Invest in Others (spending money on other people makes us
happier than spending it on ourselves).

------
midas
I wrote this comprehensive guide that sums up what I’ve learned in the years
since I found myself having to solve this (awesome) problem:
[https://medium.com/@michaelflaxman/how-to-preserve-and-
grow-...](https://medium.com/@michaelflaxman/how-to-preserve-and-grow-your-
wealth-e49c8fcaf33)

In your specific case, I’d consider investing a small chunk of the proceeds in
a qualified opportunity zone fund. The tax incentives are massive, but there
are a lot tradeoffs that you’re unfortunately probably not in the best place
to fully work through right now :(

------
altabor
When I retired I went through a process of reverse engineering my
life...basically creating a dialog between the factors that I thought
contributed to life satisfaction and how I rated different jobs, hobbies,
projects, etc that I had been involved in. The objective was to see if my
story correlated. (Hint, it didn't.) Once I had a list of more-or-less
verified factors, now verified, I then listed all things I imagined that I
might do next and evaluated them on those criteria. I picked the three that
ranked the best and started exploring. 5 years in, this seems to have worked
well.

------
chirau
Buy a boat, get a boat guy. Whatever makes you happy. Live the life you
wanted... for a bit.

Life is too short not to enjoy the few successes you will get. Put away a
million or two and then enjoy.

Live a little, people die a lot.

Everyone here wants to make it sound as if 'it is not enough'. Screw that. 8M
puts you in an elite group, even here on HN. So most of these people here are
giving you advice with zero experience of your situation. As long as you have
a safety net or even a fallback to your normal/previous life, enjoy it the
best way you can.

After all, despite what we may all claim, a good part of why we do what we do
is for the money.

Congrats!

------
snarfybarfy
Like the saying goes, if you want to get rich:

1\. No 3rd house

2\. No 2nd wife

3\. No 1st yacht

Yayy, now that you made it you can get all of the above!!

------
kvakvs
Use the $$ as a sustain buffer to allow you live your comfortable life till
the end of your days.

1\. Do not sit there with your hands idle.

2\. Start a business. Go talk with your friends, and friends of friends. Go
talk to business owners who are friends of your friends and their friends.
Find a business which needs something improved. Investigate how many more
businesses have this problem. Figure out whether they will buy your future
solution (do sales), and figure out how to help most of them in the least
time.

There now you have a product idea going. Using your $$ to pay for your living,
get to work.

~~~
fsloth
"Start a business."

Um, he has no need to work. Why would starting a business be the most
important thing to do?

Basically, he can find out what sensible or quirky thing he likes and do that
- just as long as it does not cost more than a middle class income can
support. If he's entrepreneurial then sure, business.

But I see nothing wrong in spending ones life painting, sculpting, doing maths
or science or volunteering and charity or whatnot. Or just spending time with
the family (if that's something he enjoys). Just as long as it's something he
enjoys and finds worthwhile.

~~~
ryanmercer
>Um, he has no need to work. Why would starting a business be the most
important thing to do?

When you're financially independent you have the freedom to pursue ideas that
are more risk-averse. It's when you have the freedom to do things that you
wouldn't have felt comfortable doing when you were worried about paying your
personal bills each month like me, like my fellow peasants.

>just as long as it does not cost more than a middle class income can support.

Uh, his 4% safe-withdrawal-rate is 320k, if he wants to be cautious a 3% safe-
withdrawal-rate is 240k. That's quite a bit higher than middle-class income
(median HOUSEHOLD income in the country is 59k).

~~~
fsloth
"It's when you have the freedom to do things that you wouldn't have felt
comfortable doing when you were worried about paying your personal bills each
month like me, like my fellow peasants."

I completely agree, but we have no way to know what the best way for him would
be to use his new freedom for self -actualization. There are lots of other
interesting things to do in life as well.

"That's quite a bit higher than middle-class income."

Sure, but it's not still an insane amount of money. Before one gets the hang
of finances it's better to think in purely middle-class (or upper middle
class) financial terms. There are lots of ways to spend 8M fairly quickly.

~~~
ryanmercer
>There are lots of ways to spend 8M fairly quickly.

There's a lot of ways to spend 8 billion fairly quickly. That doesn't mean
that either isn't an obscene amount of money to many people (it's 250x~ my
gross income).

Sure, he could go buy a jet and a manse and be broke in a week, but I could
legitimately burn through 8 billion dollars fairly sensibly in several months
throwing it at serious projects. Hell, I could burn through 8 trillion in
probably 3-5 years pursuing society-changing projects.

It may not be a lot of money to tech/bay area types but to the rest of the
_world_ it's more money than the vast majority will see in multiple lifetimes.

~~~
fsloth
This is getting very off topic, but.. Um... what would you actually spend 2
trillion a year on for four years on to implement a change in society?

I mean sure, it's roughly the size of the oil market so theoretically you
could buy all the oil in the world for 4 years and just not use it, thus
forcing everyone on a massive pace to post-oil economy.

But there's a huge hysteresis in how the society works, at such a massive
scale, it's not sufficient to have the capital available, you also likely need
a competent and willing organization to fulfill your goals, political co-
operation from the major global players and most of all, for any of it to
matter at all, you need to create a change that

a) lasts

b) changes things for the better

For example of moonshot ideas, I presume you could buy Space X and bankroll an
entire series of Mars expeditions, but if you failed to create a sustainable
economy and culture around your project it would ultimately be forgotten once
the money runs out.

Of course, if you dump thousands of peoples on Mars, maybe other financial
operators would take over.

I don't know if ending oil economy or colonizing Mars were the projects you
had in mind, though.

Seriosly, if someone gave you 8 trillion... what would you do?

~~~
scarejunba
8 trillion is nothing on the scale of the Earth, right? I don’t know if I
could fix Sierra Leone with 8 trillion but I could try. I imagine setting up a
new safe free land in Africa that can take advantage of all its natural
resources and people so they can be successful. Replicate it to the rest of
the continent.

Maybe a moon base but that’s not cash-limited above a few hundred billion, I
think. I might run out of rocket scientists and habitat specialists before
running out of money.

~~~
saagarjha
That’s about enough to fund Sierra Leone’s foreign aid for a couple of
millennia.

~~~
scarejunba
But that keeps them at where they are now. Imagine making them a Japan. What
would that take?

~~~
fsloth
"What would that take?"

The quality of primary education in sub-saharan Africa is abysmal compared to
the developed world, Sierra Leone included.

I don't know what else is wrong, but not having an educated population is an
obvious hindrance towards japanization.

To fix that, you'd probably need to:

* Create a system for teacher education * Instill a sense of vocational pride in teachers

The most critical part in educational outcomes is often the fact how much the
surrounding culture values education. To support the improved infrastructure
and operators in primary education an education positive sentiment should be
instilled using various public education campaigns, including advertising and
using popular media such as TV shows to proactively affect public opinion.

Soap operas (or equivalent popular entertainment) are a really powerful tool
to instill cultural shift if you can get all stakeholders to co-operate.

After education is fixed someone should probably invest capital in some
industry that can create jobs and wealth. I don't know Sierra Leone so I don't
know what that is.

If they have lots of natural resources then a land reform where the ownership
is divided among many smallholders often is a great way to distribute and
create national wealth. It can also backfire badly if you don't know what you
are doing (like in Zimbabwe).

------
mmsimanga
Don't listen to me. If you still reading I can only say what I would do. I am
roughly same age and positon as you without the 8M. I work because I love IT
but mostly because I have to provide for my family. This money gives you
freedom. I would secure it in low risk investment and then do what I love.
Right now I am enjoying experimenting with auaponics and hydroponics. I would
love to have try my hand at being a farmer but I can't afford to quit my job.
You don't mention your hobbies or what you like, that's where I would start.

------
justaaron
1) Put aside the majority to be safely invested for your families future.
Don't play silly games like thinking of "donating it"... You will likely need
it in the future. You had the fortune of stability thus far in life, and this
doesn't last nor is it typical. Be a little more realistic here.

2) Devote your time to following your dream and doing what you enjoy doing. is
there seriously nothing you always wanted to do but never thought it would be
a reasonably paid career? Music? Film? Inventions? A programming side-project?

------
WhompingWindows
What kind of hobbies are you potentially into? I'd start there. You could grab
an acrylic paint set, a few brushes, a few canvases, and get to work painting.
You could buy a guitar or mandolin or cello and play some music. Buy a road
bike for a few hundred and hit the bike paths. Learn to make gourmet food or
baked goods. There's a LOT of really fun and enriching hobbies that are fairly
cheap/middle class and yet, your family would like the baked goods or the
paintings of Rufus, your new loveable mutt dog.

------
innodb1
Dont take any decision for 6 months to 1 yr,continue working as if you have
little money. Dont retire or tell anyone. Let the money as is

For 1 yr decide on what to do next --> it can be anything which you like

------
SmellyGeekBoy
Amazing how many people think $8M is enough to retire, or even that you'd want
to. Go travel the world with the family for a while. Clear your head and have
a good think about the future.

~~~
ryanmercer
>Amazing how many people think $8M

Um. Come check out
[https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/](https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/) but
make sure you are sitting down and don't have a heart condition.

~~~
sfblah
My view is those people are banking on stock market performance that is
influenced by a massive bubble still underway. I think in 3-5 years a bunch of
them will regret this decision, as their net worths will have been cut in half
or worse. I’m curious what you think about that.

~~~
ryanmercer
>I think in 3-5 years a bunch of them will regret this decision, as their net
worths will have been cut in half or worse. I’m curious what you think about
that.

I think you're a panic seller. 3-5 years is nothing.

~~~
tardo99
Yes but if you've been happily spending 4%, which turns into 8% because the
market is down 50%, do the math on that.

~~~
ryanmercer
The % is based on the original amount, inflation adjusted, and yes you
absolutely should tighten your belt during down years.

Your argument is given ad nauseam, there's article after article, reddit
thread after reddit thread, blog after blog explaining why your concern is a
non-issue.

------
bryanrasmussen
Are you in the U.S - meaning your healthcare and that of your loved ones is
not provided for, or are you in a country in where it is provided for? Add
that evaluation into the other ones here.

------
notananthem
Put it in index funds. Do NOT hire anyone to manage your money. You and your
family can live off the interest and then provide your children with college
tuition. You can donate some now or even more when you pass away due to
interest. I would retire and tell no one why, make a plausible "I'm working on
a business idea" excuse. Tell no one. Don't tell your kids. Figure out how to
tell your wife and don't let your partner or kids "scope creep." Live
comfortably.

------
gnicholas
If you're in the US, check into the QSBS exemption, which can give you a huge
tax break on your gains. You can exclude gains, and if you reinvest in other
qualified small business stock (angel invest) during a certain window then you
can roll over the gains for that portion.

This doesn't mean it's a good idea to angel invest now, just that it lowers
the risk a bit. I used to be a tax lawyer and know folks who advise on this;
feel free to contact me through my profile if you want to talk further.

------
webdavis
The best advice I’ve ever gotten: [https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-
series/](https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/)

------
DEADBEEFC0FFEE
My advice is to head on over to Reddit. /r/personal finance

They have a very well maintained FAQ, and are super helpful. The best thing to
do is nothing, until you have asked there.

------
meesterdude
First off, congrats!

Lots of great advice in this thread that is impossible to beat. But $8M means
you can do whatever you want: including nothing. You can do absolutely
nothing. Or! change your life. It's up to your personality and how you view
money and time. You don't HAVE to work anymore... or you could go work at
something that excites you. Or travel the world.

But whatever you do, use it to do some good in this world. Even if that's just
being a great father to your kids.

------
sneak
Don’t hire a manager, no. Sell the shares, or most of them. Put 90-180 days of
expenses in cash into savings. Put the rest into Vanguard Admiral-class index
funds and forget about it. If you end up buying a house, mortgage it like
anyone else would and make the payments. You’ll make more paying interest on
the house with the money in the Vanguard fund than you would with it just
sitting in the house (no interest, but without the parallel investment).

------
Bonomo
For now, get a new job if a similar sort. Bank the money in several relatively
safe places (insured accounts and CD's. Let it sit and earn even trivial
interest for the moment. Maintain the same lifestyle. Make no substantial
changes for at least a year. You and your wife should have a many heart-to-
heart talk about what your ultimate goals in this life and the next are, and
how your windfall may or may not help that. Don't rush.

------
known
Wisdom from
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett)
and his life style is extra-ordinary [https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/warren-
buffetts-breakfast-ne...](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/warren-buffetts-
breakfast-never-costs-more-than-317.html)

------
franciscop
Basically you won the lottery. Please read this thread fully and very
carefully, it might literally save your life:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the...](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the_happiest_5word_sentence_you_could_hear/chb4v05/)

You did well so far for publishing this anonymous, so kudos.

------
Oras
1\. Buy few flats/houses and rent them out. This way your investment will
always go up comparing to saving money in the bank and you'll get consistent
income like a salary. 2\. Focus on your health, do some sport like jogging or
running. Start small and keep increasing it. I'm suggesting this because you
didn't mention you're exercising. 3\. As everyone else said, spend more time
with the family.

~~~
thaumasiotes
> Buy few flats/houses and rent them out. This way your investment will always
> go up comparing to saving money in the bank and you'll get consistent income
> like a salary.

It's true that investing in real estate to rent can give you a loss compared
to nothing, but I don't think this comment deserved the downvotes it got. This
strategy offers a fairly significant psychological advantage. The old
principle of staying rich is that you own some kind of wealth that gives you
an income, and you spend out of your income. Mortgaging or, even worse,
selling your principal is the road to poverty.

The "modern" view of being rich as owning stocks that pay off by experiencing
price appreciation makes this idea incoherent. Your entire wealth is principal
and you have no income. For an asset that generates rent, or a stock that pays
dividends, you have a much clearer conceptual divide between your stock of
wealth and the income it generates, and therefore a much simpler idea of what
it's OK to spend.

If you don't quite trust yourself with the money, setting up a scheme that
allows you to follow a simple bright-line rule of thumb isn't the worst thing
in the world.

Don't listen to people who say you should plan to spend the whole thing down
so that you've finally drained it to exactly $0 just in time for your own
planned death. Hold on to it.

------
artpi
Another amazing information: [https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/win-
lottery-what-...](https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/win-lottery-what-
to-do/)

Please be conservative and take time to educate yourself about investing /
markets. It will take about a year. YOU CANNOT TRANSFER RESPONSIBILITY for
this. You need to know how this works.

------
lbriner
Learn how to know whether somebody is trustworthy. You will certainly attract
a lot of friends who either want your money or will help you spend it. If you
don't know how to measure trust, you might well lose a lot.

For most of us, the stakes are low so it is not a primary skill we need but
with $8M, you need to know there are people who would ask for it all, promise
the world and deliver nothing.

------
mv4
Based on the details you shared, I would use the same advice that's typically
given to lottery winners. Speak with a trusted lawyer, then a financial
advisor. Set up a low risk, income-generating structure. Once the dust has
settled, your family banking is set up, and you have interest payments coming
in - only then can you think what's next. Not before.

Congrats, this is a huge achievement.

------
fsloth
Congratulations! But you don't _need_ to do anything, do you? 8 million is not
a terribly large fortune - although way more than most will see in their
lifetime. If you live 50 years, you can use 100 000 of that per year, and
still have something left over after a few surprise expenses. That's still
middle class existence - except for the burning need to be employed.

------
nazgulnarsil
Don't think of yourself as having 8M, think of yourself as having 320k/yr (4%
rule) with minimal work (managing the money). This will sober up some of the
emotional parts.

Also, you are over the threshold to true freedom, so think carefully before
doing the 'obvious' things like buying a house or two that will only, in
reality, saddle you with obligations.

------
macca321
You see a lot of stories about friendships and family relationships being
ruined when people find out and feel entitled to a share.

------
fosco
congrats!!!!!

you did not win the lottery but I keep this link [0] handy in case I every get
a windfall it has some gems of good advice and caution.

briefly, I wish I had tour problem and if I can fantasize for a minute....
after paying off all loans/debts and doing a month of two of traveling I would
probably take classes in physics and writing while trying to find a way to
invest it safely with the goal of more or less keeping the money and growing
it only safely and not losing it on foolish investments.

lastly I also keep this comment [1] as a reference for general financial
advice.

best of luck!

[0]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the...](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the_happiest_5word_sentence_you_could_hear/chb4v05/)

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10114707](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10114707)

------
tempoy12323232
Since you have kids, I would recommend putting money into your kids college
fund, and make sure not to touch it, no matter what.

------
gboone
So now you see there are two camps of advice:

1) it's all about what to do with the money 2) it's all about you

Rule of thumb in practice is don't take advice from someone who hasn't taken
the time to understand more than what you shared. If you ask non-anonymously
for advice to a professional with proper standards, you should get questions
in response.

------
neom
First thing you should do is something fun. Second thing you should do is
something fun. Third thing you should do is something for someone else. Make
that take at least year. Don't spend more than $500k on it. By then you'll
know what you want to. Oh, and don't forget to be humbled by how insanely
insanely lucky you are.

------
paulie_a
Buy something nice for yourself, invest the rest. lottery winners have a high
bankruptcy rate. I can't find the interview but there was a great one with a
janitor that got a similar amount of money. he bought himself a Rolex then
invested. A tiny frivolous but incredibly pragmatic overall.

With that amount, hire someone and then find some hobbies.

------
shakkhar
Philip Greenspun became a millionaire at 37. He wrote about his experience and
provided some good advices (IMO):
[http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-
retirement/](http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-retirement/).

EDIT: Forgot to say - Congratulations!

------
joshstrange
You should cross post this on /r/personalfinance It's a great community and
they have a wiki article on just this
[https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall)

------
kenneth
If there's anything you've ever wanted to do, but felt too stressed out about
work to do, this is your chance to think about it more seriously (e.g. living
in Europe for a year).

Beyond that, divide it up into a low-risk portfolio and investments that can
make passive income. Don't let anyone know you have this newfound wealth.

------
kome
Help me create nothing at all:
[https://www.patreon.com/mrtno](https://www.patreon.com/mrtno)

Now serious answer: I don't know if it has been translated into English (I
don't think so) but two famous French sociologist worked on what happens when
normal people win huge prizes at the lotto (for a review, in French:
[https://journals.openedition.org/lectures/1140](https://journals.openedition.org/lectures/1140))

Many commenters here suggesting not change your lifestyle, and I think they
are right. But it won't be possible. Your world is going to change anyway. You
are entering a world with many unwritten rules, and it takes time to adapt.
Learning the rules will create for sure some malaise.

You can just step into the world of the "rich" without making some faux pas. A
new socialization will be necessary. At the same time, you just won't be able
to lead a "normal" life as before. Learning how to manage this fortune will
likely take your time for a bit.

My advice: don't be hard on yourself if you do something wrong. It will happen
for sure.

------
maynman
I've recently started learning about the benefits of passive investing in
index funds. I learned a lot from this blog. Maybe you'll find it helpful too:
[https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/](https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/)

------
Youpi2234
I don't know if you live in France, but you can: \- Create an account in
Panama \- Going around the city in singing "LaLaLa" Check this guy:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQuCdLzFwag](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQuCdLzFwag)

------
readhn
Realistically 8M (is this after taxes??) is not much money these days.
Considering rising health care costs, real estate, college fees (you have 2
kids) this is "nothing".

Example: If you want your kids to be college debt/mortgage free when they grow
up (dont give them the money now, rather they have that ability when time
comes) - you have 2 kids, figure by the time they are adults average starter
condo price in a major city will be 1.5 million? So 3 mil goes towards their
mortgage. Another million to pay for education costs/support studies. Oooops
1/2 is gone already. You have 4Mil left - You need 2Mil to retire. Now you
have 2Mil left. If you want to buy a place somewhere nice and warm to retire -
figure 1Mil to buy a property there and another million to service that house
(taxes, repairs etc).

So here 8Mil is gone its simply not much money and is nothing to freak out
about. Just sit down and divide it all up towards your long term goals.

and Congrats! Its a big deal to be able to have your kids mortgage/college
debt free and be able to have a somewhat worry free retirement.

~~~
arcticfox
Lol buying your kids $3 million worth of condos seems more than "nothing".

~~~
readhn
3million for 2, so 1.5mil each and thats in 10-15-20 years, so think inflation
on top of price appreciation.

i dont know where you live but 1million really does not buy anything
extravagant these days in a major city hub. just a regular house/condo.

------
ddebernardy
You've more than enough to retire. Invest the money conservatively, retire
financially, and do whatever you come up with (side projects that earn you
money, community projects that don't, whatever) while enjoying your time with
your wife and kids. The latter are most important.

------
expertentipp
Do nothing and retire, find some relaxing job maybe. Don't give away, or start
having some "brilliant" investment ideas. Figuring out how to make the things
work - taxes, health insurance, diversifying assets for security - will take
enough time and effort to figure out.

------
mcv
I would suggest to either get an annuity (is that the correct term in English?
Dutch "lijfrente" is what I'm talking about), or put it in safe investment and
let it pay interest every month. That way you're certain to have a decent
income for the rest of your life.

Now you can either retire early and spend more time with your family, or, if
you need something else to do, just get another job. Do volunteer work, become
an activist for a cause you care about.

Free yourself from the worry and stress that comes with having to work for a
living. You can still work, but do it because you want to, or because it's
something you care about.

Paying off your mortgage is always a good idea too.

And you don't have to use any of this money. Feel free to be generous with it
to others. Give to important causes, or to the homeless near where you live.
Or sit on it. You wouldn't be the first person to turn out to have an unused
fortune when you die.

Whatever the case, don't freak out about the money. Use it to free yourself
from stress; don't make it a new source of stress.

------
rsynnott
Definitely don't retire without considering it very carefully. Some people do
well with (in your case, very, very) early retirement, but many don't at all.
Just because it's possible to retire doesn't mean it's necessarily the
sensible thing to do.

~~~
arbol
Retiring is a funny concept. Just because you can suddenly not work doesn't
mean you should rest on your laurels. Work is a way to remain occupied,
however it is too prescriptive in nature.

Most people would benefit from a "retirement" that involved continuing
occupation but in a wider variety of roles, with greater freedom to chop and
change.

------
gwbas1c
I occasionally work with someone who is in a similar situation.

He just continued with his career and the associated stress level. The
difference is that he drives a fancy car, and will walk away from a bad job.

I also suspect that he takes 2-8 month "funemployed" stints when he wants a
vacation.

------
megaman8
Hold on to it and don't tell anyone you have the money: not even relatives,
just your wife.

Be very careful when you spend it. There are 2 types of spending in life:
Assets and liabilities, learn about this. You want to minimize your
liabilities and maximize your assets.

------
zarkov99
Read the last few chapters of "the simple path to wealth". In a nutshell,
invest most of it in a broad index fund and if you can live with 4% of the 8
million, you will not need to work again and you will leave your children more
than enough.

------
qaq
One thing you can not go wrong with is learning things. It kindah sux that in
general outside of situation like yours you can not really take a break and
just learn something new full time in early 40s (if you have family and kids
to take care off).

------
abraae
There's some bad stuff coming down the pike in a few decades so use your good
fortune to prepare yourself and our family.

Buy a bolthole somewhere that will have a good microclimate/rainfall even as
things hot up. You don't need to go all prepper but build some kind of house
there and start your integration into the local community, it will be good to
have friends. Plant some shade trees. Get some solar, water tanks, etc. Go
over capacity so that you can help out others.

Spend time with your kids, that's one thing you can never get back. Travel -
slowly and considerately - by yacht, not be jet. Learn about the world first
hand. Help them become adaptable and resilient, they're going to need it.

Who knows what the world of work will hold, so think of the money as having to
not just see you out but also one or two generation after you. Then it won't
look like quite so much, and you'll be able to make wise choices.

------
ergest
What to do if you win the lottery.
[https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/win-lottery-
what-...](https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/win-lottery-what-to-do/)

------
jgalentine007
Spend some of it, take a vacation, do things you wouldn't otherwise do.

I sold my tech company at age 25 and suddenly had a boat load of money, and
instead of doing the above I immediately went on to the next job. It's 10
years later I regret it.

------
fillskills
1\. Save and plan for the future. You might need a financial planner. Happy to
recommend.

2\. Find an interesting problem to work on. It is hard to be free and have no
goals. Now you have the ability to build your own goals. Dont rush into it,
take your time.

------
na85
Invest it into something stable. If you can get even 2.5% interest on your 8
million, that's $200k. I would think realistically you could get 5%.

You can live on that much, never work again, and still leave a nest egg for
your kids' education.

------
quickthrower2
I'd park it until you figure it out. See a lawyer about a will, ask about
trusts and stuff, and where to park it safely. Live life like normal for a few
months. Give yourself time to figure it out. Nice problem to have, enjoy it!

------
askaboutit
If this was to happen to me. I would buy stock in long term, low yield
investments. Very long term investments with small payments. Similar to a
superannuation program or large industry fund. I would take small amount and
take a break, somewhere I always wanted. Take the whole family. Replace both
cars (if they were needed) to extend their warranties for 7+ years. Place some
money aside for college fees for the children (if that’s your things). Keep
$100,000 as a “sickness” backup for insurance or even Cancer or some similar
expensive cost (if it does cost a lot where you live).

At the end you’ll end up getting back your $8,000,000 but you’ll be getting it
10-20 years when you want to retire and do sweet nothing. Right now your brain
still wants to produce and provide. So I doubt you will want to quit working.
Maybe you can take a pay cut and do a job you always wanted?

------
option_greek
> Should I donate it?

You have time and money. Why would you trust some one else's judgement on how
to do good things with your money. Spend your time and money to do good. I
think that would be more rewarding than anything you can do anyway.

------
neonhz
Buy one or two houses in a nice seaside area, rent them, live all your life
with a continuous income and do not spend too much. I would do this if this
crappy software project management work I am doing gave me the same money :)

------
messel
I'd go with 1 brokerage, Index fund most of it, keep 20% cash for misc
investments (ethereum). Hire a trustworthy accountant.

It's only money. Now you have some, congratulations. Get back to focusing on
the things that matter!

------
marshalmallows
Probably the best thing to do is to set up trusts for your family invested in
a broad range of companies across a portfolio. It could help with education of
your grandchildren even. You never know when you may need it.

------
tananaev
First of all, you don't have to do anything immediately. Don't rush. Take your
time, study different options to invest the money. Personally I would put most
of it in an index fund with low cost.

------
orasis
Use a fee only investment advisor.

Set up a diversified portfolio so that you don’t ever have to think about your
money.

Invest in your relationship with your wife and kids - learn how to become a
holistically better person.

------
slvrspoon
For Charities, look at www.givewell.net. then, on a vacation, go visit some of
them and see for yourself. if this doesn't provide life-changing perspective
---> therapy.

------
pplonski86
Wear sunscreen! [https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI](https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI)

Focus on your family and yourself. Do not focus too much on money.

------
intralizee
You should figure out how much to put away for whenever a time comes where you
need financial freedom it's upon grasp. Money for health emergencies, food,
taxes and loved ones.

------
anonu
Lots of advice to put your money in the stock market. Have you seen the stock
market this year?

Don't get me wrong, the stock market is a perfectly great place to park your
money, and it's basically back stopped by the US government.

My suggestion is look to invest elsewhere. Invest in real estate, invest in
businesses. The latter, as you now know, can create much more wealth than the
stock market.

The end goal of this isn't the money at this point. It's to build and be
creative. It's not for everyone. Just my two cents.

EDIT: If you do put your money in the markets - invest in a handful of low
cost and well-diversified ETFs. Hiring an advisor could be a good idea - but
make sure you know their fees.

~~~
joshmlewis
This is full of bad or not helpful advice.

> Lots of advice to put your money in the stock market. Have you seen the
> stock market this year?

Investing a large sum in the stock market like this is not meant to make quick
money, it's for the long term. If you invest in funds that follow the S&P500
it's statistically going to bring solid returns over the long term. This will
allow you draw a salary from the returns keeping the principle intact.

> Invest in real estate, invest in businesses.

Investing in real estate and businesses should be a small piece or even hobby
until you really get a grasp on it. It's an easy way to lose a lot of money.

> The latter, as you now know, can create much more wealth than the stock
> market.

It can but again great reward = great risk. Angel investing is a full time job
in itself and unless you have the right connections with the best companies
it's very difficult to do the right deals where the 10x returns happen.

> Hiring an advisor could be a good idea - but make sure you know their fees.

Not just know their fees but make sure it's a fiduciary and not just a broker.
A fiduciary advisor is legally obligated to put your best interest first.

------
erfgh
Put a large portion on stocks but make sure to sell enough of them each year
so that you have enough to live on. When you are close to retirement slowly
move everything to bonds.

------
Mechanico
Take a trip to Jersey (the island) and you will be well taken care of. Another
place is Marbella/ Puerto Banus Spain, good place to park money and make some
while parked.

------
nprateem
Find a purpose - something you can look back on and be proud of. Ask yourself
what the best way would be for someone with your skills to help others... then
start on it.

------
GnwbZHiU
I would use 1M (max) to get a new house & car, donate 10%, and put the rest in
investment properties (different regions), gold, and some blue chip shares.

~~~
GnwbZHiU
And congratulations & good luck with managing the wealth.

------
tomcooks
Give 10% to the poor and causes you respect, go do a world tour with your
family or alone, make a bucket list and fulfill it

The world is your oyster go abuse the opportunity

------
mikeymz
Get someone to manage it, take a nice, comfortable salary and start enjoying
yourself. Out of respect for the rest of us schlubs DO NOT get another job.

------
dkersten
Take a little time out to reflect on life before you do anything with it. The
money will still be there in a few weeks/months when you’re ready.

------
james_s_tayler
Well my personally philosophy is: "the only question in life you need to have
an answer for is 'what are you gonna do about it?'"

------
mindcrime
First of all, congrats. You are in a great situation, now you just have to
manage it to allow you to live your life the way you want from here on out.

The very first thing I'd do is watch this video (it's a famous scene from the
movie _The Gambler_ ).
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjKP8vYjpQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjKP8vYjpQ)

The basic idea is to establish your "position of 'Fuck You'". You basically
have that already... house paid for, cars paid for, etc. Put enough of your
money aside in conservative, safe, long-term investments that you'll never be
hurting for money. Include things like your kids college tuition or whatever
things are important to you. Once you have that, even if you blow the rest of
the money on toys, sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, whatever, you always have the
ability to say "fuck you" to anybody who hassles you.

Beyond that, you can decide if you want to try and grow your wealth by
investing and actively managing your money. Maybe you would want to do some
angel investing, who knows? Or maybe you want to engage in some philanthropy.
You probably don't have enough money to get a hospital named after you, but
you could buy uniforms for the local high-school band group, or donate to a
local volunteer fire department, or any number of things.

Should you continue to work? It's up to you... my guess is that if you flat-
out retire at your age you'll find yourself bored pretty quickly, but it
depends on what kinds of things you choose to engage in. Maybe there are some
hobbies that have been latent in the back of your mind, that you would enjoy,
but you just never made time to take up. Spend some time exploring things.
Think about what you enjoyed as a kid that you gave up as an adult, etc. Or
maybe you want to spend some time volunteering - become a volunteer
firefighter, or volunteer at an animal shelter, or a soup kitchen, or a
homeless shelter or something.

Anyway, it's hard to give somebody else advice on this, because we all have
different values and priorities. But I think the "position of fuck you" stuff
is pretty universal. Lock that in, and what you do beyond that is up to you,
while you always have that as your floor.

------
arrty88
Learn how to be a great lead. Or a great coder. Or a great painter. You can
take the time to explore all parts of life and figure out your passion.

------
mimixco
Yes, yes, and no. Definitely get some (objective) professional money
management help. Pick someone the wealthy use like JPMorgan Chase. Take care
of your family; buy them houses, cars, and education. Find a charity you care
about and don't just give money but get involved. And use some of it to help
another startup get started. (I humbly suggest mine,
[http://mimix.io](http://mimix.io)) But whatever you do, don't retire. How
dull would that be? :-) Thanks for sharing your good news.

------
fouc
I highly recommend reading "Early Retirement Extreme" (the book) and
[http://mrmoneymustache.com/blog/](http://mrmoneymustache.com/blog/). Check
the [https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/) for
some simple investing strategies. Or look at "Perpetual Portfolio" for a
simple allocation of of 1/4 gold, 1/4 bonds, 1/4 stock, 1/4 cash.

------
webdavis
[https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/](https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/)

------
Tepix
Try something new. Scuba diving. Sailing. Perhaps you will be passionate about
it and want to travel the world to do it. This is your chance.

------
tasuki
There is no "should" here! It's your money now, do with it whatever you want
:)

Guidance: don't freak out, it's gonna be fine.

------
swah
Retire or move to a low stress job, teach young people if you enjoy that,
spend time with your kids, travel every year.

------
sbfeibish
Wait for a market washout. There may be a big one coming. Then, invest it in
stocks that increase their dividend every year. But say don't borrow money, or
perform some other kind of financial engineering, to cover their dividend.
These are the companies that are making money and are proven winners. Then let
the money sit year after year after year. Unless something drastically bad
about the company's business has changed.

------
skilled
Go travel my friend! And don't put yourself in the position of subscribing to
luxury travel either. You'll be burning through money faster than you realize.

Besides, trying to live truly locally will yield such 'rich' life experience.
Nothing like connecting with other cultures and experiences without the
emphasis on the balance within your bank account.

Other than that, congrats! That's a nice lump of money and best of luck to you
and your family.

~~~
skilled
Haha, so many salty downvotes in this thread. Relax.

------
lesss365
To go against the current a little bit, hold off on investing in the stock
market as of now. The market is likely to turn downwards within the next year
or two. There are too many indicators pointing to this.

Hold off and wait for the major indexes to lose ~40%-50% in value, then
invest. During the 2008 crash, the main indexes and stocks lost ~40%-60%, and
treasury bonds ~8%-10%. Save your money now and invest when markets start to
bottom out.

~~~
niklasd
I'm not sure this is good advise. If there is one thing that I've heard from
experienced people, it is that you can't time the market, and you should
attempt to. Never invest a bulk of money at once, invest it in small chunks on
a regular basis, so you will get an average of the market, which is the best
you can hope for.

By the way, there have been inidcators and reasons for a downwards turn for
years, and I know people who stoppend investing years ago, losing out on
gains. It's never a good idea to time the market.

------
widgetic
Invest:

\- some in crypto

\- some in a few angel rounds

\- put some aside as the stock market will crash and you'll be able to buy
most stuff at 80% (or more) discount

~~~
user24
Very funny, you almost had me.

------
dugluak
If I was in your situation I would take a break from work and enroll into a
collage and try to get another degree.

------
inertiatic
Do you have no hobbies because you didn't have time or energy for them?

There's a whole lot of interesting things to do...

------
grezql
put the money is fund, one that is safe but gives like 3% annual return. Quit
your job, spend time with family and maybe start in a NGO or other voltuntary
workplace. Help other unfortunate people. You have now a stable passive
income. Spend some of the annual income on vacation with your family

------
nemacol
If it were me, I would...

Set aside a large chunk of it in some investment/retirement vehicle to provide
funds during retirement or should something dramatic happen in your life that
you need the money. A personal safety net / retirement fund. If you or your
wife's parents are still around you might consider if they will need help in
retirement (I know mine will).

Create two funds for the kids for use if they choose to go to college or
whatever. Nothing dramatic, just enough to offer aid and support during that
part of life transition.

Set aside a fund and find a local cause to support. Something you and your
wife might do together. Don't toss all the money at once. Do a monthly or
yearly donation and become involved in making the lives of others better. Not
just as a financial supporter but as a real life presence that does real work
to make a difference.

Take up woodworking or welding or sculpting or painting or something else that
involves making with your hands (or whatever you are physically able to do)

Find a new job and be super picky about what you are doing. Try to find
something you will be proud to work on.

Not a complete list by any means. But with a little list like this you will be
making a choice to better the lives of your family, community, and yourself.
You have the potential to be a positive force of good in the world. You will
feel good knowing that you utilized your situation to give back to the
community you live in.

------
anonyxyz
You should checknout the financial independence subreddit, it deals
specifically with this topic

------
lobo_tuerto
Just live frugally, be prudent with your money, save for your kids or any
emergency. Be happy.

------
metahost
Congratulations on the Independence. Be aware of maslow's hierarchy of needs
though.

------
earthwrldshaman
Just wanted to say, the throwaway handle you selected is prime, 'throwaway8m'

------
jv22222
If you do go for wealth management I’ve heard good things about
[https://www.hightoweradvisors.com](https://www.hightoweradvisors.com)

I forget the exact benefit but it was something about independent analysis and
not being the consultant and the provider at the same time.

------
adebelov
Congrats on Qualtrics exit :)

------
akhatri_aus
If you have to ask, nothing. Put it aside in ETFs or something for your kids.

------
vinod1073
I think you need to invest in my startup :p

Kidding aside! Ask your kids what their aspirations are, and spend a part(may
be around 30-40%) of that money accordingly. Use around 30% of the money for
your investments. Keep 20% of the money in safe (try not to use it). Spend 10%
of the money on charity.

------
sailfast
Put aside enough for your kids college education. Put aside a year’s living
expenses.

Donate a small sum to charity.

Do you really have much left after that? Kids are expensive.

Unless you are ready to stop working I wouldn’t retire - enjoy some time off
and do what you love now that you have options. Thank the lord for your
blessings.

------
mooreds
If it were me, I'd talk to my CPA about long term tax management. Then I'd
probably talk to a second CPA about the same issue. Then I'd follow their
advice to make sure that I minimized taxes going forward. I'd also err towards
capital preservation.

I'd probably take the wife and kids out to a really nice dinner and write some
anonymous donations to worth causes (on the order of $10k or something--you
can get money orders if you don't want charities getting your address).

Then, I'd take a few weeks and do nothing, just hang out with the kids and the
wife, read, code, whatever. Let your mind marinate.

Then I'd write out some goals for the rest of my life. They don't need to be
firm, but could be 'I want to learn about X to see if I really want to do it'
goals. I might engage with a career coach and see if that could provide some
guidance about next steps--they have tests that can help give some direction.

tl;dr

* preserve your capital from risk and taxes

* take some time off

* but not too much time

* find something you can pursue

------
mittermayr
There's two components you need to manage here: the financial/legal/security
component, and the personal component. The latter is the really hard one.

For the first, you may want to go as boring and sane as possible, make sure
there's never a way to lose all of it at once. Banking crashes? Have money
elsewhere. Other country crashes? Have money at home. You crash (literally, in
a car, and become disabled), have someone you trust have access to part of the
money. Your family crashes (emotionally), have some money somewhere safe.

And, for the personal component — the tough one — you have two troublemakers:
the urge to treat yourself and live a little, and the urge to make something
entirely different of your life than you thought was previously possible.

While you say you have no vices, understand that they come and go as they
please, and you might find yourself in an unexpected situation with a perfect
vice to match.

It's like going up escalators. Floor 1 and 2, regular people, regular shops,
you've got all you need there. Now you're on floor 6 or 7, everything looks
ridiculous. Why would anyone need another house, why would anyone drive a fun
car and a regular car, why vacation on a tiny island at the remotest place on
earth? Why.... well... I will be dead in a few years anyway, so... I can do
what I want. I should do what I want. Why do I live, if I don't live a little!
Those things catch you out on the days when your emotional vinyl record skips
a little, just for a split-second. Maybe you used to treat yourself to a
chocolate pastry you'd usually skip at Starbucks on a bad day, which, now is
capable of turning into a cancerous flaw around your self-reward-system.
Something with the kids, something with the wife, something with a friend
asking the wrong thing. Not everybody is like this, maybe a lot of people
aren't, but most won't know before they come across a bit of money mixed in
with a cocktail of new opportunities.

The calmest and most-stable rich friends I have, are those who live a life
that really is almost entirely like anyone's life. They spend on things that
matter, which is health, security and reasonable comfort, and are just like
everyone else otherwise. They know when the grocery store raises their prices
is what I am trying to say.

I think the best thing you could do, and bear in mind this is advice from a
random stranger on the internet, is to pay yourself some kind of yearly
allowance. Much like a salary. In a perfect world, that'd be mostly from
interest and similar gains, but don't be too tempted to maximise that (and its
risk). Do work, do something that excites you. Working with other people you
like very often trumps trying to manically work something out for yourself,
but everyone's different. Possibly work part time, two or three days a week,
spend the rest of the time seeing your kids actively grow up. They'll
appreciate it later, even if they won't show it now.

------
PeterMikhailov
Keep working.

Health insurance premiums for your family will increase forever.

------
qwertyqazol
Dude, first off, congrats! Secondly, regarding this: "I do not THINK I have
any real hobbies." FIND SOME HOBBIES!!! You've got all the time in world to
what you love, or what you used to love. As a kid, what did you want to be
when you grew up? What makes you tick now? What are you interested in or think
you could be interested in? Do you have academic interests? If so, cold email
some professors in your area and join their labs. Or go back to school in a
fascinating subject. Go traveling and do cool things like parasailing, eat
good food, listen to good music. Learn how to cook, PLAY some music. Learn an
instrument with some adults that are also newbies to music. Learn to dance! Go
clubbing with your wife, even though it's not your scene. Get a couple's
massage! Have some kinky sex!

And, most importantly, do some cannabis with your closest friends. Take 5mg of
an edible if you don't like to smoke.

Then sleep in the next morning. The day after, get up at 600 and get after it
:)

------
sfblah
I have like $15m am around your age. If you would like to actually talk to
someone in your category, give me a throwaway email to message you on and
let’s talk. The advice here is generally good, though.

------
sergiotapia
First thing: Tell no one except your wife.

lol and don't donate

------
throwaway648
1) don’t listen to strangers in internet. 2) don’t stop working. work part
time on something you enjoy; no more grinding. 3) start running and complete a
marathon on every continent.

------
HugoVink
www.fastnedcharging.com

We are looking for investors. You will be doing something great for the planet
and you will grow your wealth at the same time.

------
send_money
I highly reccomend you to sent me a part of them.

------
monotone666
You just need to smoke that rapper weed and dmt

------
theboywho
Give me 1 million and let's be friends and deal with our sudden wealth.

Joke aside, you already got plenty of good advice here, I would just suggest
you invest a fair amount in Bitcoin.

------
fersab
Not that you will do it but,

Since you mostly feel "lucky", find the devs or other people who worked their
asses off to make this happen and who did not get anything.... and share!

------
strikelaserclaw
jesus christ friend, you are free to make whatever decision you want, that is
what the money grants you. Work or retire, i'm sure 8 mil is more than enough
to do anything. I'm sure with proper investments, even lower yielding ones,
you should be more than good. I'm not really sure what the people below who
say that its not enough really do with their money, it is more than enough.

------
leoplct
Spend $8M to not have an average life.

------
gilesvangruisen
Hire an advisor, and buy some plane tickets for your family. There is, in my
opinion, no greater education than seeing the world.

------
sweetp
open up a small ice cream store with short work hours, and spend time with
your family. :)

------
raymondgh
There are many problems in the world ranging from atrocities to missed
opportunities. Is there nothing that bothers you?

------
aecorredor
Given your situation you can wire me 1 million. Shoot me a reply and I’ll send
you my info. Congrats on your big exit!

------
sdegutis
Donate it. Regain your peace.

------
lakeeffect
Index funds. A money manager will cost 80k year, 1%. Index fund will cost 8k
year. Check out vanguard.

------
nathan_f77
That's awesome, congratulations!

If you're not already familiar with FIRE (financial independence, retire
early) then check out these subreddits:

* [http://reddit.com/r/financialindependence](http://reddit.com/r/financialindependence)

* [https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE](https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE)

Most people use a safe withdrawal rate of around 4%. If you retire at 50-60
and invest your money in index funds, you can withdraw around 4% per year if
you want to end up with $0 just before you die. If you use a much more
conservative rate of 3% and minimize your expenses during a market downturn,
then your assets should actually continue to grow while providing you with a
steady annual income.

$8,000,000 * 3% = $240,000 per year

So the first thing to realize is that this does not make you ultra-rich. There
are plenty of people working at tech companies (especially managers) who are
earning around $240k per year. However, this means you can earn the same
annual income without ever working again for the rest of your life. Don't buy
a bigger house or a few new cars before you think about this carefully. It
would be very easy to inflate your lifestyle or send your kids to much better
schools, and then you would just have to keep working to pay all your bills
(and you probably wouldn't be any happier.)

I don't think you need to hire a financial advisor. $8M is a lot of money, but
it's not too much to invest by yourself. If I were in your shoes, I would put
a lot of the money in index funds (VOO - Vanguard S&P 500).

Also you should really ask yourself if you need more than $8M, or if $240k per
year for the rest of your life is plenty of money. If so, I would avoid any
risky investments, because you need them. If you want to do some angel
investing or buy some Bitcoin, do it with no more than 5% of your assets, and
just because it's fun. Don't purchase any rental properties unless you want to
deal with maintenance and tenants. And definitely don't be tempted to start
your own company and invest a lot of your own money. You would be taking on a
huge amount of risk for no reason. It's very easy to lose all of your money
that way.

Anyway, I should try to answer your questions:

* Should I donate it?

Yes, that would be great. If you want someone to recommend numbers, then I'd
recommend an initial donation of $1M, and then 10-20% of your annual
investment income.

* Should I hire a personal wealth manager?

No, I don't think that's necessary. A lot of them end up charging really high
fees for below-market returns. I would start looking for a good financial
advisor around $25M. But you should definitely find a good accountant.

* Should I retire?

Yes, definitely. At the very least, find some work that you enjoy. Don't just
keep going into work because it's what you've always done.

------
onion2k
_I have no debts or “vices”. I do not like smoking, drinking or going out._

Maybe it's time to start. :)

------
bigcloud1299
wow. the most honest self assessment ever!!

------
MichaelMoser123
congratulations!

------
mariusmg
Congrats man, you have what most of us do not.

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM.

------
jaworrom
Real estate!

------
joaofiliperocha
spend it on hookers and cocaine

------
Theodores
Invest in people and bicycles as a social experiment.

Bicycle workshops were where all of today's big auto makers got started. The
Wright Brothers also got started in a bicycle workshop.

So what would happen if you made the largest individual purchase of bicycles
in history and gave them away to some war torn part of the world? You could
choose a town in Afghanistan where the road/rail connections were not great
and choose a demographic - all 16 year old people in the town. The bicycles
could be reasonably decent and fit for purpose. There need not be any strings
attached, however, your 'sponsored' town would be different to other towns due
to the bicycles.

In five years time would the economy of that town grow in ways that
neighbouring towns did not? Would there be bicycle workshops and innovation?
Would people be better educated? Would your 'bikes not bombs' development
model inspire others?

You need not even visit your chosen war-torn town to get things started. You
could get some post-traumatised veterans to go out there and do the swords to
ploughshares bit, setting up bikes properly and making sure that everything
was distributed as per the 'experiment'.

A few years ago the bicycle company Kona made an interesting bike for Africa,
it enabled Western buyers to buy two 'Africabike' models at full retail with
another 'Africabike' being donated to Africa. Somewhere in Africa, a long way
from the news headlines are doctors able to do their rounds in a fraction of
the time due to their steeds. This is conventional 'charity'. You can forget
the 'charity' part and instead just see if you can stimulate a whole economy,
albeit at a town size level, just by adding bicycles.

I am sure that in years to come the people of this to-be-decided town would
welcome you and your family as kings, even if the bicycles did end up wrecked
after a few years.

You might laugh at this suggestion, however, I have helped a local homeless
guy with a bike (and a radio). He has too much pride to be 'homeless' but he
is, even if I don't see him that way. The bike enables him to do dog-walking
gigs and gardening jobs that were too far away to get to when walking was the
only option. There is a small virtuous circle enabled this way, not everyone
can find a person to walk their dog whilst they are working, not everyone is
fit enough to keep their garden in order. My friend is not stuck as a beggar.
He contributes to the local economy, earning money fair and square. The bike
enables this transformation.

There is quite a lot in it for me too - I don't have to shuffle by my homeless
friend, ignoring him out of fear I might have to be parted with my 'spare'
change. I also like to have a go at fixing things so my bike skills stay
fresh. I also feel a lot safer in public areas due to being on first name
terms with local homeless folk including aforementioned friend.

So my advice is to do the bike thing at a larger scale for enlightened self-
interest reasons.

------
milesvp
First, there's some pretty good advice already here. I'm not really adding
much, but I'm hoping I can simplify some things.

Don't freak out. There's nothing to freak out about. You have a windfall, and
unless the taxes are wrong, you can live the rest of your life on the
interest.

The simplest thing to put the money in an index stock market index fund (I
have very high trust in Vanguard, but there are lots of low cost index funds
in most brokerages). You can realistically live off of a 3% draw down for the
rest of you and your wife's lives, and never have to worry about the capital.
3% is very conservative, and many consider 4% to have a very good chance of
continuing to grow your capital. This means, that your family now has a nearly
guaranteed income of $240k, which will more or less grow with inflation. And
is more than enough to live on in roughly 95% of the world.

You mention everything is paid for, and no debt. This is good, if you're not
including your mortage in this, it's definitely a good idea to pay off your
mortgage even if it's below 4% simply because you reduce your risk profile.

If you want to get fancy, and reduce your risk profile even more, at the cost
of income, it's a good idea to also hold an index bond fund, somewhere around
30% of your portfolio. You'll want to decide the percentage up front, and
rebalance your portfolio at least every 2 years. More often is better, but
I've never run the math on how frequent will minimize your tax burden.

It's also a good idea to keep cash reserves of somewhere between 1-3 years
living expenses split amongst multiple banks. This is mostly for catastrophic
risk prevention, and will prevent you from selling index funds if there's
another black monday, and prices are at their lowest.

If this is all you do with your money, you will never have to worry
financially ever again. Just continue to live within your means, and don't try
to show off your wealth, or keep up with the Joneses.

This means you no longer need to work for money again, and can be very
liberating. Now you can take a job that normally wouldn't pay enough, or get a
PhD in some field that will never make sense financially. All of my favorite
school teachers in high school were mostly financially independent, which
meant that they didn't have to tow the line, and could contradict the
administration if they felt like it. It does sound like you may have to worry
about motivation since you will no longer have any extrinsic need to work for
money. I'm not sure how to help you here. I have so many things I'd do if I
didn't have to work for a living (ironically many of them have much higher
earning potential than my current career, gotta love local maximas...).

You may also want to lurk in the subreddits related to FIRE (financially
independent retire early), the content isn't as pertinent to you, since you
aren't striving anymore to retire early, but you'll find people who are very
economically conscious, and want to not have to be wage slaves anymore.

------
djohnston
Vtsax

------
looping_lui
I can tell you two very real scenarios that happened in my family (a lot of
wealth inherited):

1\. Burning through $10m in 30 yrs. is a piece of cake. Bad investments
probably ate 50% (“I am wealthy, I know how to manage money”), excessive
spending of shit nobody needs ate another 30% and 20% gone for fun things like
divorces, private schools for retarded kids, lawyers getting kids out of
prison and that kind of “wealthy people shit”. 2\. That kind of money can last
multiple generations. Do not let physical possession get in place for
independence and growth of yourself or your family. Maintain a decent
lifestyle, buy nice fancy but long-lasting stuff (eg. Steinway piano,
Glashuette watch, etc) and invest in yourself (travel to places fewer people
have seen, exercise, buy a nice bicycle and cross the Alps, learn a new
language, get a pilot license,...). Keep yourself and your wife busy with some
income generating mechanism you generally enjoy mostly. Keep a low profile,
live a decent middle class life and when your kids are out of the house and
know what “making a living means” increase your spending.

Let me tell you (from personal experience): 90+% of the people burn through
this kind of money in 25 yrs easily without actually enjoying themselves,
creating only greed, jealousy and hate around them.

I am not sure I would recommend learnjng more about investing, getting prepped
up: watch Wulf of WallStreet, WallStreet, the big short, read the books from
Taleb (brilliant) and the book “fooling some of the people all of the time”.
Academia is full of retards and morons in the field of investing. If anybody
starts talking crap like “CAPM”, “beta” or “trend analysis” - run. It’s fairy
dust and bullshit wrapped in suits (I worked in investment banking, strategic
management conaulting and have a PhD in that shit). Diversification doesn’t
help during “correlation breakdowns” (aka everybody withdrawing money) and a
bull on the stockmarket may just be actual inflation people don’t realise.

You need to invest money because inflation will take it all away. But more
important than your asset allocation is whether you are invested/not
invested...

Like always in life, it is the big picture/decision that matter: \- Move to
Europe: free university tuition and cheap real estate (saved you 750k for your
kids med school) and 1.5m in housing \- Don’t invest if you don’t know what
you are doing. Doing nothing is a very good idea sometimes... But keep in mind
how inheritance works in Europe - setting up a fund or something and may make
sense... \- Talk to a tax advisor: can you move and save taxes? Can you
transfer/restructure the money so you don’t have to pay tax now/taxes at all?
\- Are you legally prepared for a divorce? (Not saying you should change your
spouse - but what if she wants half the money and files for a divorce?)

Ask yourself the following questions potentially:

\- Will you be more happy if you buy more stuff? What made you happy in the
past? \- How will you feel if you lose 20/30/50% of an investment? \- How will
the relationship with your spouse change if you stop working? What emotions
may your spouse have? (feeling of entitlement, greed, panic, frustration,
hate) \- What will your kids be like if they feel they are rich? How will
wealth affect their aspiration, growth and seld image? What role model will
you be? \- How will you GROW when you stop challenging yourself?

I would highly recommend not to give your kids any money upfront or promise
anything. Let them develop ambition and grow. Give them a safe place if they
fail - so they can keep trying. Start building a sustainable fortune for your
family - so it lasts for generations. Invest, don’t gamble. Be humble and
understand: you may just have been a lucky average guy - what makes you think
you make great investment decisions (sorry for coming off like that, but ask
yourself)?

“Having a fortune is one thing - being able to manage it and be happy
another”. It can be a real curse - take away your happiness and ruin your kids
and spouses life (I saw it happen).

Congratulations! I hope you will enjoy longlasting prosperity and joy!

------
simonebrunozzi
I know a bit about the subject and here's my advice:

1) Take care of your will and heirs - sometimes it's called "estate planning".
There are cheap options online, with the risk of making some terrible
mistakes. Hire an attorney with lots of experience doing this, and ask him/her
to setup a trust for you and your family. Make sure you fully understand the
tax implications of what you're going to setup.

2) The biggest risk of a large sum of money is trying to manage it and
allocate it all at once. Imagine that investing or managing money is like a
sport, and you have pretty much never trained for this. What would you do?
You'd take it step by step. With money, slow down and take a decision at a
time.

3) 8M is in the range of "f*ck you money", which means it gives you complete
economical freedom for your life, and probably for your heirs too. It's
probably wise to maximize for "survivability" of your egg nest, rather than
trying to make even more money. Therefore, be conservative when deciding where
to invest.

4) Diversify: like redundancy for high-availability IT applications, you need
at least 2, possibly 3 quite independent asset classes to invest into (e.g.
real estate, stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies, foreign real estate, etc).
Unfortunately, common wisdom about how to properly diversify is debatable to
say the least. Spend some time reading and learning and try to come up with
something satisfactory.

5) You might hire an investment manager, I am not a big fan of most of these
guys, but it might be a way to learn, and you don't need to allocate a huge
sum with him/her (perhaps less than 500k?).

6) Make sure you and your wife are 100% aligned with your "money" strategy.

7) Don't make it too public that you own $8M. It's not unheard of in certain
places like Silicon Valley, but at the same time, when people know you're
rich, they take for granted that you can afford things and that you are
supposed to contribute more to other things. Certain relationships become a
bit complicated. Just keep it for yourself.

8) Make sure your "IT security" is safe, especially if you will end up owning
cryptocurrencies, but also in general.

9) Other than this, enjoy your life. Money is to buy freedom.

10) Finally, if you think you've been given a nice hand by fate, why don't you
commit a small fraction of that (2%? 5%?) to doing good for others. Pick a
charity, or even better, take a year off and volunteer somewhere with your
family. It could be great.

I am no way as rich as you are, but I have enough to be able to "buy" me time
with what I have accumulated in the past few years, and that allowed me to do
what I wanted to do. It didn't go as expected, but I don't regret it.

At the same time, when you didn't grow up with money in the family, it can be
surprisingly hard at times to deal with large sums earned quite quickly, like
in your case. The worst parts might be dealing with your partner/spouse,
dealing with your friends, and dealing with big recessions where you wipe out
maybe half of your net worth.

Good luck.

------
gigatexal
Retire? Become an angel investor?

------
adonnjohn
Obligatory "pay my student loans"

In all seriousness, mutual index funds. Watch it grow. Secure your
grandchildrens future.

------
aerovistae
damn, lotta people here know what they would do if they had $8 million
apparently

------
tobyhinloopen
Do not tell anyone about it.

------
kozikow
Start a startup?

------
alsothrownaway
As someone who has been in your shoes to a lesser degree, here are some things
I learned:

It is best to not upgrade your lifestyle at all, but instead to use your
position to bring broken people out of the pit. Here is why:

\- 1. It is better to end the suffering of someone else than to make your own
already-awesome life slightly better.

\- 2. If you lose everything like I did, you will have actually lost nothing
and only gained friends and good deeds.

\- 3. Humans are insanely envious creatures. If anyone figures you out, they
will most likely hate you and secretly hope it all burns. Before this, I never
experienced the butt-end of envy. It can be so isolating; even if you are the
nicest person.

One other thing: Don't completely fall into the lifestyle and mentality of
doing whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Maintain a connection to
some kind of job or responsibility where your reputation is on the line;
something where there is accountability. It will be incredibly difficult to
return to "normal life" if something ever goes wrong.

~~~
lawnchair_larry
Except attempts at "ending the suffering of someone else" will more often than
not break them even more, _and_ leave you both broke. Free money messes with
people in ways that you might not expect.

~~~
cma
There are pretty clear cases where it is a net win. Helping a kid with malaria
treatment isn't likely to throw them deep into the paradox of plenty.

------
mariust
travel

------
diminoten
I don't have any advice for you, but I had to comment on your use of the word
"nice" to describe your wife.

I thought it was funny! "I've got these two kids, but my wife, oh boy she's a
good 'un!"

It was just sweet, is all.

Anyway, to be marginally helpful (I hope), I would also recommend that you
keep in mind that a lot of the advice you're getting/going to get is meant to
protect you from bad things that have happened to other people. It's all
probably good advice, but just because those bad things happened to other
people, doesn't mean you're going to get caught up in those traps as well.

In other words, use your own judgement about this stuff, don't just default to
following the advice of others. Maybe some of your friends can handle knowing
about your new wealth, maybe you _can_ afford a new car without letting all
the money slip away in the first year.

You know you better than we do, remember that.

Also, pick up chess! It's great! I love it because while there is some money
in it, there isn't enough to lock away the good knowledge, so it has a low bar
to entry. Something to occupy your time while you do all the other good advice
on here, maybe.

------
edoo
If you are unsure then sit on it for a few years. That is barely enough money
to retire comfortably the rest of your life. If you truly feel giving it away
makes the world a better place then why not. Chances are though you using it
to better your life and find your niche would further enrich those you came
into contact with. Do not feel guilty about having money that you actually
earned. It is not like you got rich off the violence of regulation.

~~~
maaaats
> _That is barely enough money to retire comfortably the rest of your life._

Barely? Using the "safe withdrawal rate" of 4% after inflation if the money is
invested, one could spend 320k a year and probably not run out.

~~~
edoo
I assume the OP has to be making about at least $130k salary, approximately
$200k in total compensation. That gives 42 years at the current lifestyle at a
lifespan of 85 years. That assumes wages track inflation. Lifespan should be
higher by then too. I'd consider maintaining lifestyle as comfortable
retirement.

~~~
joshmlewis
This is if you just let it sit in an account instead of investing it. The
parent comment is saying if you invest it you will be able to take 4% each
year and still keep the nest egg in tact.

~~~
edoo
Wouldn't you need about 4% per year to break even with inflation? Can you
safely invest at 7-8%?

~~~
maaaats
You can search for "the 4 percent rule" or "trinity study" if you're curious
about more. But basically, stock markets over long time average 7-8%.
Subtracting inflation gives you a rule of thumb of 4% that historically would
have worked.

Of course, the future might not match. But the studies also use a fixed
withdrawal rate throughout. One could further mitigate the risk by having a
small side-income some years, reducing spending in down-years etc. Also, how
much money one needs post-retirement is often less, for instance if the
mortgage is paid down, not housing kids any more etc.

~~~
edoo
So last year based on new treasuries issuance the neutral rate was 6.2% before
unbacked credit emissions like student loans.

------
ycnewsaccount
How can I find an opportunity which can result in making $8M? Do I have to get
at least 5% of the company?

------
vtesucks
There is a reddit post about what to do when you win a lottery. Go read that
first!

------
ziont
First of all, congratulations! You've made it above the pack.

Now your upward mobility is significantly improved.

I would recommend taking the VC route.

------
rex12345
vegas!

------
hanniabu
Put it all in Bitcoin.

~~~
adrian_pop
worst advice ever

~~~
Double_a_92
> ever

It would have been good advice a few years ago. :D

~~~
AnimalMuppet
He wasn't in this position a few years ago.

------
homakov
>Should I donate it?

do you seriously consider this? Sounds crazy to me. Or pretentious.

Why bother with working another job? Do your own thing, fix something in the
world.

~~~
ryanmercer
Some people experience very real guilt/depression when a windfall happens "I
don't deserve this" "why me" "shoulda been someone else" etc, not unlike
survivor's guilt.

~~~
homakov
Well, didn’t happen to me. “I might not deserve it, but thanks”

------
hguhghuff
Put in in a range of safe investments and live a quiet life.

You’re not rich, your very well off, it’ll last till your death in great
comfort if you are careful.

Don’t start giving it away or spending it.

~~~
lucasmullens
Having $8M isn't rich to you? That's a lot of money, you probably should give
at least some of it away to charity.

~~~
dagw
It's "rich" in the sense that if you're smart and a bit frugal about it you'll
never have to work again. It's not "rich" in the sense of never having to
worry about money again. Really rich people will spend $8M adding a new garage
to their summer house.

~~~
hnaccy
>It's "rich" in the sense that if you're smart and a bit frugal about it
you'll never have to work again

If does nothing but spend money he can spend $150k every year until he dies.
Not exactly frugal.

~~~
Majestic121
150k$ a year is rich in Vietnam maybe, but if you plan to stay in the west,
you'd be upper middle class at most

~~~
hnaccy
$150k net for 50+ years is upper middle class at most in America? Jeez some
people are in a bubble.

Reminder this is assuming he completely stops working and does basically
nothing with the money except match inflation.

~~~
Majestic121
According to this : [https://www.thebalance.com/definition-of-middle-class-
income...](https://www.thebalance.com/definition-of-middle-class-
income-4126870) 150k is just the limit between upper middle class and high
income, and most politicians use 200ke as the definition of high income.

You might have a different definition of upper middle class, but mine has
following

~~~
hnaccy
That's pre-tax.

------
arunc
1\. Save the money. Don't spend it out of excitement.

2\. Save the money. Don't spend it out of excitement.

3\. Consult a finance professional.

4\. Learn investment strategies and learn to invest slowly. You have enough
money to experiment wisely.

5\. Be happy and peaceful with your family.

6\. If I had money, I would donate some to D Language Foundation[1]. It is a
very modern language but it is developed only with community support.
Donations will help fasten the development as a whole and stabilize the
language and eco system. Why donate to D? Cus the world has donors for cancer,
heart, etc and get good marketing that sometimes things like D get entirely
overlooked.

[1]
[https://dlang.org/foundation/donate.html](https://dlang.org/foundation/donate.html)

------
pavlov
Buy a sophisticated wealth totem, like a million-dollar painting from a
canonical modernist artist (Warhol will do if you want to play safe).

Place the painting in a central location in your home. Don't spend on anything
else extragavant. The painting-totem will act as a constant comforting
reminder of your available wealth, and is also a solid diversifying investment
in an asset class that's popular among the wealthiest 0.01% but unavailable
through funds.

(Also, don’t take investment advice from strangers on the Internet.)

------
johnwheeler
I would buy a high yield stock like wells fargo. With 8 mil after taxes, you
could buy enough wfc to payout 220K a year in dividends before a paltry 15%
tax. You’d likely receive increases every year and as you did, your stock
would appreciate.

You might not like the idea of wells fargo or financials, so find some other
lesser yielding stock(s). Never sell them and try to reinvest dividends at 50%
with your minimal expenses.

A lot of people won’t find this sound advice, and you’d have to do your own
homework so when you buy, you understand what you’re buying.

But, treasuries are too conservative, as is John Bogle in general.

~~~
kgwgk
Yeah, why do something conservative when you can invest your $8 million in
Wells Fargo shares. What could go wrong?

------
rsiqueira
There are problems that money can not solve, but Artificial General
Intelligence would solve. Think about an artificial intelligence that could
learn about health, chemestry, microbiology, develop and apply medical
knowledge much faster than humans do, with no limits. So I would work on
Artificial General Intelligence, with a team of neural network programmers and
computational neuroscientists to develop the required evolutionary algorithms
and neuron simulators to implement biologically inspired memory circuits and
some brain process simulations that could lead to a new form of computing and
artificial intelligence. (But unfortunately most who could do this are buried
in mundane client related problems.)

~~~
saagarjha
I think you are vastly underestimating the amount of money this requires.

------
atmb4u
As someone suggested in comments, save at least 1 year worth in a safe haven
(preferably gold)

No need to freak out; Relax!

Do NOT donate - That is being irresponsible

Do NOT hire someone - It's not their money; you were at the right place at the
right time - not them - you have the responsibility to invest right.

Please do NOT retire - you are at your prime age of contributing back to the
society - surely, take more vacations, and spend time with family - may be
work only 3 days a week.

Do NOT spend on a fancy house or a car - Not worth it.

If it's of your interest, become a venture capital - You should be looking at
10:1 success ratio - so be ready to lose money on most of the investments -
but eventually, you'll create so much value, that it'll be worth it.

Take at least a quarter or two of time to decide the budget - you'll learn a
lot. And I believe you have the liberty to do it. ;)

Set aside 10% or whatever you are comfortable to lose for risky
investments(bitcoin and sorts) and returns from that for squandering - Don't
go over budget there.

Park money in an insured, interest-bearing spot (1% yearly is going to give
you 80k just for parking - consider money market accounts - Caveat: FDIC
Insurance covers only till 250k per account per person - figure out the
details)

Most importantly, what you are essentially getting is time - Try to find a
cause worth spending your time.

One last piece of advice - Don't get attached - Know that money is the means,
not the ends.

~~~
atmb4u
Just to be clear, I'm not against helping other people. This is what I meant
by NOT giving to charity - [https://www.keela.co/blog/nonprofit-
resources/charity-vs-phi...](https://www.keela.co/blog/nonprofit-
resources/charity-vs-philanthropy/)

"Don't give a man a fish, teach him how to fish"

------
drmpeg
I would blow some serious cash right away. Buy a Tesla Model S P100D. Tell the
wife and kids you're going on a spiritual retreat but instead hang around with
30 something girls and party your ass off (you don't have to have sex with
them). Do some ecstasy. A good role model is Dan Bilzerian.

[https://www.instagram.com/danbilzerian/](https://www.instagram.com/danbilzerian/)

Buy a bigger house. Preferably one large enough where you don't have to see
the wife and kids unless you want to.

Stay employed, but act like Peter Gibbons in "Office Space". Just be a
complete prima donna / asshole and see how long you can get away with it.

Get an expensive hobby. Drag racing, airplanes, competitive ham radio, golf
and sports season tickets.

~~~
rsynnott
This is the approach for sociopaths, yes?

