Kevin O'Leary discourages FIRE

[urn2bfree]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/20/shark-tank-star-kevin-oleary-why-retiring-early-doesnt-work.html

Basically

YOU ARE YOUR JOB!

Your Job IS Your Life!

Without work, you have no social life!

If the above are true for you, I agree with him. His view that these apply to everyone is rather narrow-minded.

He also states as fact, the unproven (and dubiously studied) notion that retirement is bad for your health.

 

[JoeWras]

He's dead to me. Kevin, turn around, and walk out that door.

 

[Dawg52]

You're fired! Oh.....that's another show.

 

[Red Badger]

What a crock of s^!t.

 

[Dtail]

Keys in on lack of social interaction, which for us is totally not true. Going out with 4 other couples this Saturday as just one example.
Perhaps and just perhaps there is a greater possibility of boredom when retiring super early, but for many 50's retirees the BS bucket is full already.

 

[kcowan]

O'Leary made his name by being an extremist. He will not find a large following here because the members are largely work to live. OTOH Shark Tank contestants are largely a live to work gang, albeit pursuing their passions.

 

[mystang52]

In a sense - and for a select group of people - he's right. His comment "retirement is boring" means work is likely a better alternative to boredom. I recall my retirement planning, and I suspect everyone else here, involved not just financial but activities I would be doing.
In the last week I've had a taste of "retirement without anything else to do" as I recover from being sick. It's tough being cooped up, and I could see how someone doing this voluntarily would see work as a better option.

 

[Nick12]

Maybe related to Suzie Orman preaching - work until you are 70..

 

[CaptTom]

I promise. The moment I get bored, I'll go back to w*rk.

Don't hold your breath.

 

[Col. Klink]

I think he is referring more to the crowd that is younger citing the fact that he could easily retire at age 36 after selling his company to Mattel. However, he then states he will work until he is dead and beyond if there is work to be done where ever he ends up.

I feel sorry for the guy. Money appears to be his God. Think of all the good he could do if he focused his (God given) talents on some aspect / opportunity to make this world a better place.

 

[Bigdawg]

I'm at work right now and I'm bored.

 

[jldavid47]

Maybe related to Suzie Orman preaching - work until you are 70..

Suzie Orman is another talking head moron. She says I need $5 million to retire. We'll be doing quite well on FAR less than that.

 

[street]

No social life in retirement not sure what that means. Lol If you don't have a social life that is your fault and work has nothing to do with your social life. You make your life what you want it to be.

 

[DenverGuy42]

complete B.S.

I had a very demanding job. Lots of people interaction, tons of travel around the world, very public facing - lots of lunches, dinners and even breakfast (ugh, the worst) with lots of people.

I retired 3.5 years ago. I do not miss any of it. In fact the thought of getting up on a stage and speaking, or having to go to a group dinner with a bunch of customers, or another meeting in a room of people I didn't really know very well - well that thought is a thought I try not to think about.

I do what I want. When I want. How I want. For whatever reason I want. My wife just joined me in our quest for "do what you want" this year. The only reason one of us *might* go back to work is that we are in our early 50's and healthcare is a mess in the US if you are under 65 and not working for a big company

He must be a very boring person if he cannot amuse himself, by himself. Sort of like a five year old, they must be generally entertained. By the time you are a teen - you're supposed to be able to amuse yourself.

I don't know, different strokes for different folks. I'd get out early all over again if I had to do it over (and maybe even sooner than I did this time around...)

 

[audreyh1]

I know there is a huge set of blinders when working folks can’t perceive a social life outside of their job.

It’s usually a result of working too much or not being able to develop any kind of personal life outside of work.

 

[Rianne]

It’s usually a result of working too much or not being able to develop any kind of personal life outside of work.

Who'd want to hang around Kevin O'leary? If he lived next door, I'd probably never talk to him. He's bombastic and irritating. Can you imagine going out to dinner with him?

 

[Ronstar]

I started reading the article and got to “work defines who we are”. I didn’t read any more. Good luck to him and others like him who need work to be “somebody”.

 

[rollergrrl]

He also states as fact, the unproven (and dubiously studied) notion that retirement is bad for your health.

It’s cause he has no friends lol. Only people that have to be paid to talk to him.

Get a gym membership and make friends. Join a group and make friends.

 

[ziggy29]

People like this have a blind spot in that they love their work and draw energy from it, and so they project their own personality and experiences on to others.

 

[Chuckanut]

People like this have a blind spot in that they love their work and draw energy from it, and so they project their own personality and experiences on to others.

+1

 

[scrabbler1]

O'Leary also wrongly assumes that people want to socialize with their coworkers. I had extremely little social interaction with any of my coworkers (inside the office but especially outside the office) in all my years working. Therefore, I wasn't really losing anything when I left. Instead, I regained control over my personal life, now able to do things I hadn't done before or in a while.

 

[Blueskies123]

I will take the opposite side on this opinion. I think he is right for MOST people but not for people who have had a plan for a long time, have modeled their options, have thought about health insurance, budgeting, and social life. My dad, who without any kind of plan and savings, quite at 62 because someone made him angry is living solely on social security. I suspect 90% of people who retire early are like my dad.

 

[joeea]

Celebrities often say stupid things.

To stay in the spotlight, celebs often resort to extremism and stridency. That doesn't make them right.

 

[ziggy29]

I will take the opposite side on this opinion. I think he is right for MOST people but not for people who have had a plan for a long time, have modeled their options, have thought about health insurance, budgeting, and social life. My dad, who without any kind of plan and savings, quite at 62 because someone made him angry is living solely on social security. I suspect 90% of people who retire early are like my dad.

Maybe. But there is a difference between "work longer because you probably aren't as financially ready for retirement as you think" and "work longer because work is what gives meaning and purpose to life".

You are mostly talking about the former, and to the extent it is true for any given household, I would agree with it. The latter is purely projecting one's own values and experiences on to everyone else -- "I don't care how financially and emotionally you are ready, WORK WORK WORK!". It is the latter attitude that people here are largely taking issue with, not the former.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

There is a way to have a social life outside of work. It is called making friends. In fact the longest running study on happiness found that social connections, not work, is major key to happiness: “Our study has shown that the people who fared the best were the people who leaned into relationships, with family, with friends, with community,” Waldinger said in the TED Talk."
Source:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/20/thi...w-you-can-be-happier-and-more-successful.html

I find it interesting that business people are often focused on data and research to manage their businesses, but do not apply that methodology into their own happiness and personal lives. The research on happiness studies often point to factors like exercise, relationships, gratitude, being a part of one's community, health, nutrition, music appreciation, getting out in nature and mindfulness, not working 24 X 7 or dying with the most money. There are no happiness studies I know of that support a "Lean In", go out to business meeting dinners after you put your kids to bed, kind of lifestyle.