Even with assets of 100 million yen, “I’ll still come to work tomorrow”…Why Shinn’s wealthy people are completely through with FIRE.

As a result of the rise in the Japanese stock market due to the arrival of the global “money glut” era, the “Someday Billionaires” have amassed assets of over 100 million yen while being ordinary company employees and civil servants. Why do they choose to continue working and living the same way they have always lived, even though they fully meet the conditions of “FIRE” as touted on the Internet?　This is a sequel to the reality of the “thin wealthy” by Katsuhide Takahashi, President of Malibu Japan, who published a new book “Super-rich people do not need ‘Omotenashi'” (Kodansha + Alpha Shinsho), which details the realities of the wealthy.

No reason to quit!　A workplace that is too comfortable

Mr. A, 43, who works for an IT company in Tokyo, lives with his wife and elementary school-aged child along the Keio Line. He started accumulating Japanese stock index investment trusts when his child was born in the hope of adding to his future education fund, and by allocating many of his bonuses to individual stock investments, he was able to increase his financial net worth to well over 100 million yen before he turned 40, which was enough to make him eligible for FIRE. However, he continues to work at his current company, where he and his family all wear UNIQLO clothes and occasionally have drinks with his colleagues at Akacho Lunch.

To begin with,” Mr. A says with a smile, “today’s workplaces are much more comfortable than in the past.

For Showa and Heisei era salarymen in their 50s and 60s or older, the company was a battlefield where they had to work from early in the morning until late at night in a bleak office, wearing ties, suits, and uniforms, and riding crowded trains day in and day out. Unreasonable demands from superiors and business partners, or what is now called power harassment and sexual harassment, were also a daily occurrence. Today, however, in Reiwa, the environment surrounding the workplace has improved dramatically.

According to Ms. A, “In my current office, a free address system has been introduced, and there are seats with sofas and high counters, and the space is comfortable, like a café, with ornamental plants and artwork. The flexible work hours system frees employees from the pain of crowded trains and allows them to work from home several days a week. They are not required to wear uniforms or suits, but are free to dress as they please.

While the stress of human relations, power harassment, and sexual harassment have not disappeared, the work environment has certainly improved compared to the past, due in part to the government’s promotion of work style reform.

Even for Sin wealthy people, there is no reason to bother quitting because the workplace is less demanding, looser, and more comfortable than in the past.

For Mr. A, going to work is neither stressful nor a hardship, but more like a “third place” with the right amount of tension and comfortable infrastructure. He does not see the need to retire from his comfortable place just because his financial assets have exceeded 100 million yen.

Dream life…why I got bored after 3 months

The Internet is filled with comments of admiration and praise for a life where every day is like a summer vacation, as seen in the sparkling videos of successful people who have achieved FIRE.

Of course, there are probably many people who are living fulfilling lives after FIRE, taking on new challenges, traveling in Japan and abroad, and so on.

However, there are others for whom FIRE has not always been the ideal way to live. Mr. B, 38, who lives in Tokyo, is one such person. While working as a researcher at a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, which he joined after graduating, he started investing in real estate through bank loans, taking advantage of his high creditworthiness. In addition to the regular rent income, he has been able to sell his properties due to soaring real estate prices, and his financial assets have exceeded 100 million yen in less than 10 years since the start of his business.

For this reason, once he FIRE, which he had longed for, “I got tired of that dreamy life after three months. Since he no longer worked, he had too much free time and felt alienated from society on a daily basis. After a year of looking for a new job, he was hired by a medium-sized pharmaceutical manufacturer and has been employed by the company ever since.

Mr. B says, “Of course, 100 million yen is a lot of money. But it is not so overwhelming wealth that you can stay at a luxury foreign hotel every day for 365 days, fly around the world in business class, and continue to eat at Michelin-starred restaurants every night ……. Do that, and your assets will bottom out in no time.”

He also said that although “travel and dining are fun only if you have a girlfriend, boyfriend, or family to do it with in the first place, “ many of his friends and acquaintances have left him because it is difficult to find time with girlfriends and friends who are usually working, and their values have become out of sync with each other.

Even if he had enough wealth to stay at a luxury foreign hotel 365 days a year, travel the world in business class, and dine at Michelin every day, it is human nature to get used to everything and become bored. If every day is a summer vacation or a Sunday, the appreciation for summer vacations and Sundays will disappear.

Unable to endure loneliness…a barrier to re-employment

On the other hand, “On the other hand, if you belong to a large organization like a company, you can get involved in global projects that you would never be able to get involved in on your own, you can meet famous people in the industry because you have a company card,” and “the sense of unity and elation when you achieve a performance goal as a team is irreplaceable,” according to Mr. B. “I think that’s the most important thing. The sense of unity and elation that comes from achieving performance goals as a team is irreplaceable,” Mr. B says.

Of course, once you leave a company, it is very difficult to come back, and although Mr. B had worked for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, he still received a number of “prayer letters” because of the blank period after leaving (he could not say that he had been on a FIRE trip and had a good time). He was not able to say that he had been playing hard to get. In the end, he was not able to find a new job until a year later.

As in Mr. B’s case, Shinn’s experience of seeing and hearing on social networking sites about people who actually FIRE, but eventually returned to work in one form or another because they could no longer endure the “boredom” and “loneliness” of the job.

The reality is that even with 100 million in assets, they are scared of a crash.

Many of the Thin Wealthy did not build their 100 million yen just by saving or saving their salaries diligently.

The biggest reason they became “billionaires” is their success in asset management and real estate investment. The biggest reason they became “millionaires” was their success in asset management and real estate investment. In other words, the “tailwind” of the market has helped to inflate their assets.

However, the fact that they have made large returns in the financial and real estate markets means that, unless they have all their money in risk-free time deposits or government bonds, there is a possibility that geopolitical risk, natural disasters, or financial crises will continue to reduce their assets in the ever-changing markets. Of course, the more you consume, the more your balance will decrease. Of course, consumption will reduce the balance, and inflation will also reduce it.

What would happen if they quit their jobs as soon as they reached FIRE and became unemployed?

Thin affluent people are calmly aware that they have been helped by the market environment to become thin affluent now. That is why they choose to continue working to earn “salaried income” that generates cash flow, preparing for the worst case scenario.

The purpose of working is “mental stability

Even when their bosses are unreasonable, the Thin Wealthy can afford to say in their minds, “Well, I have 100 million dollars. I can quit anytime in the worst case scenario. Working in this state of “I can quit anytime I want” is actually very important from the perspective of mental stability and freedom from anxiety.

This is a bit of a digression, but the reason why internal harassment, such as power harassment, sexual harassment, and moral harassment, does not disappear is because it is not easy to quit a workplace. Creating labor mobility, such as a job change market, should be the most important measure, including raising wages, increasing labor productivity, and improving the workplace environment.

Ironically, people who no longer have to work for money are not working hard in their organizations, and are able to perform their daily tasks in a relaxed, fair, and natural manner, which creates good relationships and evaluations, and makes workplaces more and more comfortable. …… The Thin Wealthy are sometimes in such a positive loop.

Even if they had 100 million yen, they would still “go to work tomorrow.

For these Shin-YuHit class people, 100 million yen in financial assets may not be a “war fund” to enjoy luxury, but a “security” to ensure their mental freedom. For her, it is important to feel that she can quit her job at any time and that she does not have to worry about her retirement.

I’ll go to work tomorrow as usual. The smiles on the faces of Mr. A, who says with a laugh, “The office is comfortable, and the beer I drink with my friends on the way home is delicious,” and Mr. B, who says, “Research and development at the company is fulfilling,” may symbolize the Shin-net-worth individuals who do not FIRE.

Katsuhide Takahashi’s book, “Super-rich people don’t need ‘Omotenashi'” (Kodansha + Alpha Shinsho) Click here to purchase