Time Billionaires: The Power of Youth
You can always make more money. But you can never get back your time.
Would Charlie Munger or Warren Buffett trade away their billions to be a fit, clear-minded 20-year-old again? I haven’t asked them, but I’m betting they would.
Yet, many of us wish we were in Munger and Buffett’s position.
If you’re young, don’t waste your time pining away for billions of dollars. You are billionaires of a different kind.
You are time billionaires, and you are already rich.
What’s A Time Billionaire?
A time billionaire is someone who has a billion or more seconds left in their life. A billion seconds is about 31 years.
Graham Duncan coins this phrase “time billionaires” in an interview on The Tim Ferriss Show. Duncan is the co-founder of East Rock Capital, a multi-family investment firm currently handling $2 billion in assets. Here’s the definition in his own words:
A million seconds is 11 days. A billion seconds is slightly over 31 years… A time billionaire is someone young enough to have a billionaire or more of seconds left in their life... Time billionaires have the advantage of time, while money billionaires have the advantage of money.
The Advantages Of Being A Time Billionaire
You Have A Long-Term Investing Horizon.
The greatest advantage time billionaires have in making money is that they have time! The power of compound interest means you have billions of seconds to compound your money, relationships, media, and ideas over decades.
It also means you have time to recover from serious setbacks. As Anthony Pompliano writes in his newsletter,
They have so much abundance of their resource — time — that they can recover from almost any mistake. The time billionaire is unshakeable in a sense.
You can calmly wait out a 50% decline in your stock portfolio. You can take the wrong job, marry the wrong person, and royally screw up the first few decades of your life, with another 40 years to recover. This is a massive advantage over someone in their late 50s.
You Have Almost Nothing To Lose.
The late billionaire Felix Dennis, writes in his book, How To Get Rich, that the young, penniless, and inexperienced by far have the best chance of getting rich. Here’s why:
You have an advantage that neither education nor upbringing, nor even money, can buy—you have almost nothing. And therefore you have almost nothing to lose.
Dennis argues that having nothing to lose is your most important asset. Your risk is almost nonexistent. If you fail, you have nothing, which is the same position you’re in right now.
You have no mortgage to pay, no family to support, and nothing to lose.
This makes you powerful. Your upside is many times greater than your downside.
You’re A Child Of Technology.
If you’re a time billionaire, you grew up with a phone in your hand and a native understanding of the internet. This is a HUGE deal that most of us take for granted.
Have you ever tried to walk your parents through Googling something? You know precisely what and how to ask the search algorithm to spit out what you’re looking for. For older generations, this is far harder.
Plus, you implicitly understand the free leverage available with media creation on the internet.
You Have The Energy Of Youth.
Getting rich is no easy task. It takes years of long, hard work. But your youth gives you an advantage in your pursuit of wealth – you have the energy to work long hours necessary to keep pushing.
Your body and mind are young and resilient. Use this advantage.
Would You Trade Your Youth For Money?
Most young people don’t know how to value their billions of seconds.
Duncan explains that if you’re young and penniless, you often don’t know how to value your time or even recognize it as an asset. Many money billionaires are approaching the end of their lives. Duncan wonders if they would trade their resources for a few more years added to their life.
He admits that at various points during his life, he may have sold five years for cash. But now, he wouldn’t do the deal. As he grows older:
Pricing has gone vertical because. . .you can’t sell the five at the end of your life.
Time billionaires, remember that. To those with little time left, your youth is priceless
Special thanks to Emma Cranston for her help in creating this article.