Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

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  1

  ja1515

  08/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  Just goes to show that it can happen to anyone. But it is still a little bit hard to feel sorry for someone *only* worth $4 million. I'd take that any day!

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  2

  Ilyce Glink

  08/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  From Bryan on Facebook:
  
  "damn just 4 million crap i would shoot myself if i had only 4 mill in the bank!"

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  3

  Ilyce Glink

  08/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  From Christine on Facebook:
  
  "I'm looking for a beer to cry in ..."

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  4

  Ilyce Glink

  08/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @JA1515:
  
  I agree - I'd take his $4 million although once you've had $100 million and been one of the leading entrepreneurs of your generation, it's a tough pill to swallow.

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  5

  pjones

  08/25/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  Glink in one post says he would shoot himself if he had just 4 mill in the bank. Obviously he/she is joking I am sure.
  
  But I would feel I was sitting in "High Cotton" if I were to have 4 Mill in the bank.
  
  How about going to bed to bed at night know you have less than 80K in total saving and being retired due to disability.
  
  He squandered his money by getting into the real estate market.
  Every thinks when real estate market goes up it will never ever will go down. Donald Trump found that out several times.

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  6

  Ilyce Glink

  08/26/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @pjones:
  
  I'd love to have $4 million in the bank - the market drop was extremely painful to my 401(k). Although, I didn't lose 96% of my net worth.
  
  I've written a lot about investing and personal finances over the years (I've actually written several books about it.) One thing I've learned: The smartest thing you can do is diversify.
  
  Some people think diversification means investing everything in one category of investments, one silo: like real estate or tech stocks.
  
  Not even close. But you said it best: "Everyone things when the real estate market goes up it will never ever go down."
  
  We're a bunch of optimists who have just been socked in the gut.
  
  Thanks for your comments. I hope your investments bounce back.

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  7

  pjones

  08/27/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  Yes my Mutual Found which was supposed to be safe from the vagaries, of the market Franklin Income lost more than half its worth. Now its rebounded. Now its recovered to about 2/3 of what it was in January.

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  8

  Ilyce Glink

  08/27/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @pjones:
  
  Well, two-thirds is a lot better than one-half. I haven't looked at my 401k in awhile. Too depressing.
  
  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.
  

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  9

  RobFinlay

  08/27/09 | Report as spam

  He deserves the pain

  Having worked for a company that was purchased by McAfee
  (Network General) I not crying for this guy. McAfee was filled
  with some of the worst managers I had ever encountered. How
  can you watch a company buy other companies and them fire
  90% of the staff (think of all the IP he lost). Personally, the
  folks who won on the dot.com boom did it in large part because
  of luck, not any personal excellence. And as the saying goes,
  easy come...easy go.

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  10

  Silent Observer

  08/27/09 | Report as spam

  He didn't lose it

  He didn't lose the money - he spent it on himself, friends, etc - enjoying the life he thought he would have forever. The "investments" he thought were long term (i.e. real estate, stocks) lost money the last couple years. If he can keep up the payments they may just come back to recover some of their value.

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  11

  ram540@...

  08/27/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  Greed, wasteful expenditure & putting all eggs in one basket
  sums up the story.
  
  Spread the risks no matter how rosy the pasture looks for one
  never knows what the morrow has in store

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  12

  Wukong

  08/28/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  He's got a friend in Mike Tyson... Imagine how much 3rd world debt that could have bought off for "pennies on the dollar"...

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  13

  Ilyce Glink

  08/30/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @robfinlay
  
  Interesting to hear the experiences of someone who was inside. I agree that some of the dot com millionaires got lucky. But, some people had amazing ideas. Software protection is amazing and it was innovative to give away the product and charge for the service. Firing the IP talent - well, not so smart.
  
  But I wouldn't wish for anyone to lost 96% of their wealth - except someone like Bernie Madoff or Stanford.
  
  Thanks for your comment.

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  14

  Ilyce Glink

  08/30/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @SilentObserver:
  
  You're correct - he spent plenty. He decided that he was going to live the high life. Unfortunately, what kind of market is there really for a $25 or $50 million estate in the desert? And, I get the feeling that with just $4 million left, he doesn't have the cash flow to make those payments. Even if he could, it could be a very long time until that value comes.
  
  Today is the day of the auction. I'll try to update what happened.
  
  Thanks for your comment.

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  15

  Ilyce Glink

  08/30/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @ram540
  
  So true. It's too bad that diversification seems to feel like you're leaving money on the table - until something happens and you feel good about what you've done.
  
  And then you have something like our recent stock market crash and housing bubble, where everyone gets killed and only some things come back.
  
  I've been a fan of diversification for years. Thanks for your comment.

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  16

  Ilyce Glink

  08/30/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @wukong:
  
  So true. Wonder if there isn't a whole new market for him to conquer there?
  
  I also wonder if someone like this who has had such a big hit but then been out of things for a long time feels as though he just doesn't have any more bright ideas.
  
  It will be so interesting to see if McAfee has a second act of sorts. Maybe he can give speeches at $25 to $50,000 per pop.
  
  Thanks for your comment.

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  17

  pjones

  08/31/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  I went to school for Electronics for servicing consumer electronics. I've been away from it so long due to my disability retirement that, I would be lost trying to repair today's products.
  
  If he is like me (in a way-his always been rich me always poor), he would probably be lost try to get back into his field. Everything changes now so fast, that everything you knew in electronics and web field becomes extinct within six months to a year.

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  18

  Ilyce Glink

  08/31/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @pjones:
  
  You're right. The pace of chance is so dramatic these days. Whether you're in real estate (with new rules and regulations coming out every day) or you're in technology (an ever-lasting game-changer), life is moving quickly and it's easy to feel as though you're being left behind.
  
  The only good thing I'd say about today's technoloy (Twitter, Photoshop) is that it's incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use compared with technology from the 1980s. But I guess that is when McAfee was creating his company.
  
  Thanks for the comments.

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  19

  ejhonda

  09/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @Ilyce Glink: "Today is the day of the auction. I'll try to update what happened."
  
  So how'd it go?

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  20

  Ilyce Glink

  09/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @ejhonda: Thanks for reminding me.
  
  McAfee's property in New Mexico sold for $1.15 million - a huge write-down of the estimated $15 million or so he spent for it (land plus building expenses). He told the New York Times that he was happy to get rid of it so that he could go back to his life in Belize -where I expect he can live quite nicely on his remaining $4 million or so of investments.
  
  According to the NYT, his house in Hawaii also sold for $1.5 million, and in 2007, he sold his acreage in Colorado (with a view of Pike's Peak) for $5.7 million (which he had invested $25 million in between land and construction costs).
  
  I wouldn't count someone like McAfee out just yet - I've found that there are certain entrepreneurs who just have a knack for changing how the world works and he may be one of them. Those kinds of folks ALWAYS land on their feet.
  
  Thanks for the comment.

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  21

  HypnoToad72

  09/20/09 | Report as spam

  $4 million left? Yeah, that's chicken-feed to us workers who make mere

  5-digit salaries.
  
  This article, forgive me, really is in bad taste. So many more have lost EVERYTHING, and they never had $1 million to begin with, let alone being left with $4 million.
  

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  22

  Ilyce Glink

  09/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  HypnoToad72:
  
  The point of this article - perhaps not particularly well articulated by me - is that $4 million is a LOT of money. McAfee foolishly wasted so much of what he had, but he still has more than enough to last a lifetime.
  
  And, that's after losing 96 percent of his wealth.
  
  The wealthy and those with jobs and health insurance have lost all sight of what it really means to struggle, especially in a country that isn't doing well.
  
  I hope that your 5-figure salary is secure. Thanks for your comment.

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  23

  pjones

  09/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  Yep I could live ages and ages on 4 million. I squeak by retired on Disability. With less than 12K a year to pay bills on.

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  24

  Ilyce Glink

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @pjones:
  
  Let me be VERY clear -$4 million is a LOT of money and I'd be delighted to only have that to live on for the rest of my life. It would go far, support others, and I'd still be able to leave some to charity.
  
  When you think about how much you really need to live, once your kids are grown, it's food, utilities, real estate property taxes (unless you're renting), and family. The rest is gravy and can be added or not, depending on one's means.
  
  I think the big wake-up call coming from this Great Recession for so many Americans is that the thousands of dollars they spent on "stuff" - stuff that they can't event remember, let alone see or touch, is gone. All they're left with is a big fat credit hangover and the sheer terror of worrying about how they're going to pay the bills.
  
  Thanks for your continued contributions to the conversation.
  
  Ilyce

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  25

  DesireeP

  11/05/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  This news is terrible and disheartening. Who doesn't like to hear about a real success story, working hard and striking rich? It only gives us hope that we too can do the same just by working hard.
  
  And then we hear something like this.
  
  While McAfee spent a lot of money on real estate (and on adding silly extras), I'm certain he was told buying those elaborate homes were all good investments. So, how can you be smart and know where to put your money when something like this can always happen?
  
  
  
  

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  26

  Ilyce Glink

  11/06/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @DesireeP:
  
  There's a saying in investing: Never put all of your eggs in one basket.
  
  Investment real estate is a basket. If you take 100 percent of your wealth and invest it in a few properties all in the same location, you've basically gone from a well-diversified portfolio to buying the same thing over and over.
  
  Many investors make the same mistake but with mutual funds. They think that if they buy several different mutual funds, they're well-diversified. But if each mutual fund holds the same type of investments, the diversification is minimal.
  
  My feeling is that you can't just listen to what the so-called "Experts" tell you. You have to think this stuff through yourself.
  
  It's not brain surgery. At least, it doesn't have to be.
  
  Thanks for your comment.

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  27

  Francois Meyer

  11/14/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  Well, that is sad, but he should consider to invest in South Africa.
  We are currently looking for interested investors in investing in South Africa.
  Here in South Africa, property is picking up, it is said to believe that some properties has already reached there standard prices. Current ROI on some of our properties is ? 8%pa.
  We do have three house available either to rent or buy from April 2010 pricing ? R1.8mil Midstream Estate, halfway between Centurion & Midrand excellent investment opportunity for the FIFA 2010
  We are currently busy with one of the biggest shopping malls in Africa 320000sq meters and are looking for investors interested in earning 12.5%pa with a further opportunity that should the developer purchase his share back, Feb 2010, Feb 2011, Feb 2012 or Feb 2013 the investor will receive 30% less the 12.5% already paid ? 18%pa.
  Should you need any further detail you can get in touch with;
  Wishing you enough!
  Francois Meyer
  E Mail: francois@pentasure.ws
  Website: www.pentasure.ws
  It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by
  
  
  

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  28

  Ilyce Glink

  11/16/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  @francoisMeyer:
  
  Thanks for sharing this idea but I think investing in shopping malls in South Africa seems a little far afield for most of the folks who read this blog.

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  29

  Marc_B

  11/20/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Feeling poor? Try Losing 96 Percent Of Your Wealth.

  I don't feel a lot of sympathy for McAfee. His product borders on terrible and, if you get the free trial, will relentlessly bug you with requests for (paid) updates. When you try to remove it, you'll generally have to endure a forty or so minute process because you need an uninstall tool from the site and will need customer support to point you to the right one. I've known a few people who tried just removing McAfree from their computer without going through this prolonged process only to basically wipe their computer (or as good as wipe it; the only fix was a reformat). In addition, McAfee's hi-jacking of my inbox and setting up a separate junk mail folder cost me a few job opportunities as I completely missed the emails because they ended up in McAfee's hidden box. I couldn't be rid of that thing fast enough.