The other day, I was wrapping up my post The Rich Life with Discipline, and I casually dropped in a number that even I didn’t fully process until afterward:
In 10 years, we’ve earned $15.3M in gross income. After taxes and spending, we’ve amassed a net worth of $13.2M, up from $181,364 in 2015. That’s a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 92.62%!
At first, I was proud. Then I got curious. Then I opened Excel.
Because if you apply that same CAGR to our current net worth of $13.2M (assume we end 2025 with this for example sake), the math starts to get crazy. Insane, even.
Here’s what it looks like:
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End of 2026: $25.4M
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End of 2027: $48.9M
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End of 2028: $94.1M
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End of 2029: $181M
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End of 2030: $348M
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End of 2031: $669M
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End of 2032: $1.3B
Let me be crystal clear: I don’t expect to maintain a 92% CAGR. That would be delusional.
But seeing those numbers on screen made me pause and ask: What if compounding isn’t done with me yet? (which I’m fairly confident it isn’t; see: Moving The Goalpost From $10M to $25M)
The Next Chapter After Financial Freedom
We hit our $10M net worth goal faster than expected. We bought our dream property in cash. We turned it into a resort through cash flow. We built and sold a business. And we did all of it with a combination of discipline, intentionality, and a little luck (the kind you find at the intersection of opportunity and preparation).
We’re entering a phase where active income goes away, and our lifestyle will need to be funded by our assets and passive income. My final day of service is set for March 31, 2027. From that point forward, we’ll be relying on the machine we’ve built to fund our lives.
So what’s next?
Do I really want to be a billionaire?
Do I want to engineer for maximum CAGR?
Or do I want to optimize for time wealth – to fuel my health, deepen relationships, and create epic adventures?
Chasing Billionaire Status—Without Losing My Soul
There was a time when I might’ve said yes without hesitation. Not for the status, but for the challenge. For the game.
Now? I’m less interested in what a billion dollars buys and more interested in what it costs. [great point]
Because here’s what I know: exponential growth compounds both gains and temptations. It can amplify your freedom or trap you in a cycle of “never enough.” You start playing a game where the scoreboard keeps changing, and all you need is one more year and one more zero at the end of your net worth.
So if I do find myself staring down billionaire status, it’ll be because the inputs didn’t change:
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Living well below our means
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Investing with patience and clarity
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Building things that matter
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Letting time and discipline do the heavy lifting
Not because I got caught up chasing the scoreboard. Money was always the means, not the end. As a good friend says, “Money is a great servant, but a terrible master.”
Wealth Is a Tool, Not the Goal
If the next 10 years look like the last 10, then yeah, the math says I could be a billionaire in seven years.
But let me repeat: I don’t expect to maintain a 92% CAGR – ever! I may be crazy, but I’m not delusional.
Here’s the truth: Becoming a billionaire isn’t the dream. Living a rich, disciplined, meaningful life is.
And if I can keep doing that – whether at $13M or $1.3B – I’ve already won.
– Gen Y Finance Guy
