You can’t take it with you, but should you leave some behind?

 

Someone very wise once said that the saddest thing in life is being at the height of your riches on the day you die.

Just after I came across that piece of wisdom, I was at the launch of a very popular property development where I saw an old couple who the salesman said had bought a few units the day before and were there to sweep up a few more.

I couldn’t help but think: “Why? And for what?”

I’m not beyond making a few punts here and there in the name of investing: the results usually haven’t been very good. That particular property investment didn’t quite work out for me. Bummer, but I think about that old couple and their many units, and I feel slightly better!

After property, my biggest investment has been in my kids’ education. That cost a lot but gives me huge satisfaction. It’s the only investment that has been known to give infinite yields and returns. If you don’t have kids, maybe pay for somebody else’s kids.

Next is travel. I’ve spent months in each of the world’s continents on road trips of thousands of kilometres, with incredible friends and often with family. The odd continent out is Antarctica where road trips are not possible, but I have spent some wonderful days there too.

I’ve been asked how much I’ve spent on my travels. Honestly, I don’t know. The reason is that I choose not to know, or I may have a heart attack. Some things are better left unknown.

Some friends said I was lucky to have been able to travel so much. I’d agree because I know many others struggle just to put food on the table. But I have less sympathy for those who have enough, or more than enough, but couldn’t be bothered to do it.

Basic investment strategy

My investment philosophy is simple. I started out life with very little because we were poor. At the end, if I have a bit more than that, then things have worked out well. All those things about return on investment etc are just a means to an end, and not the end itself.

If you choose to chase after even more money, so that you become incredibly rich and the richest you’ve ever been on the day you die, then your life is a very sad one indeed.

You won’t know when you’re going to die, but you can make some guesstimates based on life expectancies. These used to keep going up, but Covid-19 has reversed that trend. That sucks, though that could also be justification to spend more, and faster too.

But remember, your money may not last that long. The old enemy inflation is making a roaring comeback. The other old enemy, depreciation, is back too. Crossing over into Singapore is a very costly affair, and with petrol there at almost RM10 per litre, we may never be able to cross back either.

The number of countries with mismanaged economies where our money still appears “big” seems to be shrinking. We may have to go to Sri Lanka to see how strong our currency is.

On top of it all, our money can be taken away right in front of our noses. I worry constantly that someone somewhere will find a new way to transfer the nation’s wealth, mine included, into their own pockets to take care of their seven generations.

But dishonest people aside, we live in a world where wealth matters, maybe too much. Many people fear the word “enough” and convince themselves it’s never enough. They feel you can never have too much wealth.

The Einstein principle

Einstein once said “wealth is not how much you have, but how much you don’t need”. On that count, I’m richer than some of our billionaires, who go to sleep always stressed at being short of a few more billions.

By Einstein’s standard then, my parents certainly were very rich. Their needs were small and simple: bring up the kids (done), pilgrimage to Mecca (done) and a few other simple stuff. They went to meet their Creator with their assets and liabilities ledger looking pretty slim, but solidly in the black.

They left nothing in their bank account, because they had nothing to leave behind. If they knew I had something non-halal in my own bank account they’d have disowned me. That alone was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow and out of crime – and politics.

The only tangible thing they left behind were some copper pots my father used for his apam balik stall. Unless Elon Musk starts building cars that run on copper and its price skyrockets, it’s not likely these pots will leave my possession any time soon.

I admire Bill Gates, who made billions and is now giving it all away through charities and philanthropy. He seems to have chosen improving the world’s toilets as a key project, and happily holds up excrement on stage to promote them.

Brave guy, though to be fair, having excrement onstage is not such an unusual thing here in Malaysia, with the country itself in many people’s minds becoming a big toilet.

How George Best did it

George Best, the famous Manchester United football player (and notorious playboy) in the 1960s explained he lost his wealth by spending it on booze, women, and fast cars, and the rest he just squandered.

He definitely wasn’t at his richest on the day he died, and perhaps he would have considered it a massive failure had that happened.

Not being Bill Gates or George Best, our options are rather limited, just like our bank accounts. So, what do we do?

I’d say have enough to take care of rainy days, and travel with whatever you have left. You may have to wait until the coronavirus craziness is over, but in spite of that, you can still do some decent local travels.

I find travels humbling. Seeing how wonderful the world we live in puts a lot of things in proper perspective. Our little corner of the earth is just that – a little corner. And so’s everybody else’s. We shouldn’t get too big-headed about it.

It has been said you can’t take your money with you when you die. So might as well use it wisely when you can, and share it when you can; no matter what you think, luck has a lot to do with your wealth.

Unfortunately, though, while you can’t take your money with you, you can take somebody else’s. We can’t leave much for future generations except bills and IOUs, given how much of our money has been taken away.

To fellow Malaysians who are trying to leave enough wealth to last their next seven generations, I’d say don’t bother. The next generation will squander it all away and end up being fat, stupid and lazy.

Or rather, fatter, stupider, and lazier than those who left them the wealth.

 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.