My colleague’s ultimate dream is to retire. She is in her early 40s and is fed up of working in a field she does not feel passionate about. I, on the other hand, cannot imagine a day where I am not writing or doing my communications consultancy work. In fact I never think of retirement. Why? Because I am doing something that I feel is an extension of myself.
One might assume that once someone becomes a multimillionaire entrepreneur they would immediately give it all up to enjoy the wealth accumulated. But often that is not the case.
Is this because the ultra successful are greedy and simply hungry to accumulate even more money? Or is there another side to the story?
“Steve Jobs didn’t stop working until he died,” mentioned one friend to me when we discussed retirement and the billionaires who never seem to stop working. “Why? Because he loved what he did. If you’re an entrepreneur you wouldn’t stop working because doing what you love is not considered work.”
The topic of retirement and entrepreneurship is an interesting one; when I look around almost every entrepreneur I know, whether relatives or those I read about, did not pack it in the moment they hit the retirement age. Instead, they continued to manage their businesses or served as advisers on their company’s board. My grandfather, a businessman, did not stop working until the day he died. Although he had help and staff members who could have managed his businesses for him, he continued to work.
The discussion with my friend made me delve deeper into the topic. According to a study by Spectrum Group, a wealth research firm, America’s top earners do not consider retiring until they are at least 70, while the majority of Americans retire at 65. It is interesting to see how those able to afford retirement do not want to. The study also revealed that those with lower incomes retired sooner.
When I researched why the more successful among us continue to work, I found two main reasons. One is many believe they know best how things should be run, and if they stopped then it would all collapse. The second is something I highlighted earlier – they cannot imagine not doing what they love. Those who work for an employer may not necessarily be doing something they are passionate about, and like my colleague may be counting down the days until they can call it quits.
The business world is now filled with owners over 70 still actively managing their businesses – from the 84-year-old American investor Warren Buffett to the 91-year-old American media magnate Sumner Redstone of Viacom and National Amusements.
We do not have to look far for inspiration. Last week I had the privilege of attending a talk given by someone I admire – the 66-year-old Emirati business tycoon and chairman of Al Habtoor Group, Khalaf Al Habtoor.
The reason he inspires me is the energy people feel when they are around him. It’s not hard to see that he is doing something that he loves, and his happiness and passion towards his business is contagious. It’s the way every entrepreneur should feel.
In his autobiography, he mentions how he failed numerous times at the beginning of his career, but that did not deter him from being an entrepreneur. He is an active tennis player and comes to his office every day even though he has a large number of employees and family members who run the business with him.
And if we look at the bigger picture, we come to realise that the reason the rich are retiring later is because it is not about the money, but the mindset. If you love what you do, would you stop doing it? Maybe you would reduce your workload with age, but you would probably not stop dedicating your time towards your work entirely.
Great wealth comes when passion, time, and dedication are directed towards something. And as a result retirement is not even considered.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant based in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @manar_alhinai.
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter