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Unpopular opinion: Hookup culture is wack.
5 years sober this month ✨
Does jp Morgan provides headset too
After Anzac Day…
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Why do Partners move from one Big4 to another?
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lol I don’t even have a car.
My splurge is to go on really nice vacations - fly first class, stay in a really hotels or rent places, go to amazing restaurants, try unique experiences.
Oh and paintings - I collect art.
@P1: thanks!
Mentor
I am a 6th year Partner at PwC and my gross pay is $1.2M+ and net pay is around $700K (after taxes and retirement contributions etc). My SO and I live in a $4M beach home in SoCal and have three cars including a Porsche. I don’t own a vacation home because I find it’s easier to rent one or stay in a nice hotel instead of burdening myself with another home. I also have three investment properties that are rented and managed by a property management company. Few other investments including $200K in crypto. My kids went to public schools and now one of them is at public university with a full ride and another one is at Ivy League school with 50% scholarship. We take two vacations a year (pre-covid) and dine out often. We don’t have super expensive clothes or watches. We are not into that stuff. After all this, we save $100K-$125K per year.
That’s the beauty of big4 partnerships. They provide a ton of job security, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still save a year worth of expenses 6 months in some sort of a liquid asset 6 months in a semiliquid asset. AND no I would never spend more than 10% of my income on a car. Pay cash and that is part of my year in semiliquid assets. Also these are not retirement homes, we all downsize by retirement. In my case once the kids are out to college I’ll go from a $4m 6,000 sqft home to a something half the cost, half the size.
One house, definitely not a mansion (same house since I was a manager), drive a Jeep, public school. Same Raymond Weil watch for 20 years. One kid has a horse, clearly a splurge. And we can basically buy what we want without thinking about it, I have no clue what a half gallon of my organic milk costs. No college loans will be needed. But definitely no penthouses, no yachts, no Lambos. And I’m not cheap. Maybe I’m underpaid.
maybe splurge on chocolate milk next time to join the wild side
Partners don’t make that kind of money. At least most of us don’t. Partner money is plenty good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not Ferrari or Lambo or NYC penthouse money.
FWIW, the average (and median) partner at PwC makes a bit over $1M. That’s $450k after taxes (being a partner in a national firm on a K1 sucks from a tax efficiency perspective). It’s quite a lot of money, nothing to complain about at all, but the only way you’re buying Ferraris on that kind of take home is if you’re single and most of us aren’t.
Don’t move. Invest the difference in an index fund.
:-)
GTA
No lambo! Just 💎🙌
I think you greatly over estimated Partner compensation. My first year as a partner I made not all that much more than I did as a Director. The retirement package is good and I would say a significant amount of what you think we make actually goes to that. Can you make over a million a year as a partner, yes but that takes many years (7 minimum if you’re very good) just to get over that 7 figure level if you make it. Subtract 1/2 of that for taxes and you see it’s not celebrity or athlete money like I believe you think it is.
Plus the pension and partner savings peel-offs on top of that, plus loan payback/equity adjustment, etc.
Good money over time, but not Lambo money.
I spend a ton on my kids. Private school, private coaches, travel sports, private music teachers, martial arts, etc. They’re not gonna be professional athletes or concert musicians, but they’re into it, which gives me more pleasure than an expensive watch.
But they do cost though!😀
After alimony, mortgage and school fees, there’s not much left to go round
I renovated a historic plantation, if that's a flex. It definitely has become my neverending side project
wow - would love to see pics. how many acres?
Mentor
Before Covid, I took excellent vacations. 3-4 bedroom suites at top resorts. I look forward to doing that again.
I could easily afford a lambo. Could buy it in cash tomorrow. Just don’t want one.
Beyond vacations, my main indulgence as a partner is that we buy whatever we want and do whatever we want and never have to worry about whether we can afford it. And while living that way, there’s still enough cash lying around for the lambo I can’t be bothered to buy.
Mentor
FT1: DM me if you’re looking for recommendations.
Coach
After taxes , I think I end up around 500 to 600K a year from employment . Been a partner for ten years now and probably will do another ten and then call it a day . I don’t see a penthouse in my future . I probably can buy any car I want but haven’t ever wanted anything fancier than the one I drive now . Same for watches . We generally live under our means . It’s a good life and I am extremely grateful for it . I also don’t want to set an example for my kid that money comes easily and you can spend irresponsibly .
First year, I’ll make money, I can call significant (around 700k). A median house in my area costs $2M plus, so first order of business is to own a house without mortgage. I think first five to seven years (if you started with no inheritance money) post partners goes into gaining financial independence. The fun typically should starts when you are already 45 (not counting exceptions), by that time kids and their future takes priority. So it’s a dog life in the end. Sorry for the bleak perspective
$10M LA house means you saved ~$20M before taxes. That’s not possible for consulting partners. Maybe possible for PE or investment banking partners.
The magic of compounding, buddy! For someone who has been a strategy firm Partner for ~15 years (and made okayish equity investments), compounding and the equity bull run we have been in since 2009 can certainly you to $20M+....
I think we have some pretty modest Partners replying to this! I am at PwC in London and the Partners I’m closest to are all early/mid 40s who made Partner when they were early/mid 30s and they are low key ballers...
£4m+ value main residence in London with one pretty sweet holiday home and also multiple Porsche / Ferrari’s and some very nice Rolexes and APs (I only know one with a Patek).
Yeah...what you’re doing here is mixing apples and oranges but using the same word.
In the US at PwC, we have 4 plans (some of us might have 5 or 6 with one or two legacy plans that are frozen). One of those is the 401(k), one is a Keogh, another a DB plan, and another a plan funded out of current earnings which is typically called our “pension” but really isn’t.
What you’re describing from the UK is the equivalent of the local equivalent of the US 401(k). This is their “pension.”
Given the forum we are in here, I’m not going to post numbers or specifics but if you spent 20 years as a US partner and 20 years as a UK partner and ONLY had the “pension” payout in the respective countries to rely upon at a reasonable draw percentage to ensure that you wouldn’t deplete the funds before your expected mortality....the US one would be an order of magnitude larger than the UK version.
There are other differences (healthcare and taxes are two which come to mind) which change the calculus here too but...
I don't even own a house... so...
New partner here. I think you are overestimating how much we (typically) make!
My SO does very well in a corporate job so combined we are very comfortable. But most of my colleagues don’t have a SO who brings home 500-600k+
Oh yeah! Biotech.
I've got a loaded Ram 1500, does that count? 🤔
Besides that, I pretty much live the exact same lifestyle I lived back when I was a SC making $95k back in the day. I've never been a flashy or materialistic person, so things like fancy watches, blingy houses, fast cars, etc, never appealed to me.
As a data point, I'm likely going to gross ~$500k this year.
What do you do with all the extra money, and what made you push for seniority if you don’t need the money to live your lifestyle?
Genuine questions btw, interested to hear
A partner certainly can end up with $30MM worth after 25 years if they are very good, invest versus spend, etc
I have that but I didn’t get there by buying a “lambo”.
Dying with 3M is not bad. He probably maximized his personal benefit by spending the money the way he did. There’s no reason to maximize NW for your last days. Apparently, the only ones who wanted him to have more money by end of his life where you
I like what he did, unless he had to limit his spendings too much during last days
I want to work for a partner who drives a Ferrari. It’s inspiring.
I don’t make a lot of money. I owe a lot to Deloitte though. That is all.