How Much Is Enough In Silicon Valley?

Posted on August 6, 2007

For many Silicon Valley millionaires the sky is the limit. Their neighbors drive six figure cars and live in seven figure houses. Keeping up with the Jones’ in Silicon Valley has become out of control. In this weekend’s NY Times article entitled “In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich”, the working class of the small microcosm that is Silicon Valley are examined to fully understand why a $10 million net worth is just not enough.

In most parts of the country five to ten million is enough to live comfortably, possibly retire early, and pursue your own endeavors. However, with the average cost of a single family home in this Northern California area costing $788,000 the inflated sense of monetary reality begins to come into focus. In towns like Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Atherton the cost of living has soared, but so has the net worth of many of your neighbors. Most people cannot help but slightly, subconsciously compare themselves to others that may have a little more than them. In Silicon Valley, the comparisons are often targeted at pioneers of industry that have made hundreds of millions or even a billion dollars. Those types of comparisons are leaving many in Silicon Valley thinking their seven figure net worth is just not enough. It is the ultimate case of comparing yourself with the Jones’.

The classic rebuttal to all this is to simply move to a cheaper area and downsize your lifestyle. However, the feeling many get with that type of mentatility is a feeling of defeat having to leave the area. For most the competitive drive that has got them to where they are keeps them going even further, pursuing an even higher level of status and security.

To conclude, at some point it has to be enough to the point you can cut back the 70 hour work weeks, three week business trips, and work weekends to spend more time with your family or friends. Everything is a trade off, and having an extra million compared with seeing your family more than ten minutes a day is a decision only you can make.

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