$100 million entrepreneur scales back

[forummm]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/fashion/a-curious-midlife-crisis-for-a-tech-entrepreneur.html

He got rid of everything he had and travels with his remaining 50 items in a suitcase. He still throws $25k parties for his family 2x per year and goes on fancy travel. But he also has $100 million.

But as he approached 40, Fabrice Grinda, a French technology entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $100 million, couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Somehow the trappings of his success were weighing him down.

He was having a midlife crisis — in reverse.

“People turn 40 and usually buy a shiny sports car,” Mr. Grinda said during an interview in a penthouse suite at Sixty LES, a downtown boutique hotel. “They don’t say, ‘I’m downsizing my life and giving up all my possessions to focus on experiences and friendships.’ ”

But that is exactly what Mr. Grinda did. He moved out of the Bedford house in December 2012, ditched the city apartment and got rid of the McLaren. He donated clothes, sports equipment and kitchen utensils to the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Lower Manhattan. He gave his furniture to Housing Works and he packed a Tumi carry-on suitcase with 50 items, including two pairs of jeans, a bathing suit and 10 pairs of socks.

He dubbed it “the very big downgrade”: He was going to travel the world, working on the fly while staying with friends and family. He was purposely arranging things so that he would have a chance to focus on what was meaningful in life.

“When I looked back at the things that mattered the most to me,” he said, “they were experiences, friendships and family — none of which I had invested much in, partly because I was too busy, and partly because I felt anchored by my possessions.”

[Zee Mustard]

I found this article to be sad, but ultimately kind of hopeful.  TL; DR version:
 
- After moving to the suitcase, he goes to stay with a series of friends and family.  Has zero "guest" skills and becomes a burden, asking people to cook for him, do laundry for him, and then inadvertently stealing their stuff.

- Realizing that he was burning through friendships, he goes in the other direction and spends almost half a million dollars renting a giant house for his friends to come hang with him.  Inadvertently schedules this giant party for the school year, so friends with kids cannot come.  The house is many flights away; too far for many casual visitors.  Some people do come, though. 

- Tries to AirBnB in towns where his friends are, can't find enough vacancy for his multi-week stays.  Ends up in hotels.  Now he is considering renting a smaller place in New York. 

Bless his heart, this guy may be rich as heck, but he's a bit short on relationship skills.  I admire his willingness to plow through what (to me) would be an incredibly painful and disruptive series of experiments to get to what he wants. 

[patrickza]

I love the idea of living out of a suitcase, I've always wanted to be without a home, but when you have that much money, don't become a painful guest, rather hotel it and see your friends when it suits them.

[I'm a red panda]

I love the idea of living out of a suitcase, I've always wanted to be without a home, but when you have that much money, don't become a painful guest, rather hotel it and see your friends when it suits them.

Seems like it would be a lot cheaper to get a home than live from a hotel full time.

[expectopatronum]

For one thing, he had scheduled the Anguilla vacation during the school year, which meant friends with children couldn’t make it. The island’s remoteness, furthermore, meant some guests were forced to endure a tangle of flight connections, leaving some of them exhausted by the time they arrived.

And many of the people he invited, who had jobs and other obligations, could stay only for a long weekend.

...Because he showed up at their houses and what, forced them onto the airplanes?

I understand the point ("forgot to consider that not everyone lives as he does"), but I think it's hilarious logic to say "how inconsiderate that we've been invited to Anguilla for two weeks". This wasn't a wedding or some other invitation-with-obligation. If it doesn't suit you, then don't go.

[zolotiyeruki]

Sounds like he'd be a better guest is he just left a $1000 bill on the nightstand after staying... :)  If I were that rich, I'd probably do something like that.

[patrickza]

I love the idea of living out of a suitcase, I've always wanted to be without a home, but when you have that much money, don't become a painful guest, rather hotel it and see your friends when it suits them.

Seems like it would be a lot cheaper to get a home than live from a hotel full time.

I don't think that cost is a consideration for him...

[mm1970]

Sounds like he'd be a better guest is he just left a $1000 bill on the nightstand after staying... :)  If I were that rich, I'd probably do something like that.

Yep.

I found the article fascinating and sad at the same time.

I understand the appeal of living out of a suitcase.  But the advantages of *not* having a home puts undue burden on others.  I think about that some time - people who constantly travel and don't have a "home", like tandem truck-drivers, or consultants who use hotels, or people who live in RVs.

But this guy is different- for awhile he was a guest in other peoples' homes, and that gets really old, especially if you are relying on someone's wife to cook for you or do your laundry.