I'm a PQE 15 partner at a tier 1 firm. I'm in Mumbai but relocated here after college. I'm married with one child. Wife doesn't have income.
My net worth (for the uninitiated, it's assets minus liabilities) is around 5.5 cr. Not many (except close friends) will indulge me but maybe on an anon forum, peers will. So, inviting comments from peers to understand where do I stand in comparison.
I am similarly placed i.e. 15 years PQE except I shifted to a tier 2 about 10 years back and have taken a few sabbaticals and hence been a bit of up and down. I am a very bad spendthrift on top of that. So while I have no mortgage or even a decent car, I think my networth is about 2.5 etc. I think 5.5 is quite decent. People who invested early in real estate, may have managed more. Also depends on kids, what your spouse is doing etc.
Please do mention what kind of in-house is this - eg. big Tech? Tata / reliance /HUL type? Or Startup? And how has your life been compared to what it would have been in a law firm? Would your corpus have been lesser if you were In Mumbai?
If I can build a corpus of 4 cr at an in-house role by 15 years in I'd take that any day over 5.5 crs at a law firm.
Been in-house for many years at MNCs. This is due to stock awards, continuous SIPs in a booming equity market and cheap housing. I know of many in-house lawyers who have a similar net worth, it is nothing special in Bangalore.
I spent a majority of my years trying to increase my net worth but here's what I have realized over the years:
1. It's not about the quantum of money but what you seek out of life.
Are you saving so that you live in a house and eat without working for the next 20 years? Then quantum is important. But that's not the retirement you're looking forward to, trust me. You want to LIVE. And that includes travelling, spending on your wife and kids, going for different experiences in life. And for that, law firms savings will not suffice.
What you can aspire for is build up a corpus that provides you the minimum for a month. I'm guessing in your case, it will be around 1.5 lacs. 5 crores invested into a safe debt MF will get 2 lacs per month over and above inflation (5%).
Now that you have the bare minimum secured, take risks in life. Go start your own thing, or become the [subject] expert you always wanted to. Or go teach yoga, whatever makes you feel good about the time you spend at work.
2. True wealth/ net worth is not about money. The actual goal is "the human freedom to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want." And for that, money is one of the agents. The other two are physical health, mental health and time. Never compromise on those to earn just one of the four ingredients.
3. No point in net worth comparison. There are people in your own vicinity who cannot sustain their lives even if you gave them 10 crores a year. There are people for whom 1 crore could fulfil all their dreams in life. It all depends on how you define yourself and what you want to do over the 1000-2000 weeks you have left on this planet.
You want to LIVE. And that includes travelling, spending on your wife and kids, going for different experiences in life.
Amen! An ex-colleague saved every penny. Lived the most basic life trying to build net worth before he started enjoying life. Sadly he did not live long enough to see that day.
Quote:
I shifted to a tier 2 about 10 years back and have taken a few sabbaticals and hence been a bit of up and down. I am a very bad spendthrift on top of that. So while I have no mortgage or even a decent car, I think my networth is about 2.5
2.5 is A LOT! If your shirt, sabbaticals and what you spent on made your ONE shot at life worthwhile, don't put yourself down.
15 years PQE, with equity at a Tier 1. Net worth approaching 20 crores (excluding primary residence) now. Divorced, but happier now than I was 5 years ago. Kids doing well, can take care of my parents without any worry.
Can confirm this is fake. Salary levels going back to 2006 (including a return on investment) would never allow you to make 20 cr. Unless you have other sources of income or won a lottery.
The question was net worth, not income from the firm alone. Yes, I played it aggressive early on. Paid through the nose in EMIs for investments early on, that I exited about 10 years into the profession (was lucky to have time it well prior to DeMo). Plus played the equities game rather than debt (as young high earning professionals ought to). Was also able to ride along the crypto wave till 2020. All of this was seeded through law firm income alone. Since I got equity in the firm, my risk apetite has also increased (counter-intuitively, as one is expected to pivot to safer debt as one gets older).
More so, I didn't spend lavishly. Would upgrade my electronics only every 4-5 years rather than yearly, holidays were to places to cared about rather than those for Instagram likes. It's not that saving those lakhs add to networth, but consistently adding to an aggressive investment strategy over 12-13 years will pay off.
Given where salaries were from 2006 - 2015, your gross salary in total for 10 years couldn't have been more than 2.5 cr. Reduce tax and expenditure. At most, you could have saved and invested 1.5 cr. Next 5 years even if you have been getting 2 cr per year and saved 1.5 cr out of that (with a lot tax avoidance if I may add which is legal as opposed to evasion), even then at most you can be at 10-12 cr factoring a 15-20% RoI on investments. 20 cr that too excluding residence just doesn't add up.
Indeed, because crypto and real estate are like index funds returning 15-17% per year, right? I have nothing to gain by proving my finances on a message board.
I have 11 years under my belt. I couldn’t hold my high paying law firm job for more than a year and two months. Faint memory now. I have 25 paise in the bank and a credit card + personal loan bill of ~ 7.5 lakhs, maybe more. I live in a bedroom at my parent's house and run my practice on a study table at the entrance, next to a fridge and behind a kitchen! The 25 odd lakhs I make every year gets blown without much savings. I just about manage the yearly 1.5 lakhs for my Public Provident Fund investment. I’ve lately developed an eating disorder that has blown out of control - has something to do with a girl I found on a dating app saying something hurtful to me. Who knows, maybe I deserved it. I’m overweight, and this gives me headaches all day. Also, have a receding hairline! Every T1 & 2 law firm has rejected me. The job interviews I gave about a decade ago, super blunders that some of them were, don’t let me sleep at night. Don’t think my previous employer (the high paying firm I mentioned) gives good feedback for me either. I know this because I’ve cleared a few interviews (at a few B/C rung MNC’s in Gurgaon), and have been shown the door at the every end (at the stage where references are sought out). Despite all this, I try and keep pace with the law. I actively attend online courses on various laws. It’s hilarious- a lot of them are conducted my lawyers who are many years younger to me. Before you even mention it - I can't afford an LLM. My college friends make plans that don’t involve me anymore. There’s always a valid pretext for ditching me! And why shouldn’t they!? As if I can even afford an expensive weekend with them anyway! I wish I could kill myself. But I have parents to look after, and so I keep going. Wish my mom understood my plight- she keeps pestering me to get married. Reading posts like these reaffirm my belief, that I’m living in hell. Hope this helps you all appreciate your hard earned crores and sleep better.
If it helps, I have been there. Maybe slightly less than 11 (I am paranoid that colleagues in LI will know who I am). What ever I had as savings I blew out. I was fat. Just went through break up. Hair was fine. But I spent all days high on alcohol and hash. The wfh allowed it brilliantly. Maxed out my credit cards and at this age still live month to month. Parents believe life will change miraculously if I marry. Its easy to say that I don't care about the money or see where your peers are at. I don't. But it takes lots of effort in dealing with one's own sense of failure.
To 1.5.2 - You are a living and breathing human being. What do you see when you pick up a mirror? Do you see a human being? Or money, instead of a human being? Please if you can, do read my comment to 1.5. The comment is for you too.
Hey buddy. In my eyes, you are the richest. You are rich enough to express human misery. Tell me, would you have been this rich, if you were as poor as law firm partners? Just look at these people. They do not even respect themselves. I am sure many of them have custom made mirrors which shows dollar bills only. They feel good when there are more dollar bills. You are not one of them. Please do not feel bad for having 25 paisa in your bank account. That is not who you are, really. I am sorry we were not able to help you discover the richness of human experience. But trust me when I say this, I would love to speak to you, meet you, and understand you better. Please could someone help me get in touch with 1.5 (Burnout) and 1.5.2 (Guest)? This is most important. Hope you guys are able to take some time off, I understand you all must be busy fetishising $$$.
5.1 Cr. Near-partner (don't wish to specify for obvious reasons).
Married, no house, all investments in index funds. (Wife accounts skipped for clarity.) Practiced mostly abroad, had to repay llm loans for ~ .65 cr and took a LOT of time off between jobs.
No risky investments. The longer one remains in private practice the more insignificant old savings appear. At current pay, I will double net worth, just by savings that is, in little less than 2 years. With my limited bandwidth, perhaps the best investment is my career?
Again, doesn't look genuine. You say you will double your net worth at current pay in 2 years "just by savings". So you are expecting to save 5.1 cr in 2 years i.e. 2.55 cr per year. Even assuming you spend just 20% of your salary, your post tax salary per year should be 3 cr. Given most places have 40-50% tax rates, your gross salary should be 5 - 6 cr.
So what you are telling us is that you are not a partner yet and your ANNUAL salary is between USD 650,000 - 800,000. I don't think any foreign firm pays these salaries to associates / counsels.
Read my message again and carefully. Yes, I am paid in that region and my taxes are lower than you assume. Cant say more without revealing geographical identity.
Professor for the past 11 years and also holds an administrative position in the same university for 6 years now. Part-time consultant and legal advisor.
Net worth- 6.2 Cr [after repayment of all loans; no daddy money; no dowry (unfortunate that I have to state it) ]. 6.2 cr includes real estate worth 2 cr inclusive of newly added agricultural land worth 1 cr (which is yet to pay off)
Investments- Primarily MFs, no crypto, long-term stock market investments, and one stock investment kind of quadrupled my investment (over 5 years).
Plans to have 7 cr in liquidity (apart from the investment in real estate) in 5 years from now (will try for 3 years but let's see how real estate pays off). Out of the 7 cr, will invest 2 cr in an extremely safe investment even if the returns are below the rate of inflation, 2 cr in a mildly risky space, and 2 cr in high-risk stakes but the risks would obviously be calculated. Plans to have 1 cr in liquidity or to have it invested in highly liquid and safe stock options like Reliance and L&T.
Will then have these sources of income-
1) Full-time job as a professor 2) Real estate 3) Mutual funds, stock markets, FDs, and bonds (might also play in futures at some point) 4) Part-time job as a consultant
If everything works out as planned, I'll take retirement from professorship. I'll have enough experience and clients who trust me so I'll turn into a full-time WFH consultant. Will also take up adjunct positions and maybe get into recruitment consulting too. My side hustles would probably be paying off. Might become a digital nomad or if I choose to settle, will settle somewhere really peaceful and will try to avoid as many human faces as I can.
Doesn't seem possible at a professor salary. Even Jindal doesn't pay approx 50 lakhs / year to its most senior professors let alone in the first 11 years of your career. And you must be getting taxed at 35%. And you have paid off loans also it seems.
But anyways, to answer your question, my mutual fund investments have really paid off. And these were not small cap mutual funds, for example Nippon India Large cap fund doubled the invested money in the pandemic. Aditya Birla has also given excellent returns.
One factor I forgot to add was that my wife earns too and that might’ve mitigated the expenses I would have incurred had I been the sole bread earner. Moreover accommodation and travel has always been free for me. If there’s any young lawyers/law students reading this, invest in mutual funds y’all. Let me give you some quick mathematics. If you invest 10 lakhs in a safe mutual fund even with the minimum interest that I have ever got you’d have 1 Cr 55 lakhs by the end of 15 years. Please note that this is the minimum interest rate that I’ve got from a mutual fund. Please note that you won’t get such returns if you invest for 2-3 years, it has to be 8+ years to get such returns. Obviously this has to be adjusted with inflation but it still outpaces inflation by a mile.
I would also suggest younger law students and professionals to be adept at tax law, company law and contract drafting. If you start a proper hustle even in the locality that you dwell in, you’ll have an unexpected tertiary income source in 5 years.
Seriously, 15 PQE, partner at T1, net worth 6.5-7 cr. This is my personal money, excluding all the spouse and family add-ons. Live comfortably, not luxuriously. Not active on social networks so no unnecessary pressures. Spend on what I want, when I want. Can complain and crib about several things, but God has been exceedingly kind and considerate.
This feels like a realistic response compared to some of the others on this thread. How long, at your pace, do you think it takes to get to 10cr in savings (presume pace quickens as you become more senior, i.e. 15 years for 7, but only another 2 or 3 years for the next 3)? And where do you see yourself at by retirement (30/40 cr)?
Before everyone has a go at me, the 30/40 cr. retirement number was based on other threads that stated Ashwath/Raghubir etc. are making 10+cr a year by the time they are 20/21 PQE, and that too being first gen. lawyers and not law firm founders. Although not everyone has their careers, never hurts to try!
On the other hand, I used to think 1cr. was an unimaginable fortune 5 years ago. Now inflation has eroded its cachet, and I suppose the same fate awaits the 10cr threshold given time.
Have not thought about it, but money usually attracts more money until it becomes too much to manage. If things go well, double net worth in 5 years or so, and take it from there.
Around A3 level, when I managed my investments myself and portfolio with increased income and high savings was getting difficult to manage. I decided to take out 15 lakh from risky equity and with papaji chipping in another 15, purchased a piece of land in my hometown. 3 months down, sold it for double the cost. With the help of a couple of friends, have been doing this regularly for years now in hometown along with standard equity and debt investments. Have done 15 such deals till date (me+wife). To me, this is the easiest way to grow our income with least time and risk involved.
To be honest, I feel net worth is irrelevant. You should assess your needs. I ultimately wish to retire into simple life in my hometown, and as such while I wish to withdraw from my legal work, I intend to continue supporting pro bono ventures, teach, start a learning academy, etc. I will always make money till I am sixty! Maybe actively, but definitely passively. So, while it makes sense to save and invest with aim to retire by the time you have 1 crore etc., honestly - you don't need to hit a magical mark. 15 lakh was enough for success in my hometown. Why make a huge sum when you might not even need it? Come on, be smart about your decisions.
On another note, hustling and other sources of income give you massive boost in confidence. It allows you to show your peers that you ain't in it for the money, the difference is real on how you approach work and relationships after that.
Are you Raju (Akshay Kumar) from Phir Hera Pheri? 3 months mein paisa double? And you do this with the help of a couple of friends? Babu rao and shyam?
Everyone at this thread just seems to be doubting others' earnings probably to satisfy their own insecurities. I don't know, lol. But all of you are rich, cheer up. Comparison is the papa of disappointment.
My net worth (for the uninitiated, it's assets minus liabilities) is around 5.5 cr. Not many (except close friends) will indulge me but maybe on an anon forum, peers will. So, inviting comments from peers to understand where do I stand in comparison.
Net worth of 4 crores.
If I can build a corpus of 4 cr at an in-house role by 15 years in I'd take that any day over 5.5 crs at a law firm.
1. It's not about the quantum of money but what you seek out of life.
Are you saving so that you live in a house and eat without working for the next 20 years? Then quantum is important. But that's not the retirement you're looking forward to, trust me. You want to LIVE. And that includes travelling, spending on your wife and kids, going for different experiences in life. And for that, law firms savings will not suffice.
What you can aspire for is build up a corpus that provides you the minimum for a month. I'm guessing in your case, it will be around 1.5 lacs. 5 crores invested into a safe debt MF will get 2 lacs per month over and above inflation (5%).
Now that you have the bare minimum secured, take risks in life. Go start your own thing, or become the [subject] expert you always wanted to. Or go teach yoga, whatever makes you feel good about the time you spend at work.
2. True wealth/ net worth is not about money. The actual goal is "the human freedom to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want." And for that, money is one of the agents. The other two are physical health, mental health and time. Never compromise on those to earn just one of the four ingredients.
3. No point in net worth comparison. There are people in your own vicinity who cannot sustain their lives even if you gave them 10 crores a year. There are people for whom 1 crore could fulfil all their dreams in life. It all depends on how you define yourself and what you want to do over the 1000-2000 weeks you have left on this planet.
Quote: 2.5 is A LOT! If your shirt, sabbaticals and what you spent on made your ONE shot at life worthwhile, don't put yourself down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GkyZr9VzPY
Initial few years were bumpy but has been relatively smooth now.
Single, No dependents.
Net worth - 2.12 cr
To the poster - I hope you know that you are doing ok. Money nowadays isn't a source of anxiety for me. It gives me security and comfort.
More so, I didn't spend lavishly. Would upgrade my electronics only every 4-5 years rather than yearly, holidays were to places to cared about rather than those for Instagram likes. It's not that saving those lakhs add to networth, but consistently adding to an aggressive investment strategy over 12-13 years will pay off.
Thank you.
Married, no house, all investments in index funds. (Wife accounts skipped for clarity.) Practiced mostly abroad, had to repay llm loans for ~ .65 cr and took a LOT of time off between jobs.
No risky investments. The longer one remains in private practice the more insignificant old savings appear. At current pay, I will double net worth, just by savings that is, in little less than 2 years. With my limited bandwidth, perhaps the best investment is my career?
So what you are telling us is that you are not a partner yet and your ANNUAL salary is between USD 650,000 - 800,000. I don't think any foreign firm pays these salaries to associates / counsels.
Net worth- 6.2 Cr [after repayment of all loans; no daddy money; no dowry (unfortunate that I have to state it) ]. 6.2 cr includes real estate worth 2 cr inclusive of newly added agricultural land worth 1 cr (which is yet to pay off)
Investments- Primarily MFs, no crypto, long-term stock market investments, and one stock investment kind of quadrupled my investment (over 5 years).
Plans to have 7 cr in liquidity (apart from the investment in real estate) in 5 years from now (will try for 3 years but let's see how real estate pays off). Out of the 7 cr, will invest 2 cr in an extremely safe investment even if the returns are below the rate of inflation, 2 cr in a mildly risky space, and 2 cr in high-risk stakes but the risks would obviously be calculated. Plans to have 1 cr in liquidity or to have it invested in highly liquid and safe stock options like Reliance and L&T.
Will then have these sources of income-
1) Full-time job as a professor
2) Real estate
3) Mutual funds, stock markets, FDs, and bonds (might also play in futures at some point)
4) Part-time job as a consultant
If everything works out as planned, I'll take retirement from professorship. I'll have enough experience and clients who trust me so I'll turn into a full-time WFH consultant. Will also take up adjunct positions and maybe get into recruitment consulting too. My side hustles would probably be paying off. Might become a digital nomad or if I choose to settle, will settle somewhere really peaceful and will try to avoid as many human faces as I can.
One factor I forgot to add was that my wife earns too and that might’ve mitigated the expenses I would have incurred had I been the sole bread earner. Moreover accommodation and travel has always been free for me. If there’s any young lawyers/law students reading this, invest in mutual funds y’all. Let me give you some quick mathematics. If you invest 10 lakhs in a safe mutual fund even with the minimum interest that I have ever got you’d have 1 Cr 55 lakhs by the end of 15 years. Please note that this is the minimum interest rate that I’ve got from a mutual fund. Please note that you won’t get such returns if you invest for 2-3 years, it has to be 8+ years to get such returns. Obviously this has to be adjusted with inflation but it still outpaces inflation by a mile.
I would also suggest younger law students and professionals to be adept at tax law, company law and contract drafting. If you start a proper hustle even in the locality that you dwell in, you’ll have an unexpected tertiary income source in 5 years.
Seriously, 15 PQE, partner at T1, net worth 6.5-7 cr. This is my personal money, excluding all the spouse and family add-ons. Live comfortably, not luxuriously. Not active on social networks so no unnecessary pressures. Spend on what I want, when I want. Can complain and crib about several things, but God has been exceedingly kind and considerate.
Before everyone has a go at me, the 30/40 cr. retirement number was based on other threads that stated Ashwath/Raghubir etc. are making 10+cr a year by the time they are 20/21 PQE, and that too being first gen. lawyers and not law firm founders. Although not everyone has their careers, never hurts to try!
On the other hand, I used to think 1cr. was an unimaginable fortune 5 years ago. Now inflation has eroded its cachet, and I suppose the same fate awaits the 10cr threshold given time.
To be honest, I feel net worth is irrelevant. You should assess your needs. I ultimately wish to retire into simple life in my hometown, and as such while I wish to withdraw from my legal work, I intend to continue supporting pro bono ventures, teach, start a learning academy, etc. I will always make money till I am sixty! Maybe actively, but definitely passively. So, while it makes sense to save and invest with aim to retire by the time you have 1 crore etc., honestly - you don't need to hit a magical mark. 15 lakh was enough for success in my hometown. Why make a huge sum when you might not even need it? Come on, be smart about your decisions.
On another note, hustling and other sources of income give you massive boost in confidence. It allows you to show your peers that you ain't in it for the money, the difference is real on how you approach work and relationships after that.