“Compounding”– 47, married with kids, Midwest, with a spread of real estate. Former engineer, fully retired with no earned income. Assets: about $2.66M in investment accounts, $2.66M in real estate, and $2.27M in stock from a former employer, with low overall debt. Starting with a negative net worth in the mid-1990s, he stayed invested through the dot-com bust, Y2K panic, the Great Recession, and the pandemic, steadily building over nearly three decades. He retired at 45 with around $6.5M and, two years later, sits at $7.6M (after peaking near $7.8M), all without adding fresh work income. Annual spending is roughly $75k, shaped by a frugal, blue-collar upbringing, and his days now revolve around hiking, cooking, volunteer home repair, and teaching his kids about long-term investing.