Like with Good Buyers, I'm not sure I'd want to hear a 2 year old holding company write about how they're long term. Fuck off, yknow?
Since we're designing the company for it though, I'll try at least to explain some personal motivations.
I don't think I'll want to retire when I get older. Maybe I'll change my mind one day, but I don't think the retirement lifestyle will fit me. In the interest of being useful into my old age, it might be good to pick something that's likely to both interest me and that I can do forever. And - given there are practices that do seem to compound for very long times, sooner is probably better.
I spent the first ~15 years of professional life on this search. It turns out that it's hard. A few years ago, I had an epiphany that seems obvious in hindsight: in addition to trying lots of things, maybe I could look to the octogenarians for inspiration. Who's still having fun doing their thing at 80? What are they doing?
If any of those activities look fun to me now, that might be a candidate.
Of course, there are people who do choose to work forever, long after they need the money. Artists and writers seem to be one category. Political figures are another. Academics & scientists too. And business people, especially ones who build something lasting, seem to remain interested in their chosen vocation for quite a long time.
I don't think anyone wants to pay for my painting skills. I can't reconcile my skepticism of politics with a sense of purpose, so I can't imagine being happy in government. Academia didn't fit me as a student, and I'm probably not smart enough to move the needle in the sciences.
But I am having a lot of fun trying to serve Tether's businesses. There's a harmony and purpose to life that's easy for me to reconcile.
A few business people have famously died in active roles - Sam Zell and Charlie Munger among recent examples. Both were frequently asked when they'd retire, and clearly both had the freedom to. Neither had any interest.
Nor did a mentor of mine who passed away in 2023. I met him at 78, and one curious thing about our meeting in a professional setting is that he had mid-stage cancer at the time. And yet, his chosen activity on Wednesday afternoons was working with me on building a business.
When mid-stage cancer turned to late-stage, my gut reaction was Bob, you're dying. Go... skydiving, or hang out on a beach, or do some psychedelic drugs, or something.
But outside of family, that's what I want to spend my time on too. My skydiving trip probably won't survive me, but the work might. I'd like to be so lucky, when I'm on my own deathbed, to still have meaningful things to fill my time with.
(Bob - I think you'll see your fingerprints on one of our portfolio companies. I hope you're proud of it.)
So, as a hypothesis, Tether could be the forever-game that I can compound on for a long time.