I think they just wanted to say compound disinterest

I definitely know people who do almost nothing (they mostly show up to meetings and don't talk), and get paid really well because they can tell stories decently about their impact, and nobody seemingly has the stomach to throw them under the bus. I get paid better than them for sure, but I'm also at risk of getting laid off because of the practical upshot of being a top contributor. I am sure I will eventually get laid off, and they will outlast me at this company.

The tech industry is insane. While my "Nothing from my end" joke was tongue-in-cheek, it's parodying a very real dynamic.

Given you use dollars, I'll use US economics as the benchmark. Your estimate only applies to the 1%, according to https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-incom..., according to [0], the top 1% earners has a minimal gross income of $682,577 per year; deduct taxes, cost of living and other expenses, there's no way they'd save up $1.5 million over 2-3 years.

Yeah you're very much out of touch, what kind of income are you earning or is this more wishful thinking?

[0] https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-incom...

Maybe a tenth of a percent unless we’re pretty generous with “few”. Which I sometimes am! If I ate a few cookies it was probably more than two.

It's doable, but it took me closer to 20 years. I got to zero net assets in July 2001. Retired from paid work (mainly sw eng contracting) at the start of covid in April 2020.

I should say, at the start I wasn't married and had no dependents. Also, for large parts of those 20 years, I didn't need to own or use a car.

That sounds more like "a couple". Personally I think "a few" would be anywhere from 3-9, which is more reasonable, if still handily above the median national income (like 250k a year if you save and invest well).

I would have thought a few meant 3 to 5, although I still agree that the number of people who could do it is small.

I can and have done it but only because im day trading. My software engineer colleagues make 1/3 of what I do in total comp.