DConf 2013 Day 3 Talk 1: Metaprogramming in the Real World by Don Clugston

[Walter Bright]

On 6/12/2013 5:58 AM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
> On 6/11/13 11:40 PM, Walter Bright wrote:
>> I just want to point out that owning a home
>> is far from the sure path to wealth it is too often presented as. As
>> always, caveat emptor.
>
> I'd say it's historically about as risky as owning stocks. The main difference
> is that the house has a utility value - you can't live in a stock.

When you're comparing ownership to renting, the utility issue is moot.


Steven Schveighoffer wrote:
 > But you can continue to live in an underwater-mortgage house if you can pay 
for it.

Yes, but we are talking about the financial difference between owning vs renting.

 > it was an educated choice.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the proof of that is if you can repeat the 
success consistently.

For example, a lot of CEOs have made fortunes for their companies by backing the 
right horse. Sometimes, people dismiss them as just lucky, being in the right 
place at the right time and guessing the right direction. But some CEOs 
repeatedly make the right choices, and that cannot be dismissed as luck. 
Examples: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

I also know a guy who sold everything at the 2000 peak and the 2007 peak. He 
tells me it was obvious, but I don't know anyone else who did both, although I 
know many who did one or the other.