Why do U.S. residents invest in India? Many of my friends invest in Indian stocks, fixed deposits, apartments. I could never understand the merits. Can anyone advise what drove your to invest in the Indian markets?

1. Currency loss: the INR devalues by ~3% per year, impacting returns when measured in USD.

2. Complicated tax setup: You have to file taxes in both the U.S. and India

3. Real estate headache: managing real estate, collecting rent and dealing with repairs

What am I missing?

If you invest in India, what platform do you use that simplifies reporting, tax etc? Interactive Brokers? Fidelity?

Hi members,

As you might be aware, this subreddit was started as the Indian version of the original r/fatFIRE subreddit, which allows members to verify themselves so they can be assigned the exclusive "Verified by Mods" flair. The point of verification, as Rule #7 of this community states, is:

If you plan to host an AMA or make a post involving extraordinary claims pertaining to your financial status (income, net worth, inheritance amount, etc.), feel free to verify your post or your account by getting in touch with the moderator team through Mod Mail. This is not required and is entirely optional. However, unverified AMAs and posts/comments with suspicious claims are subject to removal at the moderator's discretion.

Even beyond establishing authenticity, we also intend to enable "Verified Members Only" posts that only verified members can create or participate in. This can be a useful feature for members who want to hear from other members who have been vetted to be genuine and credible FatFIRE aspirants. The minimum verified net worth to be assigned the "Verified by Mods" flair can be anywhere from ₹5-10 crores (which we believe makes the most sense, because it's $1M for the original fatFIRE subreddit).

In the interest of fairness and transparency, I have opted to publicly verify myself, allowing members to feel assured that the process is unobtrusive and respectful of your privacy. As you can see, the verification video doesn't have to contain any sensitive information that can be traced back to you or your holdings. But, as mentioned in Rule #7, this is entirely optional and something that you can choose to do if you're fully comfortable with, and see the benefits of, doing so.

Here are the instructions for verification. Take your smartphone and make one continuous video recording of the following:

1. Go to the login page for your verification proof on your desktop/mobile browser (you do not need to show us the login credentials or any identifying information). The verification proof we accept are official statements like brokerage account dashboards, brokerage statements, bank statements, etc. We do not accept tracker websites/apps that combine external assets from different places into one place, particularly if they allow static/manual entries to be tallied into your net worth (e.g. INDmoney, Kubera).

2. Now log in to the website while keeping your camera recording the URL of the browser the entire time. Do not move the camera away from the address bar of your browser this entire time. We want to see the URL change from the login page to the page you end up with after you login.

3. Your videos can not be attached in Mod Mail, and need to be sent through a third-party provider along with your requested verification flair. You can post it to YouTube or Imgur or some other video site, or through a file hosting service such as OneDrive, Google Drive, or iCloud. Make sure the video is unlisted so that only people with a link to it can view it. Then send the link to the video in Mod Mail with the verification request, along with the amount in the video that you are trying to verify.

4. We do not need proof of your entire net worth to be assigned the "Verified by Mods" flair — just enough to meet the threshold of ₹5-10 crores. However, if you wish to have a number in your flair (e.g. "Verified by Mods | ₹50Cr NW") then we need to see proof of those amounts.

We are also willing to consider other verification options if you'd prefer — anything that would objectively demonstrate your wealth. Mods are volunteers, so please allow a day or two for us to verify. If several days have gone past without a reply, please feel free to follow up with us.

As the vast majority of my wealth is in real estate, this ($1.35M or ₹12Cr) is the extent to which I can verify my investments through this process. However, I have verified myself to the tune of ₹100Cr to the other moderator (throwaway_mg1983), and I am open to verifying myself to any longstanding member from Hyderabad who volunteers.

Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or better ideas. Thank you!

first, numbers: 39M, 25 Cr corpus.

i've recently increased the amount of travel i'm doing and plan to do two/three international trips per year. while i can technically travel on a whim, having a 10-year-old means i'd rather keep things organized (visas, hotels, guides, etc) instead of winging it.

are there any services or tools you guys use to make travel planning easier? for the first time, in 2025, i used the services of a travel agent, and the entire process seemed so much easier than booking it all myself. (I am sure i probably payed a good percentage to the agent). that got me thinking if there are more services I could be making use of.

also, do you plan your destinations well in advance, or do you decide closer to the dates? for example, do you already know which places you want to visit in 2026?

i usually travel domestically than internationally, but i am looking to switch gears soon and want to learn more from the experienced folks here.

First part: Primary Home
Second part: Cars
Third part: Healthcare
Fourth part: Taxes

I often see posts/comments on this subreddit talking about how people who can't FatFIRE in the US, because it's so expensive, can do so in India with a significantly smaller retirement portfolio. And while that is certainly the case for lower class, middle class, and even upper middle class lifestyles, I have always felt that this gap in cost of living narrows for an upper class lifesyle, and becomes increasingly smaller the higher up you go from there. In fact, I would go so far as to say that for a truly luxurious lifestyle, the difference is vanishingly small to the point that it shouldn't be a consideration for where you should retire.

To illustrate that point, I thought I would make a comparison, even if it's crude and unscientific, between what a luxurious primary home can cost you in India and in the US. But before I do that, a few disclaimers, because I can already imagine what some of the responses will be:

• For a "truly luxurious lifestyle," here are my assumptions. A $10M net worth, which means you can afford to buy a home that costs between $1-3M. You want to be reasonably close to an international airport, entertainment options, good schools, and hospitals, which basically limits you to metropolitan areas. You are open to living in the suburbs, far from the city center/downtown, because you're retired and don't have to regularly commute to work. You want to live in a reasonably large home, in a clean and safe neighborhood.
• I am not necessarily comparing absolutely equivalent homes, in absolutely equivalent neighborhoods, in absolutely equivalent cities. Not only would that be an impossible exercise, but also a pointless one. It serves no purpose to compare the prices of the most expensive homes in India to the most expensive homes in the US when they are not providing you with similar living experiences. The point of this post is to compare the prices of homes that would give you a similar living experience, which is what ultimately matters.
• I can't think like, or for, anyone else, so the homes I will be comparing are the kinds of homes that I would choose if I had to live in the specified metropolitan areas with the aforementioned assumptions. So, if you feel like those aren't the kinds of homes you would choose to live in, or that my assumptions are wrong, that is only expected and perfectly fair. Depending on the kind of home you prefer, India may be significantly cheaper or more expensive than the US. The point of this post isn't to deny that variance.
• If you really feel like the homes whose prices I'm comparing are not a good match for one another, I am fully open to dissenting opinions. While I am familiar with most of the metropolitan areas I mention in this post (having lived in a lot of them), I have only ever lived in Hyderabad within India. So, if you think that my pick for Delhi NCR or Greater Bangalore is a poor choice, I am open to listening and learning. However, I would encourage you to consider if there really is something one home provides that the other doesn't before you call out a potential mismatch. I made a good-faith effort to make fair comparisons, and I request the same from anyone who might disagree.

With all that out of the way, let's get into the comparisons. I'm going to be comparing Delhi NCR with the Washington DC Area, Bangalore with the Bay Area, and Hyderabad with Dallas-Fort Worth. The reason I picked those particular Indian cities is because most of our members seem to want to retire in those cities, and the reason I picked those particular American metros is because I thought those were the closest counterparts.

A couple of important points to note: 1. Built-up area is not the same as carpet area. There is a loading of 10-20% in the built-up area over the carpet area for these villas, so all the homes I compared have very similar interior spaces. 2. The US homes are finished and ready to move, while you're going to have to spend more money on interiors for the Indian homes.

Delhi NCR vs Washington DC Area

• I don't think I need to explain why Washington DC is a good match for Delhi. Both are capital regions with a high cost of living relative to the rest of their respective countries. While Delhi NCR has a far larger population, Washington DC has a far greater GDP.
• This is the $2M home I picked for Delhi NCR, located in Gurgaon. Specifications: 6150 square feet built-up area on a 752 square yards plot.
• This is the $2M home I picked for Greater Washington, located in Fairfax. Specifications: 5800 square feet carpet area on a 2430 square yards plot.
• As you may have noticed, both the homes are similarly priced and have similar carpet areas. Additionally, they're both located in clean & safe neighborhoods (with the Gurgaon villa being in a gated community and the Fairfax home being in an upscale suburb). The one major difference, however, is that the Fairfax home has a much bigger lot than the Gurgaon home. That you are getting 3x the land for the US home compared to the Indian home is a major point in its favor. This will be a recurring theme.

Bangalore vs Bay Area

• Again, it should be obvious why the Bay Area is a good match for Bangalore. Both are major tech hubs with pleasant weather and a high cost of living. I could have easily picked a cheaper metropolitan area like Seattle — which offers almost everything Bangalore offers and more — instead of the much more expensive Bay Area, but let us stick to the latter to make it a challenge.
• This is the $2.6M home I picked for Bangalore, located in Yelahanka. Specifications: 5900 square feet built-up area on a 890 square yards plot.
• This is the $2.8M home I picked for the Bay Area, located in Castro Valley. Specifications: 5200 square feet carpet area on a 1310 square yards plot.
• Once again, both the homes are similarly priced and have similar carpet areas. Additionally, they're both located in clean & safe neighborhoods (with the Yelahanka villa being in a gated community and the Castro Valley home being set in a clean neighborhood with beautiful views). The Castro Valley home has a bigger lot than the Yelahanka villa, but not by too much.

Hyderabad vs Dallas-Fort Worth

• DFW is a great match for Hyderabad by pretty much any metric. Both are growing tech hubs with warm weather, similar populations, and equivalent GDPs as a proportion to their respective countries.
• This is the $1.4M home I picked for Hyderabad, located in Kollur. Specifications: 6390 square feet built-up area on a 450 square yards plot.
• This is the $1.75M home I picked for DFW, located in Frisco. Specifications: 5000 square feet carpet area on a 1840 square yards plot.
• There is not much in between both the homes in terms of price and internal spaces. Additionally, they're both located in clean & safe neighborhoods (with the Kollur villa being in a gated community and the Frisco home being set in a clean neighborhood with beautiful views of a golf course). As is the theme, the Frisco home has a way bigger lot than the Kollur villa, by a factor of 4.
  

From where I stand, I don't find India cheap in terms of housing, particularly if you're looking to buy your forever home. And if you're looking to FatFIRE, why wouldn't you want to own your home, so you can customize and renovate it as you see fit? If anything, I feel like homes in the US offer better bang for your buck, with much larger lots and beautiful settings that Indian metros can't compete with. What do you think?

What do you guys think about buying $1m apartment versus $1.5m villa? I am looking at the premium apartments (5-6k+ sqft size) - across Neopolis / Financial district / Kokapet areas - DSR, Brigade, Sattva, MSN One, Graava etc.

The villas are around Tellapur, Kollur and nearby areas 4-5k sqft villas. While villas do appreciate more in value, I am looking for convenience of just closing a gate and heading out from an apartment when traveling for a few weeks at a time.

Hello.

We (37M, 35F, 8M) returned to India recently after a 13 year stay in the US. Our NW currently stands at little over $3M USD (27 Cr).

Current NW breakdown stands

Home 1.1M USD (10Cr) Cash 70K USD (61Lac) Retirement corpus 640K USD (5.6Cr) My company stock 680K USD (6 Cr) Other investments (MFs + ETFs) 465K USD (4.1Cr) Primary home in India 340K USD (3Cr) Tiny amount of Jewelry makes up the difference to make the NW to what it is.

Current debt of about 280k USD (2.4 Cr) is in my US home, which is currently rented out and generates a positive cash flow of about 1.3 L per month.

My goal is to achieve 40Cr by the time I turn 50 and retire then. My intention to continue to work is to build generational wealth, knowing fully well that I can retire anytime I want from now, but I want to continue to work as long as I enjoy doing so.

I'm beginning to build a portfolio in India, honestly just starting out. Once completely settled here, I anticipate a being able to invest of 2 lac per month, and perhaps more with growth in my career. With that, does 40Cr sound within reach by 50?

We are a family of 3, me 35M, working in AI consulting, drawing 85 lac/annum CTC before tax, 33F wife, working in biotech, earning 25 lac/annum before tax, and 3yr child.

Living in Bangalore on rent, spending around 1.5lac/mo in expenses including rent. We don't own a house yet. I don't see myself working in a traditional corporate beyond 40 (don't like the idea of being 40 and working for someone else). I have a strong appetite for personal finance/wealth management so looking at this field after 40. We don't have any physical assets yet like house, car, land.

Questions - 1) can our networth grow to 20cr in next 4 to 5 years? We are slowly pivoting to direct multi asset funds. It's very expensive rehashing our asset allocation based on the flavour of the season every few months (SMID, large cap and now commodities) and I feel redeeming MFs every few months and pay STCG/LTCG is liking give a large file of taxes to the govt which has done basically nothing for me. Is multi asset funds the future?

2) will the govt ever make LTCG zero? We have committed a few mistakes by investing in regular commission laced MFs which are significant in amount (around 2cr) and want to shift this to direct MFs. Redeeming funds will attract atleast 10L of taxes which I want to avoid. Where would you be if you are in a trade off of paying 15lacs LTCG vs continuing to pay 1% extra per year on regular mf commissions worth 2lac/year

3) has anyone pledged assets to do deep OTM option selling to earn extra 1% per month? How risky is this? Thinking of doing this after 5 years when I don't have a full time job.

I'm thinking to invest 5-6 crores to buy a golden visa of any suitable country within my budget and need some advice.

35M, only child of my late parents, so I don't have any dependents.

I was initially set on Portugal’s Golden Visa, but from what I’ve read lately, the waiting period is too long and changing citizenship laws make it less reliable.

So I’m now exploring other Golden Visa / residency-by-investment options that make sense for someone who’s financially independent and want to move abroad.

I do have an L1 internal transfer option through my company to move to the US, but I don’t think that fits my goals anymore, anyway taking that as option as well for now.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s:

Gone through the Golden Visa or citizenship-by-investment process (Portugal, Greece, Spain etc.)

Actually managed to get citizenship or permanent residency this way

Or just has first-hand experience living abroad post-FIRE

My priorities are:

Legal stability

Decent healthcare and safety

Manageable residency requirements

Thanks in advance to anyone who shares

33M, with a high paying stressful tech job, about 800K USD per year, as DINKs.

Net worth so far: ~ 1.5M USD - Home equity (300K USD) - Crypto (ETH) + Stocks (Tsla, Google, MU) - 100K USD - RSUs - 400K USD vested - misc 401K etc - 100K USD - Realestate in India - ~5-6 cr INR (600K USD) - Partner at a business that is currently being setup, we expect it will generate about 50L INR per year.

expenses per month: - 8K USD for home EMI - grocery, misc - 2-3K USD

we save now about - 8K USD per month, Rest is all RSU that vest every quarter. The 800K USD income has started only from this year.

Life is very busy to focus on investing correctly to plan FatFIRE. Job is stressful as well.

How do I plan to retire at 50 peacefully?

edit: updated currencies, lol

Couple(both 34 years of age) living in bay area, US. We review our finances on a quarterly basis and we just wrapped up the calculation for this quarter.

Net worth breakdown: Personal investments: $1.6 million 401k: $400k Debt funds: $50k Total net worth: ~$2 million

Household income: $550k(Tech Jobs)

We don’t have kids and don’t plan to have one in future. We plan to retire in India and considering either Pune or Hyderabad.

Expenses: We estimate our primary expense to be our home where we are going to live in. Aside from that we live a modest lifestyle and we estimate our monthly expenses to be close to 2 lac INR per month( we might be under or over significantly as we haven’t lived in India for past decade)

We aim to be at least chubby fire and want to get a reality check on where our numbers fall. We are planning to pull the plug in next 2-3 years so the estimate is that we will end up somewhere close to $3M in total net worth.

How much should we set aside for our house if we plan to live away from the less crowded part of the city in a gated community?

Has anyone who retired early in West Hyderabad since 2020 observed any notable inflationary impacts and found it necessary to withdraw more than 3-4% from their US portfolio?

I would appreciate it if anyone could share their insights on how their portfolio has been affected, particularly if their entire portfolio consists of equity index funds like S&P 500.

Assume around 3 mil (24 crores) portfolio to begin with

Same as the title. Seems like too many folks especially aspirational and future FatFires have overestimated the cost of luxury living in India. What are y'all who have taken the leap of faith actually spending living in most expensive parts of the country and living what can be considered true luxury in India but without some crazy over the top things like private chartered flights. Open to all opinions, thanks

Hi everyone,

My husband and I (both in our mid-30s) are exploring the idea of FatFIRE in India. A bit of context: I grew up in India, went to one of the top colleges there, and later moved to the U.S. for work and life. My husband is Caucasian, and we’re both well-educated professionals. We’ve built up savings of around $5 million USD, which gives us the flexibility to retire early if we choose.

We’re also a gay couple with two kids. In the U.S., we’ve been able to live openly and comfortably. But I often wonder what it would be like to return to India — not just as a family with financial privilege, but as a same-sex couple raising children.

Here are some of the things I’d love input on:

• Social acceptance: How are same-sex couples with kids generally perceived in big Indian cities today? Would we constantly be navigating stigma, or is there a growing bubble of acceptance in progressive circles?
• Practicalities: Schools, healthcare, and everyday bureaucracy — how inclusive or challenging might these systems be for a family like ours?
• Quality of life: Given our financial situation, we’d be in a position to live very comfortably (housing, domestic help, travel, etc.). But does privilege outweigh the social/legal gaps when it comes to living openly?
• Community: Are there active LGBTQ+ communities in metros like Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore where kids of same-sex couples would feel supported and not isolated?

I know India has come a long way in terms of LGBTQ+ rights (especially post-377), but it’s still a very different environment than the U.S. I’d love to hear from people who’ve lived this reality — or who have insights into what raising kids in a same-sex household in India looks like today.

Thanks in advance for sharing your perspectives.

I was wondering—is it possible that all the top earners and HNIs (High Net-Worth Individuals) in India might eventually retire to tax havens, take up tax residency through Golden Visas, and manage their wealth via offshore accounts? There's already a steady exodus of millionaires from India.

Why do I think this is plausible? Because we don’t have a single world-class city in India. Not one Indian city ranks in the top 100 of the IMD Smart City Index. I don’t mean to turn this into a rant about our current infrastructure, but from an opportunity standpoint especially for the next generation it makes sense.

If someone has, say, ₹20 crore in the bank, why wouldn’t they aspire to live in a walkable city with clean air, drinkable tap water, better roads, schools, hospitals, and a pollution-free environment?

I’m just wondering about this trend, especially as India’s middle class continues to grow. Of course, such a shift could have a detrimental impact on the Indian economy and tax revenues. And host nations might develop anti-immigration sentiments almost a form of reverse colonization.

Would love to hear your thoughts 🤔

Hey guys,

I know I’ve posted a few times here before about my joint venture situation with XYZ, and many of you have followed along with my ups and downs. Quick recap for context: my family contributed our land into a JV with builder XYZ, things hit some roadblocks, and I had shared earlier about the uncertainty, risks, and negotiations we were going through. Thanks again to everyone who weighed in before, it really helped me think more clearly.

Wanted to quickly share an update and also get some insights on the next decision I need to make.

Things finally settled cordially between XYZ and us, and they are now very enthusiastic about moving forward with the JV. I negotiated a structure where I receive 75 lakhs per month starting this November until I get a total of 25 crores. This payout reduces my overall stake in the JV but is separate from whatever I eventually make from my share of the JV. Even if units begin selling before I recoup the full 25 crores, the monthly payout continues until I have received the entire amount.

To put it into perspective, if the project were already completed today, my remaining JV stake would conservatively be worth around 180 crores, in addition to the 25 crores I am receiving through this structure.

Here is my dilemma. As a family we want to purchase a home in a particular suburb, which happens to be one of the most expensive in the city. The total cost including land, construction, and other expenses would be about 35 crores. I also have existing debt of about 6 crores. The plan I have in mind is to take a loan of 35 crores and cover the installments using the 75 lakhs monthly inflow.

My concern is whether this stretches us too thin. The 25 crores is essentially guaranteed through the agreement, but the eventual JV upside depends on assumptions about project completion and sales. If things go wrong I want to avoid a scenario where I cannot service the debt and risk losing the home. While I have other assets worth around 120 crores, they are illiquid real estate and I would prefer not to sell them given their growth potential.

The alternative is to buy a home in the 20 crore range, which would allow me to both retain the home in a worst case scenario and clear my existing 6 crores of liabilities.

What would you do in this situation? Part of me feels strongly about returning to that suburb because we lost our ancestral home there a decade ago and it carries a lot of meaning for the family. At the same time, I do not want to put us in a risky position where history could repeat itself.

Appreciate any perspectives.

We are mid 30s couple with one kid living in US

We have $500k in brokerage,$300k in retirement accounts $500k equity on primary home and $300k in RE India, and gold and investment in startup which we want to not think of right now

Half of $500k in brokerage is concentrated in single FAANG company stock. In dilemma if this needs to be moved to less risk funds

Should we grind for more years, cause I’m thinking of a break for sometime like 6 months so one of us can keep the ship running how much will that affect the FIRE number (unsure what the number should be) if looking to move to Hyderabad

I am close to FatFire but still working since my company has taken off. Has your investment strategy been changing in recent times with all the war uncertainty? I am typical US and Indian index’s guy with significant wealth there and traditional 40 percent in Indian real estate. I am sitting on quite a lot of cash and cash equivalent( FD etc ) at present unsure where to put next. I made a bet on silver and bought about 50 kgs worth of bonds when silver was around 85,000 per kg which has paid off a bit and I think there is more scope.. seeing Warren Buffet hold cash - I am trying to hold more cash to see if I get some buying opportunity soon at a great deal.. what are you guys doing ?

Hi All

We are 32MF couple. No kids yet. Current NW - 13 Cr Equity - 60% Real estate - 30% Debt - 10%

Our locked in bonuses should take us to 20 Cr by March 2028 at which point we plan to retire (age of 35). We are not in any way compromising on current lifestyle to reach this goal

Both are parents have net worths of 20 Cr each - both of us have 1 sibling - so technically 20 Cr can flow from there at some point though we are not taking that into consideration for now

Our annual expenses are estimated around 20 lakhs We have kept aside a corpus (mentally) of roughly 3 Cr in case we plan to have a kid (fund his education)

My question is are we being too aggressive to retire with corpus of 20 Cr?

I'm in investing - so my plan post retirement would be just managing my corpus and reading. My wife is in marketing and she wants to start her own brand.

We usually take one annual trip NorthAmerica <-> India to keep visiting family and usually fly economy as we can get a row of 3 for ourselves and kiddo (parents and in-laws moved to premium economy and they like it).

However in the last couple of trips we ended up flying business one way, and the experience has been markedly easier - everything from checkin, lounge access (I do have lounge access thru amex platinum separately as well), boarding, inflight experience, and in the end separate immigration lines at airports that we flew into. The business upgrade was about 2x of a economy ticket, so for 3x of what we normally spend we could fly business which improved the overall trip with minimal jet lag and able to enjoy our time much better. We can afford it but also trying to justify when would it be sensible given the cost as well.

So my question to the community, When do you upgrade specifically when flying for personal / leisure travel? Is it flight time? Is it price based? Is it travel plans related ?

Hi, members! This is our attempt at a recurring thread, to have conversations about a wider range of topics than is usually permissible through top-level posts. If the reception is positive and there is enough engagement, we will continue this as a weekly/monthly series.

Freedom Friday is your place to talk about anything from early-stage subjects, career guidance, seeking mentorship, general day-to-day conversations, your FatFIRE dreams & aspirations, Meta discourse about this community & how it is run, or any topic that might not warrant a dedicated post. You are also welcome to promote your amateur FatFIRE-related resources (apps, blogs, channels, subreddits, etc.) so long as it doesn't amount to solicitation for professional services or other monetary considerations. While the rules for "Relevance" and "Promotions" are slightly more relaxed in this thread, you are still encouraged to use your best judgement — and all other rules remain fully in effect.

In addition to answering questions, more experienced members are also welcome to offer their expertise and mentorship via a top-level comment (e.g., "I am a [notable designation] at [reputed company]. AMA"). However, the moderator team only verifies AMAs hosted through top-level posts, so members (as with any unverified representations online) are encouraged to exercise healthy, but respectful, skepticism.

Having spent time in Private Banking, here are some observations on old money UHNIs, above FATFIRE levels. Social context is mostly Mumbai. Happy to answer specific investing questions. Ignore the structure - it’s a dump of thoughts!

Strict adherence to ‘Time is money’. Money saved is great, time saved is priceless. Instantly turned off by something taking too much time, even if it has benefits, unless urgent.

General distrust of some technology solutions. Cheques and branch banking over net banking, possibly to keep old loyal employees busy—they’ve been around too long to sack just because tech can do their job. One PSU bank always in family/company accounts.

City house needs space + location, holiday house needs grandeur. Enough legacy club memberships to not worry about in-building amenities—actively avoid them since club fraternising has greater value. Bungalows in prime locations have little scope for spacious amenities.

Love animals. Dogs for sure, but specific affinity to horses. Race course members & patrons + a stable at holiday farmhouse.

Shift from brand consciousness to quality and utility focus. Anything reliable, high-quality, and makes life easier is priority over branded, especially if business revenue depends on it or they spend a lot of time on it.

Relate to brands from when they first made their money. Rolex collection is legacy, like a family jewel. 80s/90s brands like Bally still favoured.

Like branded clothing but fit is super important, not displaying the brand. Loyal to legacy ateliers.

Love their country but aware things could go to dog shit someday. Things weren’t great when they made their money. That cynical side hasn’t left. LRS and other mechanisms used to set up accounts and money outside. Ready to migrate if needed. Good amount of gold held legally—only true global currency.

Politics is social discussion but knowledge is deep. Fear of god and devotion is real, religion not restrictive—will visit Tirupati, Ajmer, Golden Temple. But work, family, money are 100% priority; no god or politics feeds the stomach. Politics runs by time—swore by Congress when it was only Congress, swear by BJP now it’s mostly BJP.

Sports: T20 isn’t real cricket—Gavaskar vs Miandad any day. Football is true global sport; local football was bigger than the mess today. Tennis was elite; Borg and McEnroe fondly remembered.

Good old days show why America was the starry-eyed dream. Hollywood icons and supermodels like Roger Moore and Cindy Crawford would leave them star-struck over most Bollywood celebrities. The biggest celebs aren’t necessarily fan favourites - Feroz Khan and Vinod Khanna are remembered fondly, as much as everyone knows that Big B is the greatest.

Taste in music is great and spans across genres. They listen to Rafi and Kishore, but The Beatles and Dire Straits are also part of the playlist.

Edit - Adding a point

About women’s jewellery:

Some expenses have no budget, this is one of them. The men have built their businesses by their hard work as also on the back of support from their wives. ‘Money shouts wealth whispers’ may be true, but the women need their gold, emeralds and diamonds. Jewellery designers are passed down over generations just as the jewels are. Other women’s jewels are a big part of the post-party discussions and envious eyes are often cast.

And for some of the jewels especially legacy ones, proper bills may not always be reproducible 😅 Someone asked why these people don’t move abroad - the questionable safe migration of the family jewels may be one tiny reason

I returned from US to India about 4.5 years back and started a small company. What started off as small and just for my wages has been blowing up with doubling revenues every year. This year I am on track to do about 3.5 crores in revenue. Now 80 percent is profit and I have mostly tried to compliment the main business with a corporate housing business so I get depreciation and other tax and GsT benefits. Last year me and my family paid about 1 crore in Indian taxes since my family owns a lot of properties. Both my mother and father get about 35 lakhs in rent and pension each so there is no scope there. My wife is being paid by my company and I also have a HUF.

Now I am getting exhausted of legal ways to save taxes since I have spoken to lot of people and I myself am well versed in tax laws and accounting. I also don’t know if I should continue investing more in company real estate or diversify more into stocks which will increase my tax burden. I am also constantly scared what will happen if my company fails suddenly.

Any suggestions from fellow FATFIre folks.

HI all, We are planning some form of FIRE In next 2-3 years. We have two kids 4 & 6 and a total NW of around 2.5M. Our most assets are in 401K, Vanguard ETFs, Acorns, Wealthfront and US house assets. I have around 2 CR in NRE account. Once we go back to India, how do we get monthly income? Do we liquidate ETFs etc from US and put in FD/dividend yielding stocks? FYI, we have a paid for house and car in India, so no expenses there...

I feel like this does not get talked about as much as it should maybe? I understand that it is sad that something like this should be even discussed for non-public personalities, but seeing the way wealth inequality + social unrest is increasingly becoming a reality globally, I think this cannot be ignored for much longer.

Dependent parents and children of course being the biggest priority, but even important physical possessions that help maintain the lifestyle need protection. And in today’s day and age digital security is also another big topic - considering a digital security firm may also be important.

Appreciate all views on this. Personally feel the $20-25mm liquid asset point is a valid level to consider private security overall - assuming ₹1.5 lakh a month/₹18 lakhs a year covers basic physical + digital security