This is a highlight episode.

Three guests. Three completely different relationships with money. All of them more honest than they probably planned to be.

Neil Patel wrote a blog post in 2014 saying he could be happy on $15,000 a month. He meant it. We brought him on to find out how that became $200,000 a month — and where it actually goes. The answer involves $35,000 in bed sheets, four homes in Beverly Hills, and donations that dwarf his actual lifestyle spend.

Hank — not his real name — built a $3 billion cell phone distribution company, exited in 1996 for $60 million, and eventually found himself standing inside a 24,000 square foot house wondering how it happened. He paid $10 million. Cash. No mortgage. And runs it like a part-time job. He never says his net worth. He doesn't have to.

Taylor Adams grew up in a Los Angeles family with over a billion dollars in assets going back to the 1890s. Got sober at 26. Now helps wealthy families avoid destroying what the first generation built. He has a framework for how that destruction happens. He calls it the Four Horsemen. Every one of them sounds like good advice.

Three clips. Three moments worth rewinding.

This is MoneyWise.

FEATURED GUESTS

• Neil Patel — Founder, Neil Patel Digital & Crazy Egg
• Hank — Anonymous. Cell phone distribution. $60M exit. 24,000 sq ft.
• Taylor Adams — Founder, Belief Partners. Fourth-generation family wealth.

ABOUT MONEYWISE

MoneyWise is a Hampton podcast about what wealthy founders actually do with their money. Not how they made it — what they do after. Real numbers. Real allocation. Real feelings about wealth. Hosted by Daniel Berk.

New episodes in production now.
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Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://www.joinhampton.com 

This episode's sponsor is Daily Body Coach - achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://www.joinhampton.com 

This episode's sponsor is Daily Body Coach - achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise

Mario Schlosser, co-founder of Oscar Health, has tracked every minute of his life in a spreadsheet since 2012. 

In this episode, we get into: 

• Building Oscar Health 
• How and why he tracks every minute of his day
• The framework he took from Ray Dalio at Bridgewater
• His approach to radical transparency in leadership

Cool Links

• Oscar Health
• Hampton

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://joinhampton.com/

We're testing something new on MoneyWise. Just like we got radically transparent about money, we want to do the same with company building. Let us know what you think.

In this episode:
Adam White started Front Office Sports as a college project. Now it's worth over $40 million and it's basically the Wall Street Journal of sports. How'd he do it? We break down the branding, hiring, and operations that Adam used to compete with sports industry titans from day one.

Cool Links:
Hampton - https://joinhampton.com/
Front Office Sports - https://frontofficesports.com/

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://joinhampton.com/

Five founders. Five exits. All around $30 million. So why did one walk away with $30M – and another with just $2M? From taxes and co-founders to deal structure and equity rollovers, the factors that shape a founder's final payout are rarely simple. This episode is your crash course in what really happens when a deal closes.

Here’s what we talk about:

• How Eran Galperin took home ~$30M while still keeping ~50% of his company
• Why Scott Galloway only netted $2–3M from a $33M sale
• How Alex Hormozi earned more from distributions than the $31M exit itself
• The ultra-simple, debt-free deal that netted two Canadian brothers $20M each
• Marshall Haas’ $18M cash payout – and why he held onto equity for peace of mind
• Why the "headline number" often masks the founder’s true financial outcome
• The impact of seller notes, taxes, state residency, and post-sale roles
• What to consider before you sell to avoid regret or burnout
• The myth of the $1B exit – and how one founder only took home $70M

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/
  
  

Chapters:

• (0:42) Five Exits, Five Wildly Different Payouts
• (1:37) Eran Galperin: The Gym Desk Power Play
• (4:19) Tax Dodges & Seller Notes: Cash Isn’t Always King
• (5:22) Scott Galloway: $33M Headline, $3M Reality Check
• (7:39) Alex Hormozi: Gym Launch – Cash Out, Cash In
• (8:32) The Sinkinson Brothers: Double or Nothing in Canada
• (11:56) Marshall Haass: The Art of the Partial Exit
• (13:17) Why Smart Founders Never Sell It All
• (15:28) Scoreboard Envy: Don’t Get Played

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Jackie Lamport

• Not really the host, but the producer.
• Wrote this sentence.

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://joinhampton.com/

What makes a founder truly successful? It’s not blind risk-taking or pure hustle. After two years of interviews and supporting research, we break down the five core personality traits that show up again and again in top-performing founders – from billion-dollar exits to early-stage wins. If you're building a company, understanding these traits might just be your cheat code.

Here’s what we talk about:

• Why openness and curiosity is the #1 trait in founders (with research to back it up)
• How a need for achievement often comes from past pain – and how to harness it
• The powerful drive for agency and autonomy, and why it often makes founders unemployable
• Why emotional regulation might be the most underrated skill in entrepreneurship
• Why successful founders don’t love risk – they just know how to manage uncertainty
• The science behind personality types and founder performance
• When focus becomes the essential balance to curiosity
• How therapy, journaling, and self-awareness are now founder-edge tools
• The myth of the stoic leader – and what really works instead

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/

Sponsors:

• Join 700+ founders hiring A-players in Latin America at hirewithnear.com/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
• Rank higher in AI tools and LLM results with Mentions.so

Chapters:

• (0:46) How Curiosity Drives Founder Success
• (2:13) Turning Achievement into a Competitive Edge
• (4:08) Autonomy: The Fuel Behind Entrepreneurial Drive
• (5:39) Building Emotional Resilience for the Long Haul
• (6:53) Managing Uncertainty – Not Chasing Reckless Risks
• (8:17) Grit: The Unseen Force Behind Every Win
• (13:55) What Happens After the Big Exit?

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Jackie Lamport

• Not really the host, but the producer.
• Wrote this sentence.

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://joinhampton.com/

Not every smart investment starts with a pitch deck or a business plan. Some of the best returns come from personal bets founders make with their own money. We pulled together five that actually paid off – big. From a $10K angel check that became $1.2M, to flipping a beach house for a $2M profit, and mining Bitcoin before it was cool.

Here’s what we talk about:

• The overlooked angel check that quietly turned into a seven-figure exit
• Flipping a beachfront property for millions (plus cash flow along the way)
• Mining Bitcoin in a basement – and finding millions on an old hard drive
• Geo-arbitrage: the founder who 3x’d his wealth just by moving to Colombia
• Buying small businesses instead of starting new ones
• Mobile home parks, domain names, and other unexpected wins
• Common patterns behind the biggest personal money wins

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/
  
  

Sponsors:

• Join 700+ founders hiring A-players in Latin America at hirewithnear.com/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise

Chapters:

• (0:00) The $10K Bet That Became $1.2 Million
• (4:49) Beach House Windfalls & Real Estate Flexes
• (8:01) Triple Your Net Worth – Just by Moving?
• (10:25) Oops, I Mined a Million in Bitcoin
• (12:48) Crypto: When 3% Becomes 30%
• (14:48) Why Founders Buy Businesses Instead of Building
• (16:59) Three Wealth Rules Every Founder Follows
• (18:15) The Boring Stuff That Actually Works

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Jackie Lamport

• Not really the host, but the producer.
• Wrote this sentence.

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: https://joinhampton.com/

Everyone thinks the “rich person” life is about fast cars, fancy watches, and designer flexes. But when we talked to over 150 high-performing founders, the things they actually spend on – and swear by – were surprisingly practical. Some luxuries just look good on Instagram. Others change the way you live, work, and feel every day.

Here’s what we talk about:

• The #1 luxury nearly every founder says they’ll never go without again
• Why hiring a housekeeper or private chef might save your business (and marriage)
• The health investments founders make – and which ones are worth skipping
• Why some founders spend $100K/year on concierge medicine for their families
• Renting at $17K/month: outrageous flex or return-on-happiness?
• The emotional ROI of experiences (and the trip one founder spent $500K on)
• Business class vs. private jets: which travel upgrade is actually worth it?
• How these purchases impact kids – and the fine line between “comfortable” and “entitled”

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/

Sponsors:

• Join 700+ founders hiring A-players in Latin America at hirewithnear.com/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
• Tame your taxes today at https://olarry.com/moneywise

Chapters:

• (1:18) Stuff You Buy vs. Stuff That Matters
• (1:58) Buy Back Your Time (Not Just Watches)
• (3:04) The Housekeeper Dilemma: Freedom or Softness?
• (4:23) Health Hacks: Trainers, Gyms & Biohacking
• (6:11) Therapy, Insurance, and the $100K Checkup
• (7:22) Dream Homes: ROI on Happiness
• (10:53) Experiences > Things: The Data Says So
• (12:00) Cancer, Family, and $500K on Memories
• (15:13) Connection, Curiosity, and Intentional Spending
• (15:33) The Business Class Trap
• (16:44) The Real List: What’s Actually Worth It

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Jackie Lamport

• Not really the host, but the producer.
• Wrote this sentence.

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: joinhampton.com

Everyone wants to know what founders really earn, but most of the numbers out there are either outdated or just plain wrong. We gathered fresh data from 150+ high-performing founders, and the results reveal just how differently they think about paying themselves. Some take home millions, others nothing at all, and the logic behind those decisions says more than the numbers themselves.

Here’s what we talk about:

• 8% of founders take no salary at all — why? (and whether they’d do it again)
• The sweet spot for founder take-home pay: how much is too much?
• C-Suite compensation breakdown: who's earning what, and where bonuses explode
• Lifestyle vs. legacy: how founders think about cash flow vs. long-term exits
• Industry winners: finance, pets, and healthcare dominate earnings
• The one funding stage where founders earn the least
• Non-salary perks: credit card hacks, expense runs, 401(k) tricks, and company-backed loans
• A rare peek into the creative (and sometimes questionable) ways founders make it worth their while

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/

Sponsors:

• Get a team of AI agents that run compliance for you at delve.co/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
• Tame your taxes today at https://olarry.com/moneywise

Chapters:

• (1:37) Base Salaries
• (3:14) Founders Who Pay Themselves Nothing
• (3:56) Salary Distribution and High Earners
• (4:34) Additional Payouts and Bonuses
• (5:11) Two Types of Founders: Reinvesting or Cashflow
• (6:14) Take Home Pay by Net Worth
• (7:18) C-Suite Salaries and Bonuses
• (8:43) Industry Salary Breakdown
• (9:24) Highest and Lowest Paying Industries
• (10:03) Compensation by Funding Stage
• (10:52)  Creative Compensation Strategies

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Jackie Lamport

• Not really the host, but the producer.
• Wrote this sentence.

Stop making million-dollar decisions alone. Hampton gives you a personal board of eight vetted founders in your city who meet monthly to tackle your hardest problems. Find your group: joinhampton.com

Everyone’s chasing success — but what does that actually mean? Founders hit milestones, sell companies, and still feel unsatisfied. After 150+ interviews, the most consistent lesson is that most people are aiming at the wrong definition.

Here’s what we talk about:

• Why the traditional founder definition of success doesn’t hold up
• The dangerous feedback loop of external validation
• How imposter syndrome thrives — even after a $50M exit
• Why goal-setting alone can leave you feeling hollow
• The “post-success” slump that no one prepares for
• Why founders keep building (and chasing) after they’ve “won”
• A better way to define success that doesn’t move the goalposts

Cool Links:

• Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/

Sponsors:

• Get a team of AI agents that run compliance for you at delve.co/moneywise
• Achieve your dream body with dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
• Join 700+ founders hiring A-players in Latin America at hirewithnear.com/moneywise

Chapters:

• (1:00) Founders Who “Make It” Still Feel Unsatisfied
• (2:57) Defining Success: Objective vs. Subjective
• (4:27) The Founder’s Scoreboard and Moving Goalposts
• (5:11) The Emptiness After Achieving Big Goals
• (6:36) Internal Fulfillment vs. External Markers
• (8:23) Connecting Goals to Personal Fulfillment
• (8:44) The Search for Purpose After Success
• (9:25) Rethinking Purpose: Determination Over Destiny
• (10:30) Lifelong Fulfillment vs. Chasing Milestones
• (10:48) The Trap of Confusing External and Internal Success
• (12:01) Why Internal Success Makes External Success Easier

This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.

Your Host: Jackie Lamport

• Not really the host, but the producer.
• Wrote this sentence.