Thread by @marksbirch

Interesting story about owning equity.

I was at Siebel in the late 90's to early 00's. Stock was soaring. We had reached $1 billion in revenue.

Sales Kickoff in 2000, Tom Siebel boasted how the company minted so many new millionaires. The stock was near $120 per share.

Then 2001 came. We were surviving the Dot Com bust okay. Companies were still buying. Stock was weak, but most were positive about the future.

Then 9/11 hit. Business spending stalled, revenue tanked. The stock also tanked.

The business never recovered. Siebel downsized staff and its ambitions. Stock crawled back to the mid $30's, but mostly hovered in single digits.

The "Siebel millionaires" saw their stakes shrivel. Many sold what they could when options were repriced.

But it was a meager take.

Some did ok on the stock. I sold what I could at the high. I was lucky.

Most had their dreams tied up in the stock just to see it vanish. Houses, college tuitions, nest eggs. Gone.

Some even doubled down on the stock in their 401k's. It was a double whammy.

So many talked up the benefits of equity during the Dot Com boom.

What is not talked about as much is the aftermath.

Equity is nice, but it is not cash. So many got crushed financially because they never diversified to cover their basis.

Right now, a very small minority are chasing out on golden lottery tickets. I am truly happy the dream worked out for them. Their equity is building wealth.

But realize that the equity dream only comes true for an incredibly small percentage.