Having worked for a few of these incredibly successful individuals and having been a (mediocre) PM at a few large hedge funds myself, I’ll tell you what I observed about motivations. Past a certain level, money and social status no longer become the primary sustaining motivation. This should be obvious. To me it’s the same reason that Phil Ivey and Phil Helmuth keep playing poker, and why Tom Brady would never retire. They have a skillset that allows them to win a competitive game, and the dopamine hit of winning is like nothing else that exists. Markets are just a giant game of poker, yet the outcomes are magnified 1000x. Winning that game also requires a level of engagement with the world (understanding macro, technology, trajectory of industries & companies) that is really intoxicating and satisfying. The moments when you feel like your research & connections help you see and monetize the evolution of the future - is there any more powerful feeling in the world? I’m not sure there is. Chasing that high, that dopamine hit, that becomes the obsession more than the Hamptons house or private jet. I remember a successful PM one time telling me how he loved the feeling of Japan opening on Sunday night. The adrenaline coursing through his veins. It must be the same feeling Tom Brady felt lacing them up for another season - an incredible high, and one that is damn hard to kick. It’s a drug. I was a mediocre PM and I’ve been retired for 2 years. But damn I still miss it sometimes. I have an incredible life, but the highs of the nailed trades or the moment you are really locked in and seeing the ball clearly. It’s like you are walking on air. That feeling is what drives these people.
