Alright, so today I’m gonna walk you through how I tackled calculating someone’s “obj net worth”. It’s a bit of a messy process, not gonna lie, but hopefully, this’ll give you a rough idea.
Starting Point: Gathering the Intel
First off, you gotta understand, this isn’t an exact science. You’re piecing together info from different places. I started with the obvious stuff – public records. Stuff like property ownership. You can usually find that info through county assessor websites. It’s tedious, but it’s a start.Be ready to dig around!
Assets: The Good Stuff
Next, I moved on to figuring out what kind of assets the person might have. This is where it gets tricky. I’d look for indicators – do they own a business? A fancy car? Maybe they’re an executive at a public company? That can give you clues about stock options or restricted stock units (RSUs).
- Real Estate: Like I mentioned, county records are your friend.
- Vehicles: This is tough unless they’re flashy and easy to spot. You can try looking up VIN numbers if you happen to have one, but it’s a long shot.
- Investments: This is usually a black box unless you have access to their brokerage accounts (which you definitely shouldn’t!). Look for public filings related to their job or any business ventures.
- Businesses: Crunchbase and similar sites can give you some info if they own a startup or something.
- Other Assets: Art, collectibles, yachts… These are rare, but if they’re known to be into that stuff, it’s worth considering.
Liabilities: The Not-So-Good Stuff
Okay, now for the debts. This is even harder to track down than assets. You’re basically making educated guesses.
I’d look at things like:
- Mortgages: You can get an idea of the mortgage amount from the property records, but you won’t know the exact outstanding balance.
- Loans: Car loans, student loans, personal loans… good luck finding this info unless they’re public knowledge.
- Credit Card Debt: Forget about it. Unless they’ve declared bankruptcy, you’re not going to know this.
The Math: Adding it All Up
So, you’ve gathered all this…stuff. Now you gotta put it all together. Basically, it’s:
Total Assets – Total Liabilities = Estimated Net Worth
Easy, right? Not really.
Important Considerations: Grain of Salt Required
Keep in mind this is just an estimate. It’s based on limited information and a bunch of assumptions. Here are some things to remember:
- Privacy: Don’t be a creep. Respect people’s privacy. This is more of a thought experiment than anything else.
- Accuracy: This is not an exact science! Your estimate could be way off.
- Market Fluctuations: Stock prices, real estate values, all that stuff changes constantly.
- Hidden Assets/Debts: People can hide stuff, or they might have debts you can’t possibly know about.
Final Thoughts
Trying to figure out someone’s net worth is a fun exercise, but don’t take it too seriously. It’s more about detective work and piecing together clues than getting an accurate number. The most important thing is to respect people’s privacy and understand the limitations of your information. At the end of the day, it’s just a number. And frankly, who cares?
