Why Being a Time Billionaire Might Be the Greatest Wealth of ALL

When I first heard the term “time billionaire,” it struck me like a lightning bolt. It wasn’t just catchy — it was profoundly true.

We live in a world that often idolizes money.

Billionaires like Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, or Jeff Bezos have become the icons of success. Their stories are really fascinating, their strategies are studied, and their bank accounts are beyond imagination.

Take Warren Buffett, for example. With a net worth of over $160 billion, he’s among the richest people on the planet. Super rich, no doubt.

But there’s one thing even Buffett can’t buy: more time. He’s 94 years old. And that makes him, in a way, super poor — at least when it comes to his time left on Earth.

Recently, Buffett announced his retirement from day-to-day operations at Berkshire Hathaway, after serving as CEO for nearly 60 years. He’s not just a billionaire — he’s widely regarded as the most successful investor in history, having built one of the most powerful investment empires the world has ever seen — yet even he cannot buy a single extra year of life...

Now imagine someone who's 20 years old, full of energy, ideas, dreams, and — most importantly — time. That young person may have little or no money, but they’re a billionaire in time. And here’s the kicker: Warren Buffett would probably give you every dollar he owns just to swap places with you. That’s how valuable time is.

Time

Money

Question:

What if time has always been your greatest wealth — yet you've been spending it carelessly, while protecting your money like the greatest treasure of your life?

Time vs. Money

We’re conditioned to think that money is our most important resource. We chase it, work overtime for it, and measure our success by it. But here's a hard truth:

money is renewable, time is not.

You can lose money and make it back. You can invest money and grow it. But time only moves in one direction — and you can never get it back.

So let’s break it down with an (probably) impossible scenario to illustrate just how valuable time really is. Let’s look at Warren Buffett’s $160 billion fortune and see what it would take to use it all up, depending on how many years he has left.

The Spending Challenge:

If Warren Buffett were to live for 100 years (he is now 94):

• 6 more years: he would need to spend approximately $73,059,360 per day to use up his entire  $160 billion fortune.

• At 40 years old (with 60 more years to live): he would need to spend approximately $7,305,936 per day.

• At 30 years old (with 70 more years to live): he would need to spend approximately $6,262,231 per day.

• At 20 years old (with 80 more years to live): he would need to spend approximately $5,479,452 per day...

Unbelievable, right?

Now let's make it even more interesting and put this in perspective:

Spending nearly $5.5 million every day for 80 years, the breakdown would look like this:

• $228,310.50 per hour (if you never sleep!),

• $3,805.18 per minute,

• or $63.42 every second, 24/7, for the rest of your life.

Even if you bought:

• A luxury mansion every week,

• A private jet every few months,

• Art, yachts, supercars, diamonds, islands…

You would still struggle to keep up that daily burn rate, especially since many of those big purchases are one-time costs and, paradoxically, they are assets that gain value over time, not lose it.

The Point:

No matter how much money you have, there’s a limit to how much you can spend. But here's the catch: it doesn't matter how much you can spend per second, minute or hour — you just can’t buy more time.

And that’s why the idea of being a "time billionaire" hits so hard.

You may not have billions in your bank account, but if you have decades ahead, you’re holding something even more valuable than money. Time is your most precious asset.

That’s why understanding that you are a time billionaire — especially if you’re young, healthy, and free — is one of the most empowering mindset shifts you can have.

Rewriting the Definition of Wealth

What if we started measuring wealth not just by money, but also by how much freedom, presence, energy, and time we have?

What if success meant living a life aligned with our purpose — not just padding a bank account?

We would probably live differently. Slower. Deeper. More connected.

We would stop postponing the things that truly matter — the dreams, the ideas,

the conversations, the experiences — waiting for a "someday" that may never come.

We would start seeing time not as something to “kill,” but as something sacred.

What Does It Mean to Live Like a Time Billionaire?

It means being intentional about how you spend your time.

It means not trading your time cheaply for things that don’t align with your values.

It means investing your time in growth, in connection, in experience, and in purpose.

And here’s the paradox: when you value your time like a billionaire values money, you often end up making better decisions that create more abundance, including financial wealth.

A Powerful Reflection

Allow me to challenge you and to ask you this — not as a coach, but as someone who's walked this path:

What are you postponing for 'someday' — and what if 'someday' never comes?

Because time isn’t just passing. It’s your life, unfolding.

And if you are 20, 30, 40, 50 or even 60 years old, you are already richer than you think, with more than enough time to live a life that truly matters.

Final Thought

You might not have Warren Buffett’s billions in the bank, but if you’re rich in time, you’re holding the most valuable asset there is.

Use it wisely. Invest it in what truly matters.

Because being a time billionaire is a gift — and how you spend it defines the kind of life you’ll live.

*Recommended Resource

If you feel inspired to dive even deeper into the idea of valuing your time over money,

I highly recommend watching "Reimagining the Actual Value of Your Time" by Brian Nelson-Palmer (TEDx). It’s a powerful and practical talk that beautifully complements the ideas we explored here.

🔗 Watch it here