Cryptocurrency whiz Ben Burns didn’t bat an eyelid when he made his first million aged just 25, and says he is “indifferent” to his fortune.
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The self-made entrepreneur believes money is a “made-up concept” and spends almost all of his time staring at a computer screen to maintain his fortune.
Now 29, he said: “Being rich isn’t as great as you think – I’ve got money but spend 99% of my time in front of my laptop.
“I have an okay social life but my job does impact it, and there’s a lot of stress involved.
“Being poor is actually more fun than being rich, because you appreciate experiences more.”
When Ben first came into his huge fortune, he didn’t feel particularly excited – to him, the wins and losses are just part of the trading game.
His only pleasures come from good WiFi, Diet Coke, a lavish gym membership and a £40,000 gun collection.
And he has a very unusual daily routine.
“I wake up at noon every day and usually go to bed around 5am the next day, even on weekends,” he explained.
“I take around 30 vitamins and supplements a day, which costs me around $1,000 (£790) a month.
“I go to a luxury gym daily – that’s really important to me to minimise my stress and costs $300 (£230) a month.
“And I have a large gun collection too, which I keep at my parent’s home.”
He said his work is “a lifestyle” that he has to be on top of 24/7.
Ben, from the US, first began dabbling in trading in high school – investing all of his savings – but lost everything soon after.
Determined not to let that stop him, he quickly jumped back into the game.
He studied computer science at university and then worked as a software engineer – opting to receive his salary in Bitcoin.
Ben soon saw a 200% return on his money.
He said: “My college roommate, James, and I started trading seriously in college, writing strategies with code – which made us some serious cash.
“But the really big money started coming in once I joined Kraken.
“My parents are baby boomers so they were against me trying something so risky – but they are happy with the outcome.”
But he says “everyone who has millions knows money is a made-up concept”.
“If you’re out partying for instance, you can have a better night out drinking cheap beer in a dive bar than ordering bottle service and sitting in the VIP booth.
“People who do the latter are just trying to show off their cash, rather than actually have a good time.”
Although Ben claims the millions make little difference to his life, he also shuns the more traditional 9-5 lifestyle.
Ben said: “Capitalism is designed so that you can spend most of your life working to make someone else money.
“Don’t follow the sheep, be the shepherd.”
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