Die With Zero

February 10, 2020
Perkins, a high-stakes poker player and former Wall Street trader, debuts with a spirited but less than convincing treatise that proposes personal wealth should be used to “maximize fulfillment while minimizing waste.” Early in his career, Perkins was carefully saving money when a boss challenged him to stop saving too much for too late in his life. Freely admitting that he then went too far in spending his money frivolously, Perkins shares how he learned to balance safeguarding his future—annuities and long-term care insurance are promoted here—while using his financial resources for what truly matters: experiences with those important to him. Suggestions include giving a monetary gift to one’s children in their early 30s, rather than an inheritance later in life, or regularly donating to charities, rather than leaving a lump sum in one’s will. While Perkins makes a good case for viewing money as a tool and not its own end, his credo of using it to live life to the fullest has limited applicability to those without his level of success. Few will feel comfortable taking Perkins’s advice to the degree he promotes. Agent: James Levine, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary.