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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

Man retires at 40 by investing, now earns $140,000 monthly

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth From a news agency Context piece
  • A 40-year-old man who previously worked in South Korea's large catering industry has achieved early retirement through strategic investment.
  • He now earns a total monthly income of approximately 6.5 million Korean won (about $143,000 NTD) from dividends, part-time work, and blogging.
  • His investment strategy primarily involves allocating 70-80% of his assets to products tracking the Nasdaq index via covered calls, aiming for 10-15% annual returns.

A 40-year-old man, formerly a deputy manager at a large catering company in South Korea, has successfully realized his dream of early retirement through a disciplined investment strategy. This father of four initially invested 550 million Korean won (approximately $12.1 million NTD), including his retirement funds. His current monthly income reaches about 6.5 million Korean won (around $143,000 NTD), derived from dividend investments, part-time work, and blog content creation.

The man sought passive income streams due to limited salary growth and workplace constraints in the catering industry. His investment journey was not without challenges. Early on, he invested in Samsung Electronics and diversified across 20 to 30 stocks, later realizing that small-scale diversification was less effective for wealth accumulation. He also experienced significant stress from the volatile price swings of growth stocks, recalling selling Palantir shares in 2025 for a profit after buying them in 2021.

He now earns a total monthly income of approximately 6.5 million Korean won (about $143,000 NTD) from dividends, part-time work, and blogging.

— ManDescribing his current monthly income sources after achieving early retirement.

Learning from these experiences, he adjusted his strategy. Currently, 70% to 80% of his assets are allocated to covered call products that track the Nasdaq index, with an expected annual dividend return of 10% to 15%. The remaining funds are invested in products linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, high-dividend stocks, leveraged products, and short-term trading.

He now advises retail investors to concentrate their capital in quality stocks rather than blindly diversifying. While enjoying his early retirement, he faces the unique challenge of explaining his non-working status to his 12-year-old child. His new financial goal is to increase his monthly dividend income to 10 million Korean won (approximately $220,000 NTD).

His investment strategy primarily involves allocating 70-80% of his assets to products tracking the Nasdaq index, aiming for 10-15% annual returns.

— ManExplaining his core investment approach.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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