When advised by his doctors to take a break from his cares as one of the richest men in America, he astonished the rest of polite society by taking a pass on the suggested world cruise and came to Alaska, of all places, instead.

BBC: Journey into the Alaskan wild

The big payout comes from any profit, which venture investors take a 20% cut and the limited partners keep the rest.

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The rest planned a phased exit from the workforce, but found it more advantageous to formally retire, take their pensions and then find part-time work--sometimes as "consultants" for their former employers, sometimes with competitors.

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