"Mr. Steger, 51, a self-described geek, has banked more than $2 million. The $1.3 million house he and his wife own on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean is paid off. The couple’s net worth of roughly $3.5 million places them in the top 2 percent of families in the United States.

Yet each day Mr. Steger continues to toil in what a colleague calls “the Silicon Valley salt mines", working as a marketing executive for a technology start-up company, still striving for his big strike. Most mornings, he can be found at his desk by 7. He typically works 12 hours a day and logs an extra 10 hours over the weekend....

If you are in the same situation as Mr Steger, what would you have done? For some, making the first few million means spending and upgrading to a lifestyle that fits the bank account, and continue working for others.

For others, the sum of money could be used as a capital for investment that could help to generate more cash in the shortest possible time. Spending the money on expensive properties and expensive consumer products will help to upgrade the lifestyle but it will also mean that Steger has to continue to work and maintain it. Unless some of the money is invested in mutual funds etc that will grow with time, he will be living on earned income for life. And what that means is when you stop working for any reason, there will be no more income and hence resulting in the downgrading of lifestyle.

However, we cannot blame the individual for choosing the path they prefer, since starting up a new business and investing in risky stocks and options require other specialized knowledge. What is more important is that he enjoys what he is doing. For all we know, there are many hardworking, high-paying employees out there who appear to work around the clock for that paycheck, but are in fact investing actively during their spare time and holidays.

Another way to look at this is asking what if we have that $3.5million? This is what I would do:

$2 million - Put in the bank and earn interest, or funds that would put money into my pocket monthly.
$1 million - Medium risk investment including properties and stocks. Including attending of courses and seminars.
$500k - Starting a small business with this to get additional income.

erm, I am not sure about you, but this looks perfect for me.