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At Confluence 2024 (CC24), Prashant Desai, Author and Longevity Biohacker highlighted the strong correlation between health and wealth.
Prashant shared his personal experiences of losing mentors due to poor health, from the passing of his father due to a heart attack when Prashant was 7 years old, to the recent death of his boss, "Big Bull of India" Rakesh Jhunjhunwala at the age of 62.
Prashant compared these tragic losses with the remarkable success of Warren Buffett, the chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett made his first billion dollars at the age of 56, and by his current age of 94, has multiplied his wealth 130 times to an estimated $130-135 billion over the past 38 years. Desai posed the question - how much more wealth could Rakesh Jhunjhunwala have amassed if he had lived longer? At the time of his death, Jhunjhunwala was worth $5 billion. Applying Buffett's wealth multiplication factor over a similar 38-year timeframe, Jhunjhunwala's wealth could have grown to an astounding $1.8 trillion.
This is exactly Prashant’s point. Taking care of your health can multiply wealth over time, in the same way compounding works for investment portfolios. The key is to focus on proactive lifestyle choices around sleep, exercise and nutrition. By taking control of these essential health metrics, people can greatly increase their chances of living longer and more prosperous lives.
Other key points Prashant Desai made included:
- Death is not destiny - average lifespans have doubled in the last 100 years, showing that longevity is largely within our control.
- The top causes of death in India (heart attack, stroke, cancer, respiratory disease, Alzheimer's) are mostly preventable through lifestyle changes.
- There are 5 key health metrics to monitor as a "dashboard" - triglycerides, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome.
- Sleep is extremely important - 7-9 hours of quality, consistent sleep per night can add 10 years to your life.
- Exercise, especially building muscle, is crucial for longevity and health span.
- A smoker has a 41% chance of dying in the next 12 months compared to a non-smoker.
- Even 30 minutes of walking per day can reduce mortality risk by 50%.
- Nutrition advice focuses on eating less overall, getting enough protein, using healthy fats like ghee, and avoiding sugar and processed foods.
Ultimately, as Prashant emphasizes, the “only fund manager in health is you."
Unlike with wealth management, where individuals can rely on MFDs, fund managers, and RIAs, health is personal. You are your own "fund manager”, responsible for making the right lifestyle choices, he said.
You can watch the complete session by visiting this link.
