A $2B Healthcare CEO Says Paying Off $100K in Student Loans Was When He Finally Felt Rich

Sami Inkinen, the CEO of Virta Health, a healthcare company valued at $2 billion, shared that he considers himself wealthy not due to his substantial net worth, but because he has paid off his $100,000 student debt.

Despite being the founder and driving force behind three successful companies, including two unicorns, Inkinen’s perception of wealth is more about financial freedom than accumulation of wealth.

Inkinen’s journey to financial freedom began when he sold a batch of secondary shares in 2008, three years after co-founding the real estate search company Trulia. The shares, worth $500,000 pre-tax, enabled him to clear his student debt, purchase a bicycle, and furnish his apartment in San Francisco.

Although he had the chance to quickly clear his loans with a lucrative job offer from consulting giant McKinsey, Inkinen chose the path of entrepreneurship. As reported by the Fortune, he played a crucial role in scaling Trulia into a key player in the industry, which was later acquired by Zillow for $3.5 billion in 2015. Currently, Inkinen is at the helm of Virta Health.

Inkinen, who hails from Finland where education and healthcare are free, believes that money does not guarantee happiness.

“Money isn’t going to make my life or break it, and it’s not going to bring happiness,” Inkinen shared with the outlet.

He is content with a minimalist lifestyle and does not obsess over money, even when his bank account swells by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Why It Matters

Inkinen’s story is a testament to the fact that wealth is a subjective concept and can mean different things to different people. For Inkinen, it is not about the accumulation of wealth but about financial freedom and the ability to live life on his own terms.

His journey from paying off his student debt to leading a billion-dollar company is a powerful reminder that success and wealth are not always synonymous.