10 million dollar dilemma - Newby RE Investor

[Larry Lyons]

Hello All -

I have been running a relatively successful business for 15 years which has allowed me to save a lot of money while still living a good
lifestyle. The goal was always to retire early (which may still entail “working” but just not having the requirement to).

I always spent a very small portion of what I earned as I am reasonably frugal and relatively financially savvy. Throughout the years I saved money in safe assets (read: cash/treasuries/etc) and very little in stocks as I started making money and investing during the great recessions and that left a bad taste in my mouth. Even more to the point, I made the cold calculation that It was also always more lucrative to spend time on my business than trying to figure out how to win a few % points on my savings and/or worrying about it. I currently spend about 160k-220k cash a year, and a safe bet would be about 200-250k pre-tax (especially when you start adding kids private school costs soon!).

Recently I sold my business for a large chunk of change and now is the time to figure out what to do with the money. My net worth is about 10
million, which is obviously a great financial position to be in at my age (mid 30s), but it is also a bit nerve racking trying to figure out the right way to do this.

I have a relatively small investment in the financial markets (<10% of my net worth), and now looking to deploy around 5 million total that will kick off an income source while preserving the capital.

Part of my initial plan would be the equity / bond markets to help preserve my capital, offset inflation and provide me with a yearly
withdrawal rate that would pay for my lifestyle.

I am also considering where I can go / learn / invest in to put some of this capital to use within the RE world. What do you suggest I look at or consider when embarking on this journey in making real estate as part of my ongoing investment strategy without this becoming a full/part time job of sorts?

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!