Wealth Gap Calculator

Do you have enough to walk away?

For many business owners, it is almost impossible to save their way to closing their Wealth Gap. Write down the income you would need to support your lifestyle after exit. Then find out whether your business can get you there.

1Income
2Net Worth
3Rate
4Result

What annual income would you need after exit?

Write down the income you think you would need to support your lifestyle after you exit your business. Be honest. This is not your current salary; it is the number that would let you maintain your standard of living without the business generating income.

$
Include housing, travel, health care, giving, and anything else that matters to your lifestyle. Include taxes. This number is the foundation of everything below.

What is your current investable net worth, excluding the business?

Next, write down your current net worth, not including your business. This includes investment accounts, real estate equity, cash, retirement accounts, and any other liquid or near-liquid assets you would keep after a sale.

$
Do not include the value of your business. Include brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, real estate equity (at current market value less mortgage), and liquid savings. If you have a pension or annuity, use its present value.

Withdrawal rate

Optional. The default of 4% is the standard used by financial planners for portfolios intended to last 30 or more years without reducing principal. Adjust only if you have a specific plan that differs.

4.00%
At 4%, your portfolio can theoretically sustain your desired income in perpetuity, without touching the principal. This is the Wealth Gap framework that exit planners use. A lower rate (3%) is more conservative and requires more assets. A higher rate (5%) accepts more depletion risk over time.
Your Wealth Gap
$0

The math

Now see what your business could actually net you

The Net Proceeds Calculator models what you keep after investment banker fees, legal costs, deal structure, and taxes. Stack that number against your Wealth Gap.

Open the Net Proceeds Calculator →
Estimate based on the inputs you provided. The 4% withdrawal rule is a planning guideline, not a guarantee. Actual sustainable withdrawals depend on portfolio allocation, sequence-of-returns risk, inflation, and tax efficiency. This is not investment, tax, or legal advice.

Deeper reading on the Wealth Gap framework

Three articles and three playbooks on the personal financial side of a business exit.

Article Understanding the Wealth Gap Why Wealth Gaps are normally too large to save your way through, and what closing one actually requires. Article Business vs personal readiness The two clocks owners need to synchronize before going to market. Most owners focus on one and ignore the other. Article The 24-month exit timeline What owners and their advisors should be doing in the 24 months before going to market. PDF The 24-month pre-sale checklist 18 line items every owner should complete before the LOI lands, including personal financial preparation. PDF The pre-sale tax playbook Six strategies that can move after-tax proceeds by 15 to 30 percent, directly affecting your Wealth Gap. PDF Reading the LOI: 7 traps The structural terms in a Letter of Intent that can reduce your realized proceeds below your Wealth Goal.
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