I was flattered at the time but this $600,000 makes me feel like a simple grunt.
Just to ease your mind, that’s $600,000 over 12 years or $50,000 per year and $1 in 1985 is worth $2.86 today.
So your $16,000 is worth $45,760 today. Today’s retention is 9% higher than what you were offered (in constant dollar terms).
BUT, you have to take the Net Present Value of that twelve-year cash flow stream. At 7%, that $600k spread over 12 years nets to $397,000 today. Divide that by 12 and you get $33,000. Divide that by 2.86 and today’s value of that cash flow stream is $11,572 in 1985 dollars.
Bottom line...you were offered a better deal in 1985 than what is being offered today.
You should feel a lot better now.