In the afterword of “All the Money In the World“, Peter Bernstein and Annalyn Swan inquired the frequently asked question, “Does it make millionaires and billionaires happy – or at least happier?” They quoted Daniel Gilbert ‘s book, “Stumbling on Happiness” – “economists and psychologists have spent decades studying the relation between wealth and happiness, and they have generally concluded that wealth increases human happiness when it lifts people out of abject poverty and into the middle class buy that it does little to increase happiness thereafter. Americans who earn $50,000 per year are much happier than those who earn $10,000 per year, but Americans who earn $5 million per year are not much happier than those who earn $100,000 per year.” The authors went on further, “Once you’ve bought your way beyond hunger, sickness, fear, and fatigue, writes Gilbert, “the rest of your money is an increasingly useless pile of paper.”"
I share the same perspective as Gilbert and I have articulated in the previous post. Money makes a big difference when you are having problem meeting your basic needs. The satisfaction derived from money suffers dimishing returns thereafter.
The co-authors also quoted some of the billionaires/millionaires about money and happiness:
“A happy person with money is probably happier, and an unhappy person with money is never happy. Money is not going to fix it. At least that’s what my mother used to tell me – and it’s true.” – T. Boone Pickens
“Money may not make you happy, but it makes life more convenient. And it puts us in the position to help poor people.” – Kavitark Ram Shriram
“All the studies suggest that riches bring happiness, but only for a moment. I read one study that found that the only surefire thing that leads to happiness, except maybe doing something for other people, was to dance.” – Nelson Aldrich Jr
“Right after my company got successful, as a young man I met some of the wealthiest people in the world and found that they were such unhappy, lonely people. Howard Hughes, for example, was a recluse when he was helping with the work we did on the POWs. But he would never ever surface. I learned that money and happiness are unrelated.” – Ross Perot
“I measure my success by how often I’m smiling. If I wake up smiling and looking forward to the day, then I’m successful. That’s how I felt when I was dirt-poor and with five roommates and how I feel today. Money can’t make you happy, but it sure can make your life a lot easier. If you were happy without money, it’s easy to be ecstatic with it!” – Mark Cuban
You may also like:
- How much money do you need (want)?
- How to save money?
- Meeting with a millionaire (and a christmas gift)
- Living a Life of Abundance
- Money, Wealth and You
- Money is a by-product
- Jesse Livermore – "People who look for easy money…"
- The Purpose of Work
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
We always encounter, rich peoples’ view of happiness. They are always quoted to an extent, what they say seems to be some sort of standard. However, the sad thing, is that very seldom, if any, a poor person is asked of his view on happiness. I think, the world needs to view happiness NOT from a standpoint of abundance (rich persons view) but view happiness and joy from a standpoint of scarcity (poor persons view). If you cannot be happy poor, you will not be happy rich. I have visited poor places and places of hardship, and when I looked at these people straight in their eyes, hope, joy,serenity and fulfillment was written all over them. The wrinkles on their face revealed their hardship but you never miss the glow in their eyes.
We always encounter, rich peoples’ view of happiness. They are always quoted to an extent, what they say seems to be some sort of standard. However, the sad thing, is that very seldom, if any, a poor person is asked of his view on happiness. I think, the world needs to view happiness NOT from a standpoint of abundance (rich persons view) but view happiness and joy from a standpoint of scarcity (poor persons view). If you cannot be happy poor, you will not be happy rich. I have visited poor places and places of hardship, and when I looked at these people straight in their eyes, hope, joy,serenity and fulfillment was written all over them. The wrinkles on their face revealed their hardship but you never miss the glow in their eyes.
Happiness is a state of the mind, we can be happy whether we have S$10,000 or S$1 million. We can also be unhappy as well. The choice is ours to make.
Happiness is a state of the mind, we can be happy whether we have S$10,000 or S$1 million. We can also be unhappy as well. The choice is ours to make.
Not true….i am definitely happier when my salary comes in rather than at the end of the month….
Not true….i am definitely happier when my salary comes in rather than at the end of the month….
Hi Chemmie,
unfortunately, that might means you’re living from pay check (salary) to pay check.
For me, I’ve reached Financial Freedom, so to me, now earning an extra S$10,000 or an extra S$100,000, really does not make much difference to me.
Money is a very limited Motivator as Maslow has explained in his theory. Once a person reached a certain level of financial status, he is unlikely to be motivated much by more money.
Cheers!
Dennis Ng
Hi Chemmie,
unfortunately, that might means you’re living from pay check (salary) to pay check.
For me, I’ve reached Financial Freedom, so to me, now earning an extra S$10,000 or an extra S$100,000, really does not make much difference to me.
Money is a very limited Motivator as Maslow has explained in his theory. Once a person reached a certain level of financial status, he is unlikely to be motivated much by more money.
Cheers!
Dennis Ng
“Once a person reached a certain level of financial status, he is unlikely to be motivated much by more money.”
cheers to you dennis, well said.
“Once a person reached a certain level of financial status, he is unlikely to be motivated much by more money.”
cheers to you dennis, well said.
Yup…obviously I have not reached that level yet….hope I can reach it by 40 or earlier… i am living from paycheck to paycheck after setting away 20% of my salary…used to be able to set aside 60%….but yes happiness is definitely a state of mind….I was much happier in my younger days when I only have $500 in my account…hahaha….anyway 5 years ago I read an article in the Sunday Times about this engineer who managed to save $200000 by 30…I was wondering to myself is this great? I set myself an objective to do it and I exceeded it….3 months back I read about how Dennis hit his first million at 40? I set myself an objective to match it too… despite all my dificulties….i believe it is necessary to set yourself a goal and try to hit it…even if i fall short and have $800k it is still not a bad thing….actually $98 for a whole day seminar is quite worth it for many layman…
Yup…obviously I have not reached that level yet….hope I can reach it by 40 or earlier… i am living from paycheck to paycheck after setting away 20% of my salary…used to be able to set aside 60%….but yes happiness is definitely a state of mind….I was much happier in my younger days when I only have $500 in my account…hahaha….anyway 5 years ago I read an article in the Sunday Times about this engineer who managed to save $200000 by 30…I was wondering to myself is this great? I set myself an objective to do it and I exceeded it….3 months back I read about how Dennis hit his first million at 40? I set myself an objective to match it too… despite all my dificulties….i believe it is necessary to set yourself a goal and try to hit it…even if i fall short and have $800k it is still not a bad thing….actually $98 for a whole day seminar is quite worth it for many layman…