The author F. Scott Fitzgerald is credited with saying: “The rich are different from you and me.” And Ernest Hemingway is supposed to have responded: “Yes, they have more money.”
It has always baffled me why a millionaire/billionaire would want more?
I always thought they basically have the same personalities, albeit perhaps a bit more domineering. But I have learned through reading that one big trait circling the very rich is that they have a fear of losing their worldly gains. In fact, they become neurotic and worry about everything, anything going wrong.
Ironically, I never wanted to be ultra rich. I am satisfied at reaching a level of life that means I am comfortable and possess enough to get along. If I suddenly won the lottery, it would screw things up.
Oh sure, now I am scared to death that eggs will be missing from my life as I like a good omelette, baked goods, etc., that require eggs, but neurotic?
When the great toilet paper demise during the COVID outbreak occurred, I never panicked. I simply prepared myself for whatever, I had ordered enough for future needs and was satisfied. To tell the truth, I have been the sort of person who always stocks up on essentials.
I then watched as hoarders fought tooth and nail for precious toilet paper, knowing I had enough, wiping out months of any fear of just being a bear in the woods.
Both of us, including Wife Patti, are very satisfied with life, having planned well ahead for current and future needs.
If we want something, we buy it. No birthday or Christmas presents for the two of us. Basically, we are happy with life, home and business and want for nothing.
So, getting back to the neurotic need for more...
The old cliché: "The rich get richer while the poor get poorer," thrives for those who have - and threatens or at least diminishes - hope for those who have not.
Most rich, at least those who are satisfied with the status quo, usually worked themselves from the proverbial bottom up. That being said, those who feel they are the downtrodden, or have failed to achieve what they consider success in life, will never be satisfied and always want more.
Actually the very rich and the not-so-satisfied are the same. The concept of “being rich” is often misunderstood. It focuses solely on accumulating wealth rather than creating a life of purpose and fulfillment.
Me, I’m happy, so why aren’t you? In our life, after past tough times and money woes, things finally came to a stable existence. I don’t have to rely on others. I help other out when possible, I feel quasi-important and love my work. Would having more change any of my life goals?
I question why someone in their declining years would waste time on achieving some level above their current status. Yes folks, your current happiness and future happiness both depend on you figuring out both, why you want to be richer, or if you will ever be satisfied with life.
The way I look at it, life is determinate, you are born, you live and you die at some point and cannot take anything with you in death. What is left behind becomes a legacy, that can either be positive or negative, but rarely remembered behind the next generation.
If you are rich and richer, the future generations can benefit, such as the Rockefeller, or Elon Musk relatives, but there is a downside to guaranteed wealth. Money does not guarantee happiness, so why accumulate more than necessary?
Numerous politicians may equate wealth with power, but history has shown power dwindles faster that money.
I want to be remembered for what I have achieved in life and leave behind perhaps a semi-positive part of my existence to history.
Everything else is just squat.
