[beagle3]

On the other hand, there are many wealthy people who are unhappy, with their wealth or otherwise.

I had the honor (but not the pleasure) of working closely with a guy whose personal wealth was estimated at half a billion or so, all self made. There was nothing he wanted he couldn’t afford. And yet he was incredibly unhappy almost all the time - I caught an occasional glimpse of happiness from him after he would come back from a weekend fishing alone, or when some-list-or-other of wealthy people bumped his rank up in their listings.

When someone like like Sivers says “I was happy before the money and money didn’t make me happier”, I believe him.

In fact, I’ve known many people who made fortunes, and quite a few who lost fortunes and some who lost family to terror attacks. Other than a transient effect after specific events (good or bad), everyone reverted to their pre-event happiness levels.

Having money is an incredible daily-stress reliever. But according to my life experience, it has very little effect on happiness.

[matwood]

This falls in line with studies that show when most people hit the upper middle class, more money doesn’t automatically equate to happier. And if someone doesn’t have a purpose beyond money, I could see more money making them less happy. “What do I do now?”