WEALTH – AN ENVIABLE AMBITION? LEARN FROM THE TYCOONS

GREED IS GOOD? - Michael Douglas in movie "Wall Street"



"WEALTH is like drinking sea water, the more you drink the thirstier you get."

Wealth does not create individual happiness and it doesn't build a strong country, either.
A study in the recent issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest addresses how economic status is no longer a sufficient gauge of a nation's well-being. The authors argue that the psychological well-being of its citizens is the greatest measure of a nation-- not the well-being of its economy. "While wealth has trebled over the past 50 years…well-being has been flat, mental illness has increased at an even more rapid rate, and data, not just nostalgic reminiscences, indicate that the social fabric is more frayed than it was in leaner times," the authors state. Prosperity is neither the answer nor the cause of satisfaction. The study calls for an ongoing systematic set of national indicators of well-being to report on a society and aid in its policy-making.

It has been assumed that money increases well-being and, although money can be measured with exactitude, it is an inexact surrogate to the actual well-being of a nation. In a 1985 survey, respondents from the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans and the Maasai of East Africa were almost equally satisfied and ranked relatively high in well-being. The Maasai are a traditional herding people who have no electricity or running water and live in huts made of dung. It follows, that economic development and personal income must not account for the happiness that they are so often linked to.

"Scientists are now in the position to assess well-being directly, and therefore should establish a system... to supplement the economic measures," encouraged the report authors, Ed Diener, University of Illinois, and Martin E.P. Seligman, University of Pennsylvania.

The variables measured would include engagement, purpose and meaning, optimism and trust, and positive and negative emotions in specific areas such as work life and social relationships. The periodic assessment of a sample of the population would provide policymakers with a much stronger basis to gauge the well-being of the nation. It would allow them to refocus. "After all, if economic and other polices are important because they will in the end increase well-being, why not assess well-being more directly" the authors ask?

Becoming a financial success can be all-consuming.

SHOCKING STATEMENTS!
The Billionaire Aristotle Onassis once commented: “After you reach a certain point, money becomes unimportant. What matters is success. The sensible thing would be for me to stop now. But I can’t. I have to keep aiming higher and higher—just for the thrill.”

A pioneer of the steel industry, Andrew Carnegie, has long been admired by many. He was one of the richest men of his time. As a philanthropist he gave away millions. Was he happy? Once when a reporter told Mr. Carnegie how much he envied him, the reporter was surprised by this reply: “I am not to be envied. How can my wealth help me? I am sixty years old, and cannot digest my food. I would give all my millions if I could have youth and health.” Then, in a bitter tone he continued, “I would gladly sell anything to have my life over again.”

Another tycoon, J. Paul Getty, an oil magnate, echoed this thought when he said: “Money doesn’t necessarily have any connection with happiness. Maybe with unhappiness.”




THE LATE AUGUSTUS CAESAR

Our Local Scene - Tycoons that came and went




From left to right:
PIC 01 : MONOPOLIST CASINO FOUNDER : THE LATE LIM GOH TONG [with walking stick]
PIC 02: ICONIC 'BUMIPUTERA' ENTREPRENEUR - FOUNDER OF NAZA : THE LATE NASIMMUDIN
PIC 03: FAMED SINGAPOREAN TYCOON - OWNS [estm]15% OF STANDARD CHARTERED BANK : THE LATE KHOO TECK PHUAT

Ancient writings on wealth and true happiness:

1 Timothy Chapter 6 verses 9,10: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.”
Comment : Notice the remarkable semblance of tycoon’s experience that wealth is related more with ‘unhappiness’.

Mark Chapter 9 verses 36, 37 : “For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life?” (American Version)
Comment: LIFE IS more valuable than all the wealth in the world.

Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verses 4,5: “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” (King James Version)
Comment: Death brings everything we do to a nought.

Matthew Chapter 5 verse 5a, “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need…” (New World Version)
Comment: Creator promises everlasting happiness, if we keep searching for Him.

VERDICT : We recommend that we live responsibly by loving our family and extended families (parents, siblings, cousins, neighbors), search meaningful answers to life (Why are we here? Is this Life of 80 years all to it? Is there a super-being Creator? If yes, what does he want from us?) AND get a job with a decent income.

SOURCES :

Anonymous, 2008, Bible versions, http://www.biblelookup.com/lookup.html, visited on : 11th September.

Ed Diener, 2004, Wealth does not create individual happiness and it doesn't build a strong country, either,
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-09/aps-wdn092404.php, 24th September