memfree@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
Being rich turns you greedy. Not you in particular, rather: any of us. Almost everyone. You become more worried about hanging on to what you have and less concerned with the welfare of others. The good news is that you can be reminded to be compassionate and it will help. If you are asked to imagine yourself in another’s place, you can become more aware of how others feel. If, however, you are left to your own devices, you are likely to change for the worse without even noticing. I am thankful Melinda Gates married Bill and got him to engage in charities. I think a lesser woman may have allowed him to be a horrible person.
There’s lots of studies out there, but here’s a quick link with the summary of a few of them: blog.ted.com/6-studies-of-money-and-the-mind/
Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee 4 months ago
The way I think about it is that being “rich” means having a lot of money in the bank, whereas being “wealthy” means having enough investments to live off passive income indefinitely. Rich people can still live effectively from paycheck to paycheck, while a wealthy person’s wealth is tied up in assets. This means they can’t necessarily splurge a ton of cash on a yacht or similar luxuries, but they can live comfortably off the interest without having to work. Billionaires, on the other hand, are a whole different animal because they can afford to do both and much more.
snooggums@midwest.social 4 months ago
Wealthy people can use their wealth to secure low interest loans when they want to splirge. They just don’t tend to do it as much as rich people because the mindset that leads to long term wealth involves splurging less offen and only when it is affordable without negatiely impacting their wealth.