Real Riches

Nathan Busenitz:

Money can’t buy happiness.

That simple fact has been clearly demonstrated time after time. Remember King Solomon? He had more money than he could possibly spend, but by the end of his life, he came to realize it was all vanity. In Ecclesiastes 5:10, he said, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”

Other wealthy men throughout history have agreed with Solomon’s conclusion. It was Andrew Carnegie who reportedly said, “Millionaires seldom smile. Millionaires who laugh are rare. My experience is that wealth is apt to take the smiles away.” William Vanderbilt’s comment was this: “The care of 200 million dollars is too great a load for any brain or back to bear. It is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.” And Henry Ford concluded, “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.”

Even John D. Rockefeller couldn’t find happiness in the millions he amassed. When he was asked, “How much is enough?” he answered, “Just a little bit more.” Toward the end of his life, he said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness. I would barter them all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted myself rich on three dollars a week.” And when his accountant was asked, “How much did John D. leave after he died?” The accountant’s reply was classic: “He left all of it.”

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