Regardless of other living conditions, a higher income was consistently linked to a reduced self-rated level of loneliness. From this study, it's dangerously simple to conclude that more is always better.
Higher income was systematically associated with lower self-rated loneliness, regardless of other life circumstances.
The myth that rich people suffer from depression and are not happy because of money is false. Mental illnesses like depression or anxiety are not caused by money but by a psychological condition. Also, a lot of research confirms that living in poverty can cause more depression than people who have money.
Based on the moderate perspective, we conclude that there is very little evidence of any relationship between income and daily experiences of happiness—and any relationship that does exist would suggest higher income could be associated with less happiness.
A growing literature has studied empirically whether the rich are more selfish than the poor, both in behavior and in underlying preferences. The evidence is mixed: Some studies report more selfishness among the rich (5–7), others that the rich are not different from the rest of society or even less selfish (8–11).
The construction of the prototypical personality profile of the rich regarding the Big Five and risk-taking was informed by previous research that found wealthy individuals to score higher on Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Narcissism, as well as scoring lower on Neuroticism and Agreeableness (Leckelt et ...
Another often-cited Princeton University study published in 2010 found a correlation between income and a person's emotional well-being and life evaluation — but only to a certain level. The researchers found an increase in happiness alongside annual income up to about $75,000 before it levels off.
Wealth and Happiness
On several occasions, research has shown that people living in poverty report lower life satisfaction, lower subjective well-being and lower levels of positive emotion. Even the World Happiness Index ranks the high-income countries as the happiest.
The millionaires, on the other hand, spent most of their free time actively. 22% of their free time was spent moving around, playing sports, pursuing hobbies, or doing volunteer work. For all the others, just under 16% of their free time was spent actively.
Money, it seems, can't buy everything. In fact, new research shows that richer and poorer people are generally as happy as each other. Where they differ is in their level of sadness: higher-income individuals are markedly less sad on a daily basis.
Financial planners say that this is why a surprisingly high percentage of the rapidly wealthy get depressed. As therapist Manfred Kets de Vries once put it in an interview with The Telegraph, "When money is available in near-limitless quantities, the victim sinks into a kind of inertia."
Often times, people work because they find fulfillment in it. The competition. Driven and self-motivated people prefer working even after they “make it.” For many, happiness is derived from the work that made people wealthy in the first place.
A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.
Connecting With Others Is Difficult
Having a high level of intelligence, no matter the form, can make it difficult to form connections around others. Intelligent people may find that others are not interested in what they have to say, and that, conversely, it's hard to find interest in what others talk about.
Rich people are unhappy because they too, are human. The rich are susceptible to pain, fear, worry, negativity, and may still fall prey to a poor mindset towards money. Having the luxury to spend in a carefree manner does not make life a straightforward joyride.
There are two broad views as to why people stay poor. One emphasizes differences in fundamentals, such as ability, talent or motivation. The other, the poverty traps view, differences in opportunities which stem from access to wealth.
It's not surprising that those with more wealth tend to live longer than those with less. If you have more money, you probably have access to better health care as well as more nutritious foods. You also have less stress from worrying about money, and stress is a factor in mortality, as well.
How much money do you need to be considered rich? According to Schwab's 2022 Modern Wealth Survey (opens in new tab), Americans believe it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy. (Net worth is the sum of your assets minus your liabilities.)
Dr Morris says that while, on average, Australians who earn $74,000 or more are happier than those who don't, there are still happy people who earn less, and people who earn more but are unhappy.
A 2010 study by Princeton University indicated that a higher income resulted in greater sense of security and contentment only to a certain point. The study indicated that beyond $75,000, higher income is neither the road to experienced happiness nor the road to the relief of unhappiness or stress.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage across all occupations in 2021 was $58,260 [1]. For a person living in Phoenix, Arizona, where the median wage is $56,610, earning above the national average may be considered very good.
Wealthy people tend to be stable, flexible, able to make independent decisions, and more focused on themselves than others (but in an oddly positive way). "Wealth consists not in having great possessions," the Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said, "but in having few wants." Sounds wise.
A millionaire is somebody with a net worth of one million dollars. It's a simple math formula based on your net worth. When what you own (your assets) minus what you owe (your liabilities) equals more than a million dollars, you're a millionaire. That's it!