LIFE WITH WEALTH

“Money shouts;
Wealth whispers”.

The above statement was made to me by a good friend, Shakey Hadeed, during a discussion on the benefits and behavior of wealthy people. It describes in a simple, but truly profound way, the fundamental differences among people who have successfully accumulated large sums of money. One only has to compare the obscene image of the very successful artist or sports- personality whose multimillion dollar earning is flouted in the form of extravagant jewelry, mansions with gold plated ceilings and extra-ordinary vehicles that go nowhere, to that of Warren Buffett, one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever, who while being content to live in the same home and drive the same old car, chose to donate more than 80% of his estate to charitable causes.
Unfortunately, in the United States, more than any of the other western industrial democracies, there is an outrageous and perhaps, an unconscionable, disparity in the acquisition and distribution of wealth. This has led to the present lopsided distribution where the top 1% of households own almost 50% of privately held wealth, and more than 80% of the population share less than 15%. It would appear that to many, the real description of the “American dream” is the accumulation of wealth without regard to social justice or responsibility. A very good example of this immoral greed was seen in the follow up to the recent collapse of the American International Group. After receiving more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the Treasury and Federal Reserve to save them from certain bankruptcy, they promptly proceeded with plans to pay about $165 million in bonuses to the executives in the same business unit that brought the company to the brink of collapse last year, without regard to the thousands of people who lost their homes and livelihood.
Andrew Carnegie, the great American industrialist, in his essay, Gospel of Wealth (1889), recognized the impact of modern civilization and the resulting disparity in conditions resulting from industrialization, and expressed his concerns thus:

“The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth,
so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor
in harmonious relationship”.

The central core of his thesis was that the wealthy entrepreneur must accept the responsibility of distributing his fortune in a way that it will be put to good use, and not wasted on frivolous overindulgence. He further suggested that the very existence of poverty in a capitalistic society could be completely eliminated by wealthy philanthropic men who are merely trustees of their wealth and are duty bound to administer it for the good of the public.
Men like Buffett and Carnegie deserve our genuine respect and recognition. They are people who are endowed with the special gift for success, who have worked to achieve the rewards of this gift , but have never lost sight of its true meaning. To them, the reward is not in the accumulation of wealth, but in the recognition and expression of its meaningful redistribution. They do not need to advertise their wealth, their words and deeds will speak loudly for them. Their wealth merely whispers.
However, for everyone of these men, there are many others who by reason of luck, or ability, or inheretance or worse of all, by deception, have acquired large fortunes and influence. They are easily recognized, not by their good deeds or words, but by the noise they make to advertise themselves and their importance. You know them by the mansions they own, and the yatchs and airplanes and automobiles they have, but not by their concern for their environment or their less fortunate brothers. They have no hesitation in underwriting the cost of transporting the complete list of guests, entertainers and food to Morrocco to celebrate a birthday party by Ken Lay of the Enron scandal, while systematiccally cheating thousands of investors. To these people, they use their wealth to shout out their importance.
In the final analysis, the names of these people will never live on, except as a footnote in history. But the name of Carnegie continues to flourish in every school and every library because of the contributions made by his foundation. They learnt early on in their career that any wealth they accumulate is necessarily transient, and only their good name lives on.

As Benjamin Franklin has often reminded us:

“If your Riches are yours,
why can't you take them with you to the other world?”

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Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,
but righteousness delivers from death.
……Proverbs 10:2

One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
……. Proverbs 13:7

Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think.
……..Ayn Rand
Though I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn't changed who I am.
My feet are still on the ground. I'm just wearing better shoes.
…….Oprah Winfrey

Wealth is the slave of a wise man;
The master of a fool.

…….Seneca

The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things.
it is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination,
and our faith in the future.
…….Steve Forbes

Wealth is not in making money,
but in making the man while he is making the money.
……..John Wicker

Prefer loss to the wealth of dishonest gain;
The former vexes you for a time;
The latter will bring you lasting remorse

……Chilo

Money only appeals to selfishness,
and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it
……Albert Einstein

Riches either serve or govern the possessor.

……..Horace

Common sense among men of fortune is rare.

……..Juvenal

Those who thank God much are the truly wealthy.
So our inner happiness depends not on what we experience,
but on the degree of our gratitude to God, whatever the experience.
……Albert Schweitzer