Wealth can be a delicate topic.
Despite the anti-rich sentiment in far-left political circles these days (including some of the recently unsuccessful candidates for Utah’s new 1st Congressional District), most people still want to join the ranks of the wealthy.
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And more people each year are succeeding.
This isn’t just an American thing, but Americans are particularly good at it.
However, the bigger question may be whether they are any good at handling it. A lot has been written about the relationship between poverty and mental illnesses and emotional stress. But some experts are warning that excessive wealth can lead to stresses and problems, as well.
I know, I know. You’d still like to swap your current situation for some of those stresses and problems. You’re not alone.
Ultrawealthy on the rise
The Wall Street Journal this week reported that the number of ultrawealthy people worldwide (defined by the wealth-intelligence firm Altrata as those having a net worth of at least $30 million) soared by 14.4% last year to 556,850.
Of these, 37%, by far the largest share, live in the United States.
Artificial intelligence and the opportunities for investment and innovation are being singled out as a factor in this. But inheritance is a big and growing wealth-maker, as well.
Bank of America reports that members of the millennial and Gen X generations (defined broadly as those aged 30 to 61) are projected to receive about $18 trillion from wills and probate courts over the coming decade. This “great wealth transfer,” as many are calling it, has already begun.
Politicians can argue all day about tax policies or the divide between rich and poor. Perhaps a bigger question is whether the newly rich are prepared to handle their wealth without losing hold of the things that really matter.
Relationships
David H. Rosmarin, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a program director at McLean Hospital, wrote an essay for Time magazine recently in which he said his interactions with wealthy people have shown him how money can “weaken the very foundations that sustain psychological well-being.”
Money, he said, changes relationships.
When money isn’t an object, Rosmarin said, people no longer have to compromise, negotiate, forgive or sacrifice — things that strengthen bonds. Maturity and wisdom come through challenges.
He used the example of a wealthy family whose son had a gambling problem. Rather than helping him face the consequences, the parents routinely covered his losses, totaling nearly a million dollars over several years.
“Each bailout was intended to help,” he wrote. “Indeed, this approach preserved peace in the short term by postponing difficult conversations. But the gambling worsened, and eventually so did the family dynamics. By the time they came to my office, their son was estranged.”
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Money had changed the relationship.
“Rather than confronting a painful reality — which parents with more limited resources would have been forced to do — the parents used money to insulate themselves, thereby creating a bigger problem than had they not been so wealthy.”
Instead of money, the son needed boundaries and accountability.
For most of us, he said, life imposes limits. With endless money, families often buy emotional distancing and pain; loneliness instead of community and belonging.
Religion and faith
Religious faith can be a grounding force. Years ago, the Deseret News commented on a report by the Chronicle of Philanthropy that showed Utah and several other Bible Belt states leading the nation in charitable giving.
Wealthy people tend to give less — unless, that is, they are made aware of the plight of people who are poor. In addition to religious teachings about charity, congregations often bring rich and poor together to worship and minister, offering glimpses into other socioeconomic classes.
None of this is to suggest it’s wrong to seek the security of greater wealth. There is something ennobling about working hard to provide security for loved ones. It’s just that wealth shouldn’t be all people seek. A nation filled with people who inherited wealth could easily miss the self-discipline needed to raise the next generation.
Despite what any left-leaning politician might say, however, Americans aren’t going to stop trying to get rich any time soon.
Writing about tariffs for The Atlantic last year, Manhattan Institute President Reihan Salam and senior fellow Charles Fain Lehman cited statistics to show how deeply Americans care about wealth.
“Roughly 79% describe their money as ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important to them,” they wrote.
“American parents put a far greater weight on their children being ‘financially independent’ and having an enjoyable career than they do on those children getting married or having children themselves,” they said.
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Which raises a whole new set of problems.