Rich Man, Poor Man Don't Think That You Can - Know That You Can!

You want to be rich. Perhaps you plan to be very wealthy indeed. Who wouldn't? Talking about the pros and cons of being wealthy seems as one-sided as a boxing match between Warren Buffett and Muhammad Ali. However I've been giving this some thought - inspired by my strange and unfounded fear of winning £56 million pounds in the lottery- and there are quite a few bad points. Don't get me wrong - it'd be a nice problem to have. If you searched out 'the pros and cons of being wealthy' as a sanity check before accepting a briefcase of cash, I say take the money! Later on you can come back and tell us how hard it is being rich. But let's start with the good points. The pros of being wealthy Unless you're very religious, contrarian, or you're visiting our planet ahead of the full-scale invasion from Mars, you'll know how great it is to have money. The esteemed rap poet Nas sums up the general picture as follows: Clothes that I buy, Ice that I wear, Clothes that I try, close your eyes Picture me rollin, sixes, money foldin Bitches honies that swollen to riches... Mr Nas is a bit weak in rhyming the clothes he's trying with those that he's buying, but then he doesn't need to try too hard - Nas knows we've all dreamed of being rich. He just has to flick the switch. At the very least, being wealthy gets you: -Financial freedom -Holidays anywhere -A great home -Funding for your pastimes and passions -Good suits -Great health care -A swimming pool full of girls in bikinis -Gold teeth Feel free to substitute your own desires. Personally, I'd like an island. The downsides of being wealthy When I said this article was about the pros and cons of being wealthy, I meant it: having a lot of money has drawbacks, especially if you get rich overnight. I've met a fair few rich people over the years, mainly through work, and I've also read widely on the subject, and I feel confident in listing these negatives. (For clarity, I'm talking about being really rich - £10 million / $15 million net worth or more). Money doesn't make you happy After a surprisingly low point, more money doesn't make you happier. Rich people get depressed, just like the middle classes. True, there's no evidence that money actually makes you unhappy (although one rich man is giving it all away) but it could distract you from fixing your real problems. The end of your goals and ambitions You see this with children born into money, as well as people who built a company up for several decades and sold too late to start another. When you have the money, what next? The trick seems to be to find a substitute to your old goal of achieving financial security. That's why you can't walk far in Africa without tripping over a philanthropist. Being judged unfairly People are very critical of the wealthy, especially here in the UK. In the US entrepreneurs are celebrated, but newly rich Brits will find many people waiting for them to fall. I've seen it in work - a self-made man or woman leaves the room, and someone says "well, he was lucky" or "he's out of ideas" or even "what an asshole". Not nice, but it happens.