Why You May Not Want To Be A Billionaire

What have you been learning about people who are rich? Financial freedom, better quality of life, more options, choices and resources... Is being rich always a good thing? Remy Blumenfeld from Forbes answered ‘NO’. And here are 10 reasons from Remy why you may not want to be a billionaire:

1. You Would Actually Worry MORE About Money

We know that the poor worry about money. But in fact, the extraordinarily rich worry more. They worry about losing it, they worry about how it is invested, they worry about the effect it is going to have. In fact, some friends may want a cuppa just to hear what you think of the economy, interest rates and the hike, even though you may not have a million.

2. You Wouldn't Know Who Your Friends Were

If you were a billionaire, how would you distinguish who are your true friends? 'I start to wonder how many people we know would cut us off if they didn’t think they could get something from us,' writes one respondent to a study conducted by Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy.  Another respondent added, 'Very few people know the level of my wealth, and if they did, in most cases I believe it would change our relationship.'

3. Many People Will Despise or Envy You

Not only you, your kids, even your offspring. Many people will despise or envy you. The worst is if your kids have inherited your fortune, the fortune can overshadow their abilities. For example, when they accomplish something in their lives, people might believe their success belong to their families’ wealth. And their qualification was sort of purchased through donations or endowments to an institution.

4. The Structure that Work Gives to Your Life Would Not Be There

Many of us dream of never having to work, but a life without work can easily become one of aimlessness. We need a reason to get out of our beds every morning. We need to set our own life goals; we need to be motivated. Without work, it can be hard to assess whether your time has been well spent.

5. You Would Worry More (Not Less) About Your Children

One wealthy respondent to the Boston study worried, “Money could mess them up — give them a sense of entitlement, prevent them from developing a strong sense of empathy and compassion.” Some worry that their children will become trust-fund brats if their inheritances are too large—or will be forever resentful if those inheritances (or parts of them) are instead bequeathed to charity.

6. Non-Stop Comparing with What the Other Billionaires Have

They compare the businesses they have. Their properties, their yachts, everything. When you have a net worth of $10 billion, you wish to have another $10 billion, then more and more and more. It never ends!

7. Gifts Would Lose Their Meaning

People would value your gifts with costs. "That was a pretty good present. But last year, you gave me a car." Gifts become materialistic and lose their meaning.

8. You Would Own Many Properties, But Lose A Sense Of 'Home'

The average billionaire owns an international portfolio of six properties: their Principal residence; Mountain or Ski chalet; Beach or Waterfront home; Countryhouse or Ranch; City base; and some sort of Historic property.  Inevitably this often means they have nowhere to nest; nowhere to call "home".

9. True Love?

If you are super rich, how would you make sure your spouse is not a gold digger? True love becomes harder to find because you can hardly trust people around you. 'They are always feeling they might be exploited by gold-diggers or people who may not start out as gold-diggers but end up as gold-diggers,' said matchmaker Mary Balfour of ‘Drawing down the Moon.

10. You Might Lost Your Right to Complain

People like us face problems and complain. This is something billionaires report feeling they have lost the right to do, for fear of sounding ungrateful. The billionaires are still the normal beings just like the rest of us.

Life of being rich isn’t that perfect as what we have thought. Higher income tends to have higher level of stress at work, same goes to wealth. Billionaires often worry more than us. Thus, find the purpose of your life instead of chasing money blindly. When you found your life purpose, or your life goal, happiness would not be far away from you. And trust God to give you that purpose!

Ecclesiastes 4:6 (NIV)

"Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind"

Reference:

1. Remy Blumenfeld, Ten Reasons Why You May Not Want To Be A Billionaire www.forbes.com

2. Brandon Turner, Why I Don't Want To Get Rich (And Why You Shouldn't Either) www.forbes.com