It only takes money to buy a house.
What does it take to have a home?
I was recently reading an article in The Daily Mail, of London, England entitled “So Rich you just want to Slap Them!” It was about the lifestyles of a select group of people, who I frankly do not know whether I should envy, or perhaps I should feel sorry for them. These are the movers and shakers of the investment world in New York and London, the Hedge-Fund managers and the investment bankers.
When times are good in the stock and bond markets, such people make so much money it is hard for them to have the imagination to spend it as they are so busy in earning it. It is the classic of all dichotomies: to not have the time to enjoy your wealth because so much time and effort is spent in generating it; or to have loads of time to enjoy life, but without any generation of income to support your active imagination.
I will make the time honoured statement that is usually made by people like myself, that money isn’t everything. I say that because I don’t have any. The truth and the ideal is probably somewhere in between. To earn a sufficient quantity of money to support a comfortable lifestyle while at the same time having enough daylight hours left over at the end of the day to enjoy with one’s family.
How much is enough is the eternal question? I cannot decide for anyone else, but my own yardstick goes something like this: how many pairs of shoes, socks, trousers, shirts, or suits can I wear at one time? How many meals can I eat in one sitting?
I think I am rich enough if I do not have to worry about where my next euro or dollar will come from; if I have enough money stockpiled to meet emergencies or health crisis; if I can afford the occasional luxury such as dining out, or having an exciting vacation; and if my home, and all my bills are fully paid for. Anything over and above that is excess and I should be thinking about sharing my wealth with those less fortunate. In the perfect world order the poor will always be with us. They are the purpose for our excess income, and by helping others towards a normal existence we actually get far more inner joy and warmth than from buying the latest designer this or that.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not being critical of people who have arrived at the top of their game and who earn money beyond my imagination. Nice work if you can get it, and if the opportunity came to me, what am I going to say, No? But it only takes a moment to look at the examples of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, two of the richest men on earth to see where they get the most return for their money. It is in giving it away, or to be more exact, to use the money for humanitarian causes.
Myself, being part of a small effort to help make life for a village in Africa better gives me some authority to speak. The tremendous success that my partners and I have achieved is the most rewarding thing that we have experienced. Compare that to some of the ways in which some very privileged people spend their money: multiple homes around the world that they never get to visit and enjoy. True, these can be said to be investments, but was that the original intention.
Untold sums of money spent in self-indulgence, such as travelling to another country to have one’s hair done, or a day trip just for lunch, and other such excesses to buy the latest top-of-the-line everything, which I admit also moves the economy along, providing among other things employment; and large staffs to run the homes that result in the lady (or gentleman) of the house not actually having to lift a finger to do anything. How does she/he then spend the waking hours? Sounds to me like a dangerous recipe for boredom.
And that brings us to the crucial question of this tale. How do we know when we have reached the state of happiness? How do we know when we have created for ourselves the perfect home? As a high-flying mega-earner you get great personal satisfaction from the job that you do. As Tom Wolfe, author of “Bonfire of the Vanities” describes it; you are one of the Masters of the Universe. Most of these people consider that family is important and necessary, yet they rarely see their children, have precious little interaction with them, and no real quality time with their wives or husbands as they are always on the move.
A woman who has everything that she can imagine she needs, and in triplicate except the warmth, love and companionship of her man may begin to feel that it’s all just so hollow. On the face of it she should be happy. She may reason that there is a part that is missing, and it is so fundamental as to leave a void that cannot be ignored. Some turn to alcohol to try and numb the feeling, or drugs, or the arms of a man who may not be Mr. Right, but he is Mr. Right Now. All of these are self-destructive, and she knows it. But she cannot help herself. And what about her constant on the move power player, he will surely also feel the pain of loneliness, even in a room full of his friends and admirers. No shortage of women admirers there, so the temptation will be for a quick fling. He too will recognize it as destructive behaviour but will not be able to help himself.
This family and their ship of marriage is headed for the rocks because they are victims of their own success. The main difference with any normal couple’s disaster and that of the super-couple is the height of the fall from grace. They had it all, and it all came crashing down because of one undeniable law of nature: Love is all. Without love, all is built on a sandy foundation and the ceiling is made of iron beyond which one may not rise. That magnificent structure in which they live turned out after all, to be simply a house. For all their wealth they found they really could not buy a home.
Copyright c 2008 Eugene Carmichael
I was recently reading an article in The Daily Mail, of London, England entitled “So Rich you just want to Slap Them!” It was about the lifestyles of a select group of people, who I frankly do not know whether I should envy, or perhaps I should feel sorry for them. These are the movers and shakers of the investment world in New York and London, the Hedge-Fund managers and the investment bankers.
When times are good in the stock and bond markets, such people make so much money it is hard for them to have the imagination to spend it as they are so busy in earning it. It is the classic of all dichotomies: to not have the time to enjoy your wealth because so much time and effort is spent in generating it; or to have loads of time to enjoy life, but without any generation of income to support your active imagination.
I will make the time honoured statement that is usually made by people like myself, that money isn’t everything. I say that because I don’t have any. The truth and the ideal is probably somewhere in between. To earn a sufficient quantity of money to support a comfortable lifestyle while at the same time having enough daylight hours left over at the end of the day to enjoy with one’s family.
How much is enough is the eternal question? I cannot decide for anyone else, but my own yardstick goes something like this: how many pairs of shoes, socks, trousers, shirts, or suits can I wear at one time? How many meals can I eat in one sitting?
I think I am rich enough if I do not have to worry about where my next euro or dollar will come from; if I have enough money stockpiled to meet emergencies or health crisis; if I can afford the occasional luxury such as dining out, or having an exciting vacation; and if my home, and all my bills are fully paid for. Anything over and above that is excess and I should be thinking about sharing my wealth with those less fortunate. In the perfect world order the poor will always be with us. They are the purpose for our excess income, and by helping others towards a normal existence we actually get far more inner joy and warmth than from buying the latest designer this or that.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not being critical of people who have arrived at the top of their game and who earn money beyond my imagination. Nice work if you can get it, and if the opportunity came to me, what am I going to say, No? But it only takes a moment to look at the examples of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, two of the richest men on earth to see where they get the most return for their money. It is in giving it away, or to be more exact, to use the money for humanitarian causes.
Myself, being part of a small effort to help make life for a village in Africa better gives me some authority to speak. The tremendous success that my partners and I have achieved is the most rewarding thing that we have experienced. Compare that to some of the ways in which some very privileged people spend their money: multiple homes around the world that they never get to visit and enjoy. True, these can be said to be investments, but was that the original intention.
Untold sums of money spent in self-indulgence, such as travelling to another country to have one’s hair done, or a day trip just for lunch, and other such excesses to buy the latest top-of-the-line everything, which I admit also moves the economy along, providing among other things employment; and large staffs to run the homes that result in the lady (or gentleman) of the house not actually having to lift a finger to do anything. How does she/he then spend the waking hours? Sounds to me like a dangerous recipe for boredom.
And that brings us to the crucial question of this tale. How do we know when we have reached the state of happiness? How do we know when we have created for ourselves the perfect home? As a high-flying mega-earner you get great personal satisfaction from the job that you do. As Tom Wolfe, author of “Bonfire of the Vanities” describes it; you are one of the Masters of the Universe. Most of these people consider that family is important and necessary, yet they rarely see their children, have precious little interaction with them, and no real quality time with their wives or husbands as they are always on the move.
A woman who has everything that she can imagine she needs, and in triplicate except the warmth, love and companionship of her man may begin to feel that it’s all just so hollow. On the face of it she should be happy. She may reason that there is a part that is missing, and it is so fundamental as to leave a void that cannot be ignored. Some turn to alcohol to try and numb the feeling, or drugs, or the arms of a man who may not be Mr. Right, but he is Mr. Right Now. All of these are self-destructive, and she knows it. But she cannot help herself. And what about her constant on the move power player, he will surely also feel the pain of loneliness, even in a room full of his friends and admirers. No shortage of women admirers there, so the temptation will be for a quick fling. He too will recognize it as destructive behaviour but will not be able to help himself.
This family and their ship of marriage is headed for the rocks because they are victims of their own success. The main difference with any normal couple’s disaster and that of the super-couple is the height of the fall from grace. They had it all, and it all came crashing down because of one undeniable law of nature: Love is all. Without love, all is built on a sandy foundation and the ceiling is made of iron beyond which one may not rise. That magnificent structure in which they live turned out after all, to be simply a house. For all their wealth they found they really could not buy a home.
Copyright c 2008 Eugene Carmichael
