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Credit: DH Illustration
It is natural to assume that great wealth fetches costly creature comforts. It does. But how does one get there-- to the point where a comfortable life is an understatement and the wealth that the person possesses affords him lavishness?
When Rockefeller Senior was once asked why he chooses to stay in an ordinary hotel room while his son stays in the penthouse, he replied: “He has a rich father. I do not”.
The answer lies in the simple aphorism that for one to be wealthy he is either born into wealth or has earned it overcoming daunting life struggles. There is however one another way—to steal it! And that is what an indolent person does, rather shrewdly, using all endowed intelligence for a perverse lifelong purpose. Wealth may not be the only measure of success. But sadly, it is mostly perceived so. Consider all three scenarios…
People who built their business empires from scratch are usually thrifty. They are people with vision, ambition, and never spare any effort to maximize their wealth for their progeny and posterity. They are beacons, leaders of men who take care of the people who believe in their grand dreams. They are as respectful as they were respected. They are iconic.
In the second scenario, people of the present who take a leaf or two from the lives of the above-described role models are equally bestowed with potential for greatness. Not unlike the above, they are leaders and an inspiration to many of their own time. They value affluence and influence not for its own sake, but for what good it can do. They sincerely want to be in business if they are making the world a better place. They are grateful for their inheritance and want their legacy to last. They are torchbearers. They are vital for society.
Being born into wealth does not mean there was no struggle. It means that somebody or some people made great sacrifices so that you could enjoy the spoils of the wars they fought
and won.
Thirdly, the ones who live off the fat of the land may not go down in history as ‘criminals’ but their wealth is easily obtained. They usually do not value money the way their seniors do. They are brazen in the way they dole out cash and fritter away hard-earned fortune. For them, the life motto is—other people’s money, other people’s time. They live flippantly as long as the money keeps coming in without hard work.
When you meet a very rich person, it pays to wonder which of the three boxes you put him into.