Friday, December 22, 2017

Nicholas Carlson - Rich People Talk About How Happy Money Makes Them — What They Say Will Both Offend And Reassure You

If I had the choice of being a world class top physicist or mathematician or being a billionaire I would go for maths or science any day. Bill Binney is awesome!
There's an oft-cited study out there that says money does buy you happiness — but only up until a certain point. It says that after you make $75,000 per year, increasing your income is not going to make you any "happier."
But the truth about wealth and happiness is more complicated than any study can say.
Take the case of Evan Spiegel, the 23-year-old CEO of a startup called Snapchat.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal and others reported that Spiegel turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook. When people read these reports, they thought Spiegel was crazy.
But here's the thing. Spiegel comes from a wealthy family. His dad lives in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area. Also, Spiegel was able to sell some of his stock in Snapchat to investors for millions of dollars.
So the fact is, when he turned down Facebook's $3 billion offer, Spiegel was not saying "no" to being rich. He was already rich twice over.
And what did that money — his father's and his own — buy him?  It bought him a relatively risk-free chance to spend the rest of his life running a global technology company. It bought him a pursuit.
Having a pursuit that means something to you is not the same thing as having happiness, but it's something like it that can't quite be quantified in a study.
Many people in the tech industry know that, and appreciate Spiegel's decision.
Not everyone, though. One tech executive I met with last week shook his head in bewilderment when Snapchat came up. He said that Spiegel was "taking food out of the mouths of generations of Spiegels."
Business Insider

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