“Money can’t buy happiness.” It’s a phrase we’ve all heard, often from people who already have plenty of it. Yet many of us still secretly think, “Maybe a little more money would make me happier.” The debate around money and happiness is as old as money itself. In this friendly deep-dive, let’s explore whether wealth truly leads to joy. We’ll visit a famous tale of a fisherman and a businessman, look at real-life billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates, and consider the mental health pitfalls of the ultra-rich. We’ll also draw wisdom from studies (like nurse Bronnie Ware’s research on the regrets of the dying) and philosophies from Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and modern psychology about purpose, fulfillment, and living with less. By the end, we’ll see how to find real happiness right now, without glorifying poverty or obsessing over wealth. So, brew your coffee (or tea) and let’s have an honest chat about money and happiness. The Fisherman and the Businessman: A Parable of Money and Contentment One of the simplest illustrations of the money-happiness dilemma is the classic story of the fisherman and the businessman. It goes something like this: A stressed-out businessman finds a humble fisherman relaxing by his boat in a small village. The puzzled businessman asks why the fisherman isn’t out catching more fish. The fisherman replies that he has caught enough for the day and is now enjoying a peaceful afternoon. The businessman lectures him: if he worked harder and caught more fish, he could earn more money, buy more boats, hire staff, build a fishing empire, and eventually retire rich to enjoy his days on the beach without a care. The fisherman laughs and says, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?” In other words, the very life of leisure and happiness the businessman is describing as the end goal is already being lived by the content fisherman, without all the extra effort and money. This parable’s moral is clear: chasing ever more wealth might be unnecessary if it’s happiness and peace you want in the end. The businessman assumed that more money and years of hard work were required to relax and be happy later. The fisherman showed that if you’re content with what you have, you can be happy now – you don’t need to postpone joy until you’ve accumulated a fortune. It’s a gentle reminder that enough is truly enough. As the story suggests, if your basic needs are met and you’re enjoying life, piling up more money for some future utopia might actually be a distraction from the simple joys available today. Money and Happiness: What Does Science Say? Okay, charming stories are nice – but what about hard data? Researchers have long tried to answer whether money can buy happiness. The findings are intriguing. A famous 2010 Princeton study by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that day-to-day emotional happiness improves as income rises, but only up to about $75,000 per year, after which it levels off. In other words, an income that covers comfortable living and basic security makes a big difference in happiness; but beyond that, each extra dollar has diminishing returns. This $75k figure was widely quoted for years – the idea that once you’re middle-class comfortable, more money won’t really make you emotionally happier (even if you might feel more satisfied with your life achievements). However, newer research complicates the picture. In 2023, Kahneman teamed up with another researcher, Matthew Killingsworth, for an updated study. They found that for most people, happiness does keep rising with higher incomes, even beyond six figures – in fact, up to $500,000 a year in their analysis! This suggests that, on average, people with $200k are often a bit happier than those with $100k, and so on, perhaps because money can buy comforts, experiences, and fewer daily worries. But here’s the catch: they also discovered a sizeable minority of people who are generally unhappy, and for them, extra money beyond a certain point doesn’t help at all. As Killingsworth put it, “if you’re rich and miserable, more money won’t help”. For everyone else, a bigger paycheck can boost happiness to a degree, but it’s not a magic bullet. So what’s the bottom line from science? Money matters for happiness up to a point – certainly, alleviating poverty and meeting your needs will greatly improve well-being and reduce stress. It’s hard to be happy if you can’t pay the bills or put food on the table. But once you have enough for comfort and security, piling up ever more wealth yields diminishing returns. Other factors – health, relationships, a sense of purpose – start to matter a lot more for your happiness than the extra zeros in your bank account. In fact, the longest-running study on happiness (the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has followed people for over 80 years) found that good relationships were the strongest predictor of a happy, fulfilling life, far more than money or fame. As the Harvard study director Robert Waldinger famously said, “Close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives.” Lessons from the Ultra-Wealthy: When Money Is Not a Magic Wand If money automatically brought happiness, you’d expect billionaires to be the happiest people on earth. Are they? Real-life examples suggest that extreme wealth is often a double-edged sword. Let’s talk about a few famous billionaires (no introduction needed): Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates. Each of them is among the richest individuals in modern history – and each shows that great wealth comes with its own challenges. Beyond these three, countless other wealthy individuals illustrate that money doesn’t shield you from life’s ups and downs. We’ve seen famous actors, CEOs, and heirs struggle with depression, addiction, or fractured families, despite their riches. In fact, therapists who work with the super-rich report that many of them battle feelings of isolation, depression, and paranoia. It turns out that having millions