Money, for those without it, all too often seems to be the great boon that they are

denied.
Tevye from The Fiddler on the Roof poses one of the most argued points in the history of
satisfied living, that being: If he was wealthier, wouldnt he be happier? In such a case, money is
seen as an empowerment to obtain the things that someone wants to ease his/her burden in life.
Conversely, stories about miserable misers who find no more joy in their gold-trimmed
silverware have become the stereotypes for the rich. Despite the seeming duality, recent evidence
suggests that the old stereotypes arent entirely accurate. In fact, wealth has recently been found
to be a large contributor to happiness, especially when its used in service to others.
At first, such a view may seem a little contrary. After all, many people are taught from a
young age that wealth and greed are directly related, and that greed is a destructive force to both
the owner of the wealth and those around the owner. Large entities such as governments and
corporations get bad press for their profit-oriented actions, which are portrayed as lacking a
sense of humanity and compassion. Additionally, the notion of giving away the reward for ones
hard work and success definitely seems contradictory, especially when money is not abundant.
Despite that, wealth does have an obvious, positive effect on the happiness of mankind.
After all, there are very few millionaires in the world who are going to say that theyre unhappy
with their life. Professors Betsy Stevenson and Justin Wolfers from the University of Michigan
wrote a paper in 2008 discussing the results of one of their studies that found exactly that. As a
general rule, people that had a larger income were more satisfied with their lives. Specifically,
35% of people making less than $35,000 say they are very happy, versus 100% of people
making more than $500,000 (Adams, 2013).

The term wealth in this paper is a little misleading, since vast quantities of money arent
required to obtain happiness. Indeed, it is not the amount of money a person has that dictates
his/her satisfaction. Recent studies from the Stanford Graduate School of Business have
revealed that prosocial behavior is the key to the happiness in life that seems so elusive (Flynn,
2013). Specifically, philanthropy and other such charitable acts are an easy way to create a more
enriched life. The behavioral scientists Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton wrote in their book,
Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, that the most satisfying way of using
money is to invest in others (Flynn, 2013), which can be as grand as donating to a charity that
helps someone in a faraway country (Flynn, 2013) or as menial as buying lunch for a friend
(Flynn, 2013).
A lifestyle of charity is not just for the wealthy, although it may seem easier for them to
be charitable. Take the meeting between Warren Buffet and Bill Gates at Carter Lake, Iowa as an
example of the ease that the wealthy have of acting prosocially. Two of the United States most
wealthy men [asked] Americas billionaires to pledge the majority of their wealth to charity.
Buffet decided to donate 99% of his, saying, I couldnt be happier with that decision (Flynn,
2013). Another study conducted by Dunn and Norton showed that charity doesnt have to only
come from the rich. A Canadian college student purchasing a scarf for her mother [and] a
Ugandan woman buying lifesaving malaria medication for a friend (Flynn, 2013) are two
examples to be found in the study. Neither of the two women in these instances have a great deal
of money, but they still act in the prosocial behavior so acclaimed by Stanford.
For Tevye, wealth probably wouldnt have solved his problems. If his song, If I Were a
Rich Man, is anything to judge by, any happiness he would have received from his wealth
would have been fleeting. Yes, money still has the capacity to be a corruptor and a terrible

tempter. Even while it seems to be the cause of many hardships and heartaches, it has the
potential to have an unequivocally positive effect on anyones life. If used correctly, money can
lead to a more fulfilling lifestyle for everyone, no matter the size of their respective checking
accounts.

References
Adams, S. (2013, May 10). Money Does Buy Happiness, Says New Study. Forbes. Retrieved
September 4, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/05/10/moneydoes-buy-happiness-says-new-study/
Flynn, F. (2013, September 25). Stanford Graduate School of Business. Research: Can Money
Buy Happiness?. Retrieved September 4, 2014, from
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/research-can-money-buy-happiness
Howell, D. R. (2013, January 27). Can Money Buy Happiness? Money and Need Satisfaction.
Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Retrieved September 4,
2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cant-buy-happiness/201301/canmoney-buy-happiness-money-and-need-satisfaction

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