Feeling Joy Makes You A Million Times Richer Than Elon Musk?

However, the association between wealth and SWB differs in the three countries. This paper provides new insights into the association between economic standing and subjective well-being (SWB) among aging individuals in three industrialized countries: Germany, Israel, and Sweden. Specifically, we compare the effects of wealth, in line with the growing consensus that wealth is an important determinant of economic standing alongside income, on SWB across three welfare-state regimes: conservative (Germany), liberal (Israel), and social-democratic (Sweden).

With another sample of 266 business students, the authors found that the negative relationship between money importance and SWB was due to the two variables being the result of a common cause; namely, the motives of social comparison.

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Some research has focused specifically on the effect of high income on happiness. Kahneman and Deaton (2010) conducted regression analyses using a Gallup sample of United States residents, finding that annual income beyond ~$75K was not associated with any higher daily emotional well-being.

Money might not buy love, but a new study suggests that it is more strongly related to happiness than some people think — particularly when people compare their income with someone else’s. Writing in the journal Psychological Bulletin, ...

The research helps explain why debates over wealth and inequality are so often charged with emotion and why attempts to discuss billionaires, taxation or redistribution can quickly turn into moral battlegrounds.

In May 2020, Musk pledged to sell almost all physical possessions and said he would "own no house", but in February 2026, The New York Times identified at least 37 companies that own properties which appear to be for Musk's personal use, including expensive condominiums, planes used by him for private travel and at least 1000 acres of land. His wealth is managed by Excession LLC, his family office, which has been run by Jared Birchall since 2016. Elon Musk made $180 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in October 2002. Musk was first listed on the Forbes list of The World's Billionaires in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.

Elon Reeve Musk (/ˈiːlɒn/ ⓘ EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and former public official who is the CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025, and became the only ever trillionaire in terms of US dollars in 2026; as of June 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$1.2 trillion.

But even with more wealth to his name than anyone in history, Musk doesn’t seem convinced that the number in his bank account translates into personal fulfillment. ... “Whoever said, ‘Money can’t buy happiness’ really knew what they were talking about,” Musk wrote this week on X, a post that’s garnered over 96 million views. The remark sparked reaction across his social platform, including from members of the ultrawealthy who have grappled with the same dilemma. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman offered Musk some pointed advice—urging him to focus more on philanthropy and perspective.