The United States is, of course, the richest nation in the history of the world. But there's not that much evidence that its citizens are today on average happier today than they were 70 or 80 years ago. Median family income in the United States adjusted for inflation was $29,000 per year in 1955. In 2020, it was just over 70,000.
The highest form of wealth is the ability to wake up every morning and say, “I can do whatever I want today.”
People want to become wealthier to make them happier. Happiness is a complicated subject because everyone’s different. But if there’s a common denominator in happiness -- a universal fuel of joy -- it’s that people want to control their lives.
The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless. It is the highest dividend money pays.