Why Dumb People Earn More Than Smart People | How Money Works

Sep 17, 2025

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Why Dumb People Earn More Than Smart People

------
Edited By: Andrew Gonzales

Music Courtesy of: Epidemic Sound

Select Footage Courtesy of: Getty Images

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact sponsors@worksmedia.group

All materials in these videos are for educational purposes only and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. This video does not provide investment or financial advice of any kind.

#business #finance #careers
------

Dumb people make more money than smart people and it took a study conducted by really smart people to prove it. A study out of Sweden has found that top earners have lower intelligence than the people in income levels directly below them.

The Plateauing of cognitive ability among top earners drew on data from 59,000 men who had to take a compulsory military conscription aptitude test. It then tracked their earnings over their professional careers to find the relationship between intelligence and income. Before Tai Lopez gets any ideas for more shitty YouTube commercials or the hustle bros learn how to read journal articles and use this to encourage people to drop out of college, I want you all to know how this data really works.

The relationship between intelligence and income was strong, smarter people earnt more money but only up to six hundred and seventy thousand Swedish krona or sixty-four thousand dollars per year. After that intelligence didn’t mean much anymore and at the very top end of income earners, the 1%, dumber people actually did better.

So is this a sign that watching TikTok and reality TV is actually better for your career than going to college? Well maybe actually, for two important reasons but there are also two reasons why you should probably ignore this and keep studying hard if you want to get ahead financially. Reason number one why dumb people are doing better than smart people is that smart people fill in high prestige jobs that don’t have high salaries.

Academics and research scientists are some of the smartest people in the world, but they don’t get paid well. Doctors, lawyers and elite financiers also need to be very smart to get through demanding schooling and admission exams and these professionals ARE typically compensated very competitively BUT most of them don’t make it all the way into the 1%. In the USA to be in the top 1% of income earners an individual needs to make at least five hundred and ninety-seven thousand dollars before tax and that’s just the minimum to join the 1% club.

so it’s time to learn How Money Works to find out why dumb people are earning more than smart people and why this trend is completely meaningless for your own career planning.

Follow to learn How Money Works.

Find How Money Works on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HowMoneyWorks

Disclaimer: This podcast is an independently produced audio adaptation of content originally created by How Money Works. It was developed by a fan who values the channel’s clear and engaging approach to financial education, with the goal of making that knowledge more accessible in a hands-free, audio format. This is not an official production of How Money Works, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the channel. All rights to the original video content remain with How Money Works. For any concerns, inquiries, or content-related requests, please feel free to reach out.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices