watch this video and see if you observe a connection between wealth and unseemly behavior
those who were actually well off and made to feel less wealthy demonstrated more empathetic behavior
is this in any way responsible for our current state of the union where we have the best government money can buy, where the wealthy, like those in the study, do not attribute their good fortune to their financial fortune but to their personal merit?
I'm not surprised at all. I've been suggesting that the findings in this study were true for a long time. Then usually, someone who thinks they are richer than me, or possibly just trying to get an ego boost or playing "macho man", comes along as bashes me for saying such, often accusing me of not being successful, or not being educated, or being on welfare, or just claiming that I was jealous of those who were successful. Ha, I guess I proved my point didn't I?
Success, even when caused by luck, often quickly goes to ones head.
The part that I don't understand is why so many relatively non-successful people fail to recognize the same thing that I do.
I can't count how many times that someone has told me that Warren Buffet, or Bill Gates should be admired because they are "self made", and that everyone has that same opportunity. In reality, neither are what most people would call self made. Buffet didn't really purchase a farm when he was seven years old from money that he earned on his paper route. His parents purchases a farm, and titled it in his name, although it is true that Buffet contributed something like $4.50 of his own money from his paper route.
Gates started Microsoft with money from mom and dad (who were rich), and even his first business deal, the one with IBM that instantly made him rich, was setup by his mother, who was a personal friend with the CEO of IBM.
Donald Trump was a multimillionare before he even graduated college, yet he never owned or developed any real estate until after he graduated from college. He claimed that he "made" his millions from work, but the truth is he had never worked for anyone but his dad, and it's not that hard to save millions of dollars when dad is paying you $10,000/hr to tag along with him. Trumps first business partner after college was...get ready for this...his dad.
And ten years ago, when people were trying to blow the whistle on B Madeoff, they were accused of being jealous of his success, and Madeoff's defenders claimed that Madeoff was "just that good" that he could make fortunes even during bad markets. Of course today we know the truth.
And what really gets me are those who think that inheritance somehow is an achievement. Like they really did something to merit inherited wealth. Inheritance isn't an achievement, it's just something that happens. Not really much different than winning the lottery or finding the Hope Diamond in their back yard.
Getting rich, I mean really rich, not just the "millionare next door", almost always involves some form and combination of cronieism, corruption, inheritance, celebrity and luck. Hard work and/or being smart, is often a factor, but for every super rich person, there are thousands of people who are just as hard working, and just as smart, who are relative failures.