Randy Jones | July 21, 2009

A stable salary can be addictive: like a drug, it feels good, helps you cope with the ups and downs of life, and it is near impossible to give up. But dependence on a salary is a major impediment to becoming the richest person in town. The regular fix of a paycheck from the other guy makes you risk-averse, and the ability to take risks is one of the qualities that defines an RMIT. It certainly defines Jon Huntsman, Salt Lake City’s richest man. His rags-to-riches trajectory is not uncommon among RMITs—in fact, growing up without advantages can be a huge advantage.

Category: #3: BYOB (Be Your Own Boss), Business and Entrepreneurship, The Richest Man in Town book, The Twelve Commandments | No Comments »
Tags: Jon Huntsman, Richmond, Robert Jepson, Salt Lake City, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Wharton School

Randy Jones | May 21, 2009

It’s a cliché I heard a lot while I was writing The Richest Man in Town: “Money can’t buy happiness.” I can tell you that there are a lot of miserable rich people out there, and it is certainly true that pursuing money for money’s sake will not lead to a satisfying life. But for RMITs wealth is not only a tool to achieve great things and add value to the community; it’s also the reward for their hard labor, that allows them to pursue their passions and have a full, well-rounded life. Across the board, I found that having money is indeed related to happiness. And science backs me up: In April of last year, University of Pennsylvania economists Betsy Stevenson and Justin Wolfers presented a study at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., on just this subject. According to the New York Times, Stevenson and Wolfers found that 90 percent of the households in America that have incomes of $250,000 or more call themselves “very happy.”

Category: #1: Seek Money for Money's Sake and Ye Shall Not Find, Money and Meaning, The Richest Man in Town book, The Twelve Commandments | No Comments »
Tags: Betsy Stevenson, Brookings Institute, Christel DeHaan, Georgia Lottery, happiness, John McAfee, Justin Wolfers, lottery, Mae West, Northwestern University, stuff, The Richest Man in Town, University of Indianapolis, University of Pennsylvania