The 'Get Rich' Personality Switch: How Wealth Can Turn You Into a Jerk

https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/get-rich-wealth-changes.html/

Sam Becker | More Articles
October 23, 2016

Money changes people. Even talking about money tends to bring out the worst in us. If you’ve had a friend or relative who has been fortunate enough to come into wealth through luck or hard work, it’s not unusual to sense some profounds shifts in their personality. It’s understandable, at some level — whereas they were, at one time, struggling to get by like everyone else, they now have a bit of wiggle room. An enormous amount of stress has been lifted off of them, in many cases.

Those changes can manifest in a number of ways, too. Think about people like Bill Gates, or Warren Buffett, for example. These are men who have made fortunes unlike anything the world has ever seen, and now spend their time and resources giving back and doing what they can to solve serious problems through different channels. Others, however, seem to sour. An obvious example is Donald Trump, who’s notorious for stiffing his workers, among other things.

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Psychologists say two things happen when we attain wealth: We become less empathetic, and we tend to act out in more unethical ways. A recent brief from the World Economic Forum, written by two researchers from the University of California, Irvine, dug into each to try and explain why this happens.

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studies have shown that poorer people are actually more friendly and engaged with those around them. Charitable giving, surprisingly enough, is also highest among lower earners.

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the WEF article points to studies that show rich people actually shoplift more than poorer people, and are more likely to cheat on their taxes.

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