Elon Musk and his long-time partner Shivon Zilis recently ended their relationship, sparking renewed attention to Musk’s past reflection that “money can’t buy happiness.”
According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking, Musk’s net worth is around $923.7 billion, making him the world’s richest person. However, despite his immense wealth, Musk expressed his sentiments back in February on the social platform X, lamenting that money doesn’t necessarily bring true happiness. He wrote, “Those who say ‘money can’t buy happiness’ truly understand the underlying truth,” accompanied by a sad emoticon.
This post quickly went viral online, accumulating over 110 million views, leading other billionaires to join the discussion on whether having money can guarantee happiness. They shared their insights with Musk on money, life, and happiness, delving into topics ranging from interpersonal relationships, life goals, to giving back to society, attempting to unravel the happiness code behind wealth.
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman commented beneath Musk’s post, emphasizing that a significant portion of happiness comes from helping others. He reminded Musk not to overlook the impact he has had on countless people and urged him to divert more efforts toward charitable endeavors, while adopting a broader perspective on wealth and life.
Ackman stated, “Sense of happiness largely stems from helping others. You have already assisted millions, and in the future, the beneficiaries could potentially increase to billions. What you need to do is to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions you have made to so many people.”
He also suggested that Musk might consider finding a long-term companion to establish a stable and enduring relationship, noting that happiness can also stem from a prolonged intimate relationship with a special person. It may be time for Musk to seek a partner for the long haul. These are just my opinions, Ackman added.
Currently, Musk has 14 children, with 13 of them alive, stemming from different partners.
Investor and former owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, also commented under Musk’s post. Cuban pointed out that money can amplify an individual’s existing life circumstances and emotions, making existing happiness or unhappiness more pronounced but failing to fundamentally resolve inner unhappiness.
Cuban expressed, “Money won’t change a person’s essence; it will only magnify who you are. If you were happy in poverty, then becoming wealthy will significantly boost your sense of happiness. However, if you were unhappy before, even with wealth, you will still not be happy; it just alleviates financial pressure to a lesser extent.”
Self-made hedge fund tycoon Ray Dalio recently stated that while money is indeed an important factor in life, when it comes to happiness, once life reaches a certain level, the sense of happiness is no longer directly correlated with the amount of wealth. He asserted that the key to true happiness lies in having companionship and a sense of belonging.
Although Ackman advised Musk that donating money to charity could bring him more happiness, Musk previously mentioned on the “WTF” podcast that charitable giving is not as straightforward as some may think.
“I agree that people should have a spirit of great love and that we should do our best to help others, but truly achieving this is quite challenging,” Musk stated. “The biggest challenge my foundation faces is how to ensure that the money donated actually helps those in need. Creating an image of goodness by spending money on charity is easy, but making sure that donations truly have a positive impact is very challenging, really challenging.”
This article referenced reports from Fortune, Business Insider, and CNBC.