Richer Than Rockefeller: Putting Wealth in Perspective
Published on - June 1st, 2008 (Modified on - November 27th, 2012) (by J.D. Roth) This is a guest post from Bob at ChristianPF.com. Bob writes about personal finance from a Christian perspective.
John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil company in 1870. He was the first American billionaire and one of the richest men to ever live. I am sure many people today wish they could have walked in his shoes. If, somehow they could, I think some would find it to be eye-opening.
Are you richer than John D. Rockefeller?
As wealthy as he was, Rockefeller might have had anything that money could buy. But what a few hundred dollars may buy today, couldn’t be bought with millions 150 years ago.
Today, we have central heating and air conditioning, cars, planes, Tempur-Pedic mattresses, iPods, and millions of other gadgets. Even Rockefeller in his day couldn’t buy air conditioning. Maybe he had fifteen people fanning him on a hot summer’s day (because he could afford it), but I would rather have air conditioning. He probably had chauffeurs to take him by horse and buggy all around town, but I would much rather be riding in a ten-year-old Chevy. Wouldn’t you?
If we change the way we think of “wealth” and compare our standard of living to Rockefeller’s, we’re doing pretty good. In fact, I would go as far to say the majority of Americans live an all-around more “comfortable” life than Rockefeller did. Who then, is actually richer?
How much do we really need to be happy?
If your household annual income is over $50,000, then you are in the top 1% richest in the world. (See for yourself at the Global Rich List.) And if we can agree that most of us are living a more comfortable life than a billionaire at the turn of the Twentieth Century, then shouldn’t we be happy with what we have?
Should the fact that someone is living a more comfortable life than we are make us less comfortable? Or couldn’t we be satisfied knowing that we live a more comfortable life than 99% of the world’s population, or the richest man 150 years ago?
And maybe we aren’t complaining — maybe we are just using our credit cards instead. Do we really need all the junk we are buying or are we forgetting how good we actually have it?
Why not keep up with the Joneses?
What’s the point with all this? Why spend energy trying to be grateful for the things we have? Why not just try to keep up with the Joneses? Here are a few reasons:
- Life is far more enjoyable when you are grateful. Grateful people divert their energy to seeing the good things they’ve been given rather than focusing on what they don’t have. This alone makes them much happier and far more enjoyable to be around.
- You can save a lot of money. When you are thankful that you have a car rather than having to ride the bus everyday, it makes it a lot easier to break the habit of buying a new car every year. This can apply to anything — HDTV is great, but so is color TV. Remember when that was the new break-through technology?
- Forgetting about the Joneses can set you free. Doing things to impress and appease other people is a dangerous trap. So many people voluntarily become “puppets” to those they are trying to impress — trading control of their lives for temporary social approval. Having been enslaved by it for years, I suggest forgetting about what the Joneses think. They’re overrated anyway.
- You can actually enjoy the things you have. Everything loses a bit of its appeal as we get used to it. From a new pair of shoes, a new car, a spouse, or anything else — they are all really exciting while we are anticipating them. But, once we have them for a while, they just aren’t as exciting as they once were. By truly appreciating it and focusing on the benefits of it rather than the “greener grass” elsewhere we can truly enjoy what we have.
I don’t say all this to suggest that we all should live like we are hovering around the poverty line. I merely want to suggest that maybe, just maybe, we have it a little bit better than we think. Regardless of whether you have 60″ HDTV and new BMW or a 19″ Sanyo and a 10 year old Chevy — be grateful. Either way, Rockefeller would be jealous.
“It’s not having what you want, It’s wanting what you’ve got.” — Sheryl Crow
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I liked the article a lot but there are some apple and orange comparasions. To complete the comparision, you would be saying that to have indoor plumbing now would make you wealthier than most people now. The things we have today we have not due to everyone being rich like Rockefeller but due to advancements in technology and industry and society. Substitute Bill Gates for Rockefeller to get apples to apples and see where we fall short… retirement, savings, health care, fitness, education etc… just my observations. But the part about keeping up with the Jones is great. The Rockefeller comparision just doesn’t make sense.
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The part on keeping up with the Joneses reminds me of the $30,000 Millionaire as described in the following link:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-11-29/news/douchebags-in-the-mist
They were in the process of making a movie about this phenomenon, but I don’t think it has happened yet.
It is essentially a person making $30,000 per year living like they make much more in an effort to impress those around them. They typically lease BMW’s, wear the latest fashions and are “seen” at the latest clubs and restaurants.
It is a recipe for disaster if you must keep up with the Joneses. Good stuff!
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@Emily
If your current life scares you then you need to come up with a plan to make your life better then act on the plan to the best of your ability. If you don’t have a secure retirement then start saving for retirement, even if it is a few % of your salary – a small start is better than doing nothing and if you don’t feel the pinch too much you can increase the contributions easily. You might look for a more stable job or make yourself more valuable in your current position so that you have more security. I thought this post had some really good ideas http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/02/08/working-smarter-no-matter-your-income-level-or-economic-situation. If you take action you can make a better future for yourself.
-Rick Francis
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I loved this post. It helped to remind me not to take things for granted and to appreciate what I have.
One of my favorite thoughts is that Bill Gates and I both have the same potential to be happy. And that some days I might even be happier than he is. He will always have more money but if I am lucky, I could be richer. What a thought.
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I’m really not in the mood to be patronized, Rick Francis.
Let me leave it at that, okay?
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I appreciate your perspective Emily H. It’s one that’s not seen enough on this blog. I can’t say that I’m having the same experience, but I do empathize.
I hope things get better for you.
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I also appreciated your posts, Emily, and couldn’t agree more with your reply to Rick Francis. Hopefully next time he will think twice before doling out unsolicited advice.
This was a thought-provoking and (by the looks of it) controversial article. Thanks JD (and Bob)!
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Great article. Maybe it would have helped to make the comparison of an “upper-class” family in the 50′s to a so-called “middle-class” person of today. After all, most of us are currently living in a home formerly owned by someone in higher income bracket in the past (be it upper, upper-middle, or middle class).
Wealthier people can afford to build our future homes. Through time, those homes make their way through the system (and that process has only become faster in the past few decades). Adam Smith referenced this in Wealth of Nations when he noted that the average 1790 Scotsman lived in a home better than those of former kings (maybe even in a former king’s home), and better than those of kings in 1790 Africa.
No, we cannot all have the best of today, but we can certainly have better than what our grandparents even imagined. I’m sure most remember the two-car garage being quite a luxury. I do and I’m not THAT old. Heck, two televisions was a shock to the 50′s family in Back to the Future. Even the staples of today are far cheaper than they were in the past. If you want to cook for a family of five your bill will be far less expensive than in the past. And when I say “cook” I mean cook, not microwave a dish someone else already cooked for you.
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I love that you managed to quote Sheryl Crow in this post.
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Thanks for the captivating post. As citizens (in addition to our role as consumers), we have the right to choose what and how much we buy. Most of us in the relatively wealthy nations have some sense of the notion that buying stuff does not equal happiness. Our governments and businesses, however, have no such sense. A top policy goal in the United States is a perpetually growing economy, which means ever more consumption of goods and services. As long as economic growth remains among the highest priorities of society, reliance on citizens’ good sense will not lead to consumption at happy and sustainable levels.
If you want to take a stand on economic growth, or explore the issue in greater depth, visit the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) on the Web http://www.steadystate.org .
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2. You can save a lot of money. When you are thankful that you have a car rather than having to ride the bus everyday, it makes it a lot easier to break the habit of buying a new car every year.
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Actually, I’m in that 1% and I WISH I lived in a city where I could ride the bus everyday! What’s wrong with riding the bus? Poor people are not the only people on the bus. Unfortunately my city, one of the top 15 largest cities in the country, has extremely poor bus service. I choose not to move, however, because I’m paid very well for what I do here. I’m able to have a comfortable living. In the larger cities, I would not be able to say that.
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As DB and many other commenters already eloquently noted, gadgets don’t make our or break our lives. Having our basic needs met and having the time to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities does. And today, the essentials for healthy survival–adequate housing, healthy food, health insurance, social support and community, access to education/training, mental health support, etc.–are out of the reach of many.
While Ipods and TVs may be getting more accessible and cheaper, healthcare, housing, food, transportation, and time to devote to the essentials of individual and community health and survival, and other basics are getting more and more expensive relatively and more inaccessible. What good is a TV or Ipod if one can’t afford necessary surgery or medication or safe housing?
Being grateful for what you have is wonderful,and “keeping up with the Joneses” doesn’t even register as an option or desire in my world. However, none of that changes the state of quality of life for the average American these days and the fact that the basics, esp. healthcare, education, and in many areas housing as well, have become and are becoming more and more out of reach every day.
We can be grateful and frugal without accepting the definition of wealth promoted in this post and without believing that we are better off today because we have easy access to cheap gadgets, most of which contribute little or nothing to our true quality of life (some do of course). True wealth is not possible without satisfying our needs for survival and health first.
Healthcare is one of the most important determiners of quality of life, and viability of life in general, and just since 2000, “the cost of family [health] coverage has risen 87 percent while consumer prices are up 18 percent and the pay of workers has increased 20 percent” reports an ’06 New York Times article.
As a whole, gadgets like Ipods and Tvs don’t save lives on a regular basis no matter how cheap they may be or become. Medication, surgery, doctors, safe housing and neighborhoods, and time to care for one’s health and community do. And, okay, I’ll grant you this: a little air conditioning (esp. in a heatwave or for more vulnerable populations) doesn’t hurt, either.
[Please excuse the repetition in this comment; I haven't got the time to edit it down better and my writing in raw form is always redundant and wordy.]
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There is both up and downsides on living today. Yes we have clean water, air conditioning and the internet at our fingertips. It seems to make our lives somewhat easier. Then on the other hand we waste more energy using them. In turn that makes our air dirty, our kids sicker and our lives miserable.
Life was better back then. They helped more around the house, otherwise they didn’t have food to eat or a house to live in. They didn’t pay anyone to build their houses or barns. Everyone in town came and did a barn raising. They helped each other out in times of need. They knew who was living next to them.
I was reading on another website where some government officials were asking if they made living in the US better than the Indians did. The Indian guy replied there was no taxes, no debt. Plenty buffalo, plenty beaver. Medicine man free. Indian people hunted and fished all the time. Only white man dumb to think he could improve system like that.
One of the biggest trafficking of illegals, is wood. We are losing our trees left and right. I can remember driving from Seattle to Ellensburg back in 1975 and you couldn’t see the mountains and hills surrounding the highway. Almost every hilltop is bare now. They are having troubles w/ avalanches. Gee if there was trees the snow wouldn’t move as much. I say life was better in Rockafeller’s life. People weren’t as greedy back then as they are nowadays.
I say having a good family is more important to me than all the money in the world. You can’t buy your dad’s attention w/ money. I grew up having my dad drive me around and showing me sights that most people are too busy to look at anymore. I can point out an animal that most people wouldn’t take the time to look at anymore. Like I’ve said before talent is more important than money. Money comes and goes, talent stays w/ you your whole life.
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excellent perspective on wealth, debt, and living life in relation to what we really need.
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