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The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy
“Wealth Matters” columnist for The New York Times reveals the decisions, behaviors, and worldviews that lead to true wealth.
For the better part of the past decade, Paul Sullivan has written about and lived among some of the wealthiest people in America. He has learned how they save, spend, and invest their money; how they work and rest; how they use their wealth to give their children educational advantages, but not strip them of motivation. He has also seen how they make horrendous mistakes. Firsthand, Sullivan knows why some people, even “rich” people, never find true wealth, and why other people, even those who have far less, are far better off financially.
This book shows how others can make better financial decisions—and come to terms with what money means to them. It lays out how to avoid the pitfalls around saving, spending, and giving money away and think differently about wealth to lead a more secure and less stressful life. An essential complement to all of the financial advice available, this “timely…smart” (Publishers Weekly) guide is a welcome antidote to the idea that wealth is a number on a bank statement.
For the better part of the past decade, Paul Sullivan has written about and lived among some of the wealthiest people in America. He has learned how they save, spend, and invest their money; how they work and rest; how they use their wealth to give their children educational advantages, but not strip them of motivation. He has also seen how they make horrendous mistakes. Firsthand, Sullivan knows why some people, even “rich” people, never find true wealth, and why other people, even those who have far less, are far better off financially.
This book shows how others can make better financial decisions—and come to terms with what money means to them. It lays out how to avoid the pitfalls around saving, spending, and giving money away and think differently about wealth to lead a more secure and less stressful life. An essential complement to all of the financial advice available, this “timely…smart” (Publishers Weekly) guide is a welcome antidote to the idea that wealth is a number on a bank statement.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2015
82 people are currently reading
1357 people want to read
About the author
Paul Sullivan
2 books9 followersPaul Sullivan is the author of Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don't (Portfolio/Penguin,), which was published in 2010. The Wall Street Journal praised Clutch for offering “valuable suggestions for what we can do to get through a make-or-break moment with a better chance of success,” and Time Magazine called it “a well-written examination of what makes a person perform despite stress”.
His second book is The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
He writes The New York Times’ Wealth Matters column, which he started in 2008. He has also written for Conde Nast Portfolio, The International Herald Tribune, Barron’s, The Boston Globe, and Food & Wine. From 2000 to 2006, he was a reporter, editor and columnist at the Financial Times.
He received degrees in history from Trinity College and the University of Chicago.
His second book is The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
He writes The New York Times’ Wealth Matters column, which he started in 2008. He has also written for Conde Nast Portfolio, The International Herald Tribune, Barron’s, The Boston Globe, and Food & Wine. From 2000 to 2006, he was a reporter, editor and columnist at the Financial Times.
He received degrees in history from Trinity College and the University of Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
August 9, 2015
Part of the title is "The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy" and I didn't see any mentioned.
Sullivan is a financial writer and part of the 1%. He speaks to the super wealthy (lunch on yachts, etc) to ask them about spending on education, taxes, donations and what he personally could do better. Those interviews with athletes I skimmed over. His premise is that a retired teacher who lives within her pension is "wealthy" while million-dollar contracted football players who blow through their money are only rich, not wealthy. Yet he doesn't talk to any of those retired schoolteachers.
In the education section he criticizes those who go the prep school & SAT tutor routine because those kids aren't well-rounded or used to failures--and let's face it, that covers most parents in the entire upper class tier. Another bit of how to keep your kids from feeling entitled is teach them how to tip correctly, which is to thank the individual. Hmm, I'd rather have 25%.
He has a stat in the inheritance section about how a amount needs to be over $100K for a person to save any of it. I disagree--if someone pays cash for a new car, a year of college, a new roof, etc isn't that as beneficial as saving? Another interesting stat is that of the 1%, less than 5% had a personal chef--to me, that would be the hallmark of being rich, not having to cook, plan, grocery shop, etc.
Anyway, I found many of his paragraphs confusing because I didn't know what the take-away was--no bulletin points in this book.
Sullivan is a financial writer and part of the 1%. He speaks to the super wealthy (lunch on yachts, etc) to ask them about spending on education, taxes, donations and what he personally could do better. Those interviews with athletes I skimmed over. His premise is that a retired teacher who lives within her pension is "wealthy" while million-dollar contracted football players who blow through their money are only rich, not wealthy. Yet he doesn't talk to any of those retired schoolteachers.
In the education section he criticizes those who go the prep school & SAT tutor routine because those kids aren't well-rounded or used to failures--and let's face it, that covers most parents in the entire upper class tier. Another bit of how to keep your kids from feeling entitled is teach them how to tip correctly, which is to thank the individual. Hmm, I'd rather have 25%.
He has a stat in the inheritance section about how a amount needs to be over $100K for a person to save any of it. I disagree--if someone pays cash for a new car, a year of college, a new roof, etc isn't that as beneficial as saving? Another interesting stat is that of the 1%, less than 5% had a personal chef--to me, that would be the hallmark of being rich, not having to cook, plan, grocery shop, etc.
Anyway, I found many of his paragraphs confusing because I didn't know what the take-away was--no bulletin points in this book.
June 17, 2015
Was expecting a little more 'how to' I think, plus more "regular" people such as myself, rather than stories of him hanging out with Ultra-rich and wishing he was too. However there were some excellent chapters, especially 7: The Entitlement Conundrum: What Really Ruins Kids. And the psychology of money in Chapter 9: Money Causes Stress For Everyone. Also worth reading is Chapter 6: The Education Race: Where The Wealthy Send and Why It Matters, then the Epilogue: It's Better To Be Wealthy Than Rich, Even If You're Poor. He never does say what (dollar amount) he considers poor. And the ONE example he gives of a single, retired woman, I would certainly not class as poor. Tell him to come talk to me, and we can go to the public park and eat our Mickey D's rather than the Penthouse Club or the Country Club Golf Course, if not on the yacht! That ought to do it!! Plenty of story there!
May 14, 2015
This book brings a level-headed approach to wealth management. Below are some nuggets:
"Knowing the difference between being wealthy and being rich is the difference between living a secure or a fraught life." (p 211)
Being wealthy means having more money than you need to do all the things you want to do. It is a psychological feeling: you are not worried about running out of money. Rich is a number that does not equate with being financially secure. The distraction between the two is the thin green line. (p 7)
"Anyone who hopes to get on the wealthy side of the thin green line will know where his or her money is and what it will be used for. That person is going to have a goal for the money. On the other side are people for whom money comes in and goes out without any set plan for use--or worse, with the assumption that the money will always be coming in." (p. 26)
"Mediocre Wall Street traders will always be richer than the best high school English teachers, but those teacher can be wealthier if they save more money than they need to live--something that requires the same amount of discipline that the trader would need to continue his lifestyle after he stopped working." (p 214)
"Knowing the difference between being wealthy and being rich is the difference between living a secure or a fraught life." (p 211)
Being wealthy means having more money than you need to do all the things you want to do. It is a psychological feeling: you are not worried about running out of money. Rich is a number that does not equate with being financially secure. The distraction between the two is the thin green line. (p 7)
"Anyone who hopes to get on the wealthy side of the thin green line will know where his or her money is and what it will be used for. That person is going to have a goal for the money. On the other side are people for whom money comes in and goes out without any set plan for use--or worse, with the assumption that the money will always be coming in." (p. 26)
"Mediocre Wall Street traders will always be richer than the best high school English teachers, but those teacher can be wealthier if they save more money than they need to live--something that requires the same amount of discipline that the trader would need to continue his lifestyle after he stopped working." (p 214)
July 4, 2015
Not much new here. He talks lots about being rich vs. wealthy but this strikes me just as another way of saying some people have high income but don't ever save, that in fact learning to save is more important first step than maximizing income, but this is already a well established idea.
March 26, 2015
I like the idea of distinguishing between between being rich (having financial assets) and being wealthy (having an abundance mindset, feeling that one has "enough")--that idea is the core of the book. However, Sullivan could go deeper in his analysis of what makes the difference between merely having the money and being satisfied with it. The chapters tend to form a similar format of his distinguishing three categories of people along some dimension (e.g., charitable giving) and then providing a case history to illustrate each of his three categories. Interesting reading, but superficial analysis. 3.5 stars.
October 19, 2023
for a book with a title containing the words “the money secrets of the super wealthy”, not many secrets were divulged. this was more of an anthropological look at really wealthy ppl and their mindsets. i was disappointed that there weren’t any real specifics that i could take and use practically in my life (and the few sort of specific things were basic investing tips that i already knew). it was still interesting as a social experiment in understanding how rich ppl think but it didn’t live up to its own claim.
October 15, 2015
What's seen is the money they made, but what's unseen is the choices that they've made. Its what allows them to continue to be wealthy, It's more about taking a very long view with all the potential negatives that we all fear.
A global wealth tax would simply put more money in the hands of federal and state bureaucracies that have generally been inept at managing their own budgets.
The annual loss people suffered from their own folly was greater than the 1 percent an adviser charged to manage their money.
Moral licensing: once people have disclosed their conflict of interest, the burden shifts. In this case, to the client who has been told and should be able to act prudently.
If the opportunity is gone tomorrow, it may mean that your money and your adviser could be gone tomorrow. There is no investment you need to make right now.
Peopl can go too far in the other direction. They could save too much and not enjoy themselves as they go through life . There is a happy medium. We're not here to be unhappy. That's what this process is all about, living your best financial life.
Bordeaux dilemma: a desire to drink that wine all the time, but the knowledge that it would limit your ability to pay for more essential things in life. Any premium item can induce the same feeling, from fine food to luxury cars to the feel of a bespoke suit. These things are better than their mass-produced less expensive versions, and once you've had one, it's hard to return to what once seemed just fine. I know only three cures for this: poverty, incredible wealth, or self-restraint mixed with occasional indulgence. This last is a great balancing act, and the key to being on the right side of the thin green line.
I pay my taxes on time. I consider it the price of living in a stable, civilised country. I believe that people who try not to pay their taxes are misguided; you have so many ways to pay exactly the tax you owe - which is lower than you would think - but few legal ways to avoid taxes entirely, short of dying with a bunch of appreciated stock and property. Whether poor, rich, or wealthy, people love to complain about taxes, and the complaint is almost always the same: they pay too much and get too little, at least of what they want. (I have yet to hear someone say: I pay so little in taxes for all these services that make my life easier.)
The biggest thing is delayed gratification. That would go for an executive, an athlete or anyone.We buy into the hype that we need a bigger car, a bigger home. If you can concentrate on the long-term objectives, those things will fall into place.
An accumulator - someone who gets more pleasure in not spending but will spend when necessary or justified. Our spending skews toward experiences or the highest-quality version of what we need, from clothes to cookware. I wouldn't turn down another bespoke suit, but I'd rather use the money to buy plane tickets tfor a vacation. You only need so much stuff, but you can never have enough stories.
The successful college dropouts dropped out of top colleges, and grew up with parents who were well educated and successful. They had been prepped to succeed.
In order to see opportunity, you need to be positioned in a place where it's in your line of sight.
SAT scores are a fairly meaningless predictor of future success. Grades, he found, are better because they show students' ability to apply themselves over a longer period and to actually learn something.
Teaching kids or young adults social skills like staying on task, showing up on time, wearing a tie, and understanding the need to put together a CV - these lessons based on experience are highly valued.
Life is trial and error. But many of these kids are afraid to experiment. It gets to be very imbalanced, more so now with the emphasis on test scores. You need to learn that you can experiment and that you can fail.
Having a narcissistic sense of entitlement may be a natural reaction to being raised without boundaries and a sense of how the child's world compares to the wider one and the responsibilities the child has in it.
The ways to combat entitlement were not terribly difficult on the surface. The parent needed to model gratitude and appreciation in their own lives. Children needed to hear their parents say and show that they appreciate what they had. And parents needed to walk their children through how the parents made a decision.
Parents make the mistake of wanting to be the provider of money. It goes all the way back to childhood and allowances. If a child wants to go off to Guatemala or wherever, they need to have some skin in the game. The mistake many wealthy families make is to subsidise it.
For many flaneurs, so many opportunities mean they struggle to focus on any of them.
Money doesn't make good or bad parents. Engagement in the child's life determines that. Money just buys things a child needs or wants. And money doesn't turn children into flaneurs. Distracted parents who use money to make up for their lack of involvement do.
Its one of the mark of privileges that you don't have to know how much things cost. When I got my first cell phone, price didn't come into it. The discussion was about responsibility and curfew.
Money does not make people mature about financial matters - having less money is more likely to do that since children will hear parents discussing financial matters more often and deeply in the home.
most people can imagine how much better their lives would be with some sum of money, how it would free them and allow them to travel and be all-around happier people. What such thinking misses is that money without purpose is soul-sapping.
The essence of entitlement is the difference being grateful for what you have and feeling the world has ensured that you will always have it no matter what.
His conclusions show wealthier people favour money over community. It made perfect sense to me. If you have a lot of money, you can pay people to do things you would otherwise ask your friends to do.
The idea that richer people make more utilitarian decisions because of their reduced compassion is hard. But there's a positive twist to not feeling the suffering of another person when you need to make that choice, in certain kinds of situations, wealthier people were more able to balance the costs and benefits because they were less sensitive to the suffering of one person versus many.
The kind of acceptance, of things that contradict what you believe should happen, is a key to being on the right side of the thin green line.
The future of financial planning and productive thinking about money would not emphasise returns but instead be a discussion of what motivated people around money - how they actually thought about saving, spending and investing.
A global wealth tax would simply put more money in the hands of federal and state bureaucracies that have generally been inept at managing their own budgets.
The annual loss people suffered from their own folly was greater than the 1 percent an adviser charged to manage their money.
Moral licensing: once people have disclosed their conflict of interest, the burden shifts. In this case, to the client who has been told and should be able to act prudently.
If the opportunity is gone tomorrow, it may mean that your money and your adviser could be gone tomorrow. There is no investment you need to make right now.
Peopl can go too far in the other direction. They could save too much and not enjoy themselves as they go through life . There is a happy medium. We're not here to be unhappy. That's what this process is all about, living your best financial life.
Bordeaux dilemma: a desire to drink that wine all the time, but the knowledge that it would limit your ability to pay for more essential things in life. Any premium item can induce the same feeling, from fine food to luxury cars to the feel of a bespoke suit. These things are better than their mass-produced less expensive versions, and once you've had one, it's hard to return to what once seemed just fine. I know only three cures for this: poverty, incredible wealth, or self-restraint mixed with occasional indulgence. This last is a great balancing act, and the key to being on the right side of the thin green line.
I pay my taxes on time. I consider it the price of living in a stable, civilised country. I believe that people who try not to pay their taxes are misguided; you have so many ways to pay exactly the tax you owe - which is lower than you would think - but few legal ways to avoid taxes entirely, short of dying with a bunch of appreciated stock and property. Whether poor, rich, or wealthy, people love to complain about taxes, and the complaint is almost always the same: they pay too much and get too little, at least of what they want. (I have yet to hear someone say: I pay so little in taxes for all these services that make my life easier.)
The biggest thing is delayed gratification. That would go for an executive, an athlete or anyone.We buy into the hype that we need a bigger car, a bigger home. If you can concentrate on the long-term objectives, those things will fall into place.
An accumulator - someone who gets more pleasure in not spending but will spend when necessary or justified. Our spending skews toward experiences or the highest-quality version of what we need, from clothes to cookware. I wouldn't turn down another bespoke suit, but I'd rather use the money to buy plane tickets tfor a vacation. You only need so much stuff, but you can never have enough stories.
The successful college dropouts dropped out of top colleges, and grew up with parents who were well educated and successful. They had been prepped to succeed.
In order to see opportunity, you need to be positioned in a place where it's in your line of sight.
SAT scores are a fairly meaningless predictor of future success. Grades, he found, are better because they show students' ability to apply themselves over a longer period and to actually learn something.
Teaching kids or young adults social skills like staying on task, showing up on time, wearing a tie, and understanding the need to put together a CV - these lessons based on experience are highly valued.
Life is trial and error. But many of these kids are afraid to experiment. It gets to be very imbalanced, more so now with the emphasis on test scores. You need to learn that you can experiment and that you can fail.
Having a narcissistic sense of entitlement may be a natural reaction to being raised without boundaries and a sense of how the child's world compares to the wider one and the responsibilities the child has in it.
The ways to combat entitlement were not terribly difficult on the surface. The parent needed to model gratitude and appreciation in their own lives. Children needed to hear their parents say and show that they appreciate what they had. And parents needed to walk their children through how the parents made a decision.
Parents make the mistake of wanting to be the provider of money. It goes all the way back to childhood and allowances. If a child wants to go off to Guatemala or wherever, they need to have some skin in the game. The mistake many wealthy families make is to subsidise it.
For many flaneurs, so many opportunities mean they struggle to focus on any of them.
Money doesn't make good or bad parents. Engagement in the child's life determines that. Money just buys things a child needs or wants. And money doesn't turn children into flaneurs. Distracted parents who use money to make up for their lack of involvement do.
Its one of the mark of privileges that you don't have to know how much things cost. When I got my first cell phone, price didn't come into it. The discussion was about responsibility and curfew.
Money does not make people mature about financial matters - having less money is more likely to do that since children will hear parents discussing financial matters more often and deeply in the home.
most people can imagine how much better their lives would be with some sum of money, how it would free them and allow them to travel and be all-around happier people. What such thinking misses is that money without purpose is soul-sapping.
The essence of entitlement is the difference being grateful for what you have and feeling the world has ensured that you will always have it no matter what.
His conclusions show wealthier people favour money over community. It made perfect sense to me. If you have a lot of money, you can pay people to do things you would otherwise ask your friends to do.
The idea that richer people make more utilitarian decisions because of their reduced compassion is hard. But there's a positive twist to not feeling the suffering of another person when you need to make that choice, in certain kinds of situations, wealthier people were more able to balance the costs and benefits because they were less sensitive to the suffering of one person versus many.
The kind of acceptance, of things that contradict what you believe should happen, is a key to being on the right side of the thin green line.
The future of financial planning and productive thinking about money would not emphasise returns but instead be a discussion of what motivated people around money - how they actually thought about saving, spending and investing.
August 17, 2019
Now that my business is working, I’m really interested in how to keep growing and having more. It seems like the people who are able to get and keep wealth have a different mindset from everyone else, so I want to know what it is and immerse myself in it.
This book begins with a distinction I had never been aware of: the rich vs. the wealthy. The rich tend to have high incomes and a lot of nice stuff but not necessarily a good future. Many of them are in debt up to their eyeballs, to the extent that they’re basically fucked unless they’re lucky and everything goes their way. The wealthy, on the other hand, have all their needs covered or exceeded—including the rest of their lives, not just this year or this decade. Even people with small incomes can be wealthy if they plan well and make good decisions.
The distinction between the rich and the wealthy is the “thin green line” of the title. No matter how much or little money you have, you want to be on the wealthy side of the thin green line.
The book boils down to a few lessons that seem pretty basic really, but most people don’t live by them.
1. Live within your means. Don’t assume things will get better later—assume they’ll get worse. Cover big risks like disability with insurance.
2. Don’t buy and sell stocks based on emotions or the past. Easiest way to handle this is get an index fund and throw the same amount at it every month, rain or shine.
3. Once you get used to something very very nice, it’s hard to go back to ordinary.
4. Don’t buy more house than you can afford.
5. Trying to scam the tax man is not worth it. Just pay your taxes and don’t worry about them.
6. Don’t blow through your money too fast. P. 108 if you’re not old, 4% of your total is still too much to spend per year if you’re living off a lump sum. Discipline.
7. The main way wealth gets passed down in a lasting way is by intelligence and buying your kids a better education.
8. What really ruins kids is entitlement. Pay attention to them, spend time with them, and let them experience failure and making mistakes. Once they have character, money wont ruin them.
9. Most wealthy people give away money. Lots of it. Which is the cause and which is the effect? Probably a virtuous cycle.
10. If you want to be wealthy, uncover your money stories and heal the unhealthy conclusions by focusing on counter examples.
In the education chapter, I was surprised to see the author’s biases about fancy schools being so much better than others schools. I wonder if that’s true. I’ve never been to one. Also, apparently rich/wealthy kids have tutors all the time. This is kind of hilarious for someone with as much education as I have to think, but my first thought was, “that sounds so boring! Those poor rich kids!”
The education section really made me question how much I value education. I used to be a professor, but do I think a college education is worth what most people pay for it? Even “only” $35,000/year for a “mediocre” (the author’s word) school, let alone more for a fancy one? For most kids I ran across in the classroom, no. Definitely not. But would I really recommend not going to college? It seems like even with an associate’s degree, it’s really hard to get a job. But then, is it significantly easier with a bachelors? I have no idea.
On the other hand, would I pay $24,000/year to send a 2-year-old to Montessori, as the author does with pride? That’s an easier question to answer: Fuck no!
Anyway, it was an interesting read. Lots of stories.
This book begins with a distinction I had never been aware of: the rich vs. the wealthy. The rich tend to have high incomes and a lot of nice stuff but not necessarily a good future. Many of them are in debt up to their eyeballs, to the extent that they’re basically fucked unless they’re lucky and everything goes their way. The wealthy, on the other hand, have all their needs covered or exceeded—including the rest of their lives, not just this year or this decade. Even people with small incomes can be wealthy if they plan well and make good decisions.
The distinction between the rich and the wealthy is the “thin green line” of the title. No matter how much or little money you have, you want to be on the wealthy side of the thin green line.
The book boils down to a few lessons that seem pretty basic really, but most people don’t live by them.
1. Live within your means. Don’t assume things will get better later—assume they’ll get worse. Cover big risks like disability with insurance.
2. Don’t buy and sell stocks based on emotions or the past. Easiest way to handle this is get an index fund and throw the same amount at it every month, rain or shine.
3. Once you get used to something very very nice, it’s hard to go back to ordinary.
4. Don’t buy more house than you can afford.
5. Trying to scam the tax man is not worth it. Just pay your taxes and don’t worry about them.
6. Don’t blow through your money too fast. P. 108 if you’re not old, 4% of your total is still too much to spend per year if you’re living off a lump sum. Discipline.
7. The main way wealth gets passed down in a lasting way is by intelligence and buying your kids a better education.
8. What really ruins kids is entitlement. Pay attention to them, spend time with them, and let them experience failure and making mistakes. Once they have character, money wont ruin them.
9. Most wealthy people give away money. Lots of it. Which is the cause and which is the effect? Probably a virtuous cycle.
10. If you want to be wealthy, uncover your money stories and heal the unhealthy conclusions by focusing on counter examples.
In the education chapter, I was surprised to see the author’s biases about fancy schools being so much better than others schools. I wonder if that’s true. I’ve never been to one. Also, apparently rich/wealthy kids have tutors all the time. This is kind of hilarious for someone with as much education as I have to think, but my first thought was, “that sounds so boring! Those poor rich kids!”
The education section really made me question how much I value education. I used to be a professor, but do I think a college education is worth what most people pay for it? Even “only” $35,000/year for a “mediocre” (the author’s word) school, let alone more for a fancy one? For most kids I ran across in the classroom, no. Definitely not. But would I really recommend not going to college? It seems like even with an associate’s degree, it’s really hard to get a job. But then, is it significantly easier with a bachelors? I have no idea.
On the other hand, would I pay $24,000/year to send a 2-year-old to Montessori, as the author does with pride? That’s an easier question to answer: Fuck no!
Anyway, it was an interesting read. Lots of stories.
December 31, 2015
Paul Sullivan is such a good writer, I've reserved everything else he's written from my library.
I didn't want to put this book down, which is really saying something because it's on a topic about which pretty much everything has already been said. You KNOW you're supposed to save money. You KNOW you're supposed to budget. This isn't rocket science.
Something about the way he writes was just imminently enjoyable. Maybe it was the reassurance that the rich struggle with the same things the middle class do, just at a different level. Maybe because he made me feel like I was really smart and already doing everything that I'm supposed to do, while gently encouraging me to do more.
This is a book about attitudes and emotions and personal experiences. Because only by getting a hold of those things, will anyone ever make sound money decisions. He interviews lots of people with gigantic bank accounts and makes a vivid picture of contrast between the "rich" and the "wealthy". He makes a powerful argument that almost anyone in America can be "wealthy", as long as they save and spend carefully.
To be "wealthy" is to have enough. To be safe. To have positive experiences. To do things you really want to do.
This is a very similar message (although worlds different in delivery) as "You're Broke Because You Want To Be" by Larry Winget.
One part of the book that I want to mention is the chapter he writes on spending for one's children's education. I personally would have liked an explanation for WHY some people (rich people, apparently?) want to spend money on their children's education. As a person fairly immersed in the poverty culture, this is super foreign to me and makes no sense. I think it may have to do with rich people's search for exterior signs of wealth? Like maybe, having their child do expensive educational things might be a status symbol thing? But I guess the book isn't really written for poverty culture people so, maybe it doesn't make sense to explain such things to his core audience.
I also learned a new word. It is "flaneur". It means a rich person who does nothing. :)
I was also interested to know that people with big bank accounts give to charity for the same reasons the rest of us do. I thought they were more motivated by the tax breaks, but most say they'd do it even if they tax breaks were removed.
This book was really just so good. I kind of want to read it again right now.
I didn't want to put this book down, which is really saying something because it's on a topic about which pretty much everything has already been said. You KNOW you're supposed to save money. You KNOW you're supposed to budget. This isn't rocket science.
Something about the way he writes was just imminently enjoyable. Maybe it was the reassurance that the rich struggle with the same things the middle class do, just at a different level. Maybe because he made me feel like I was really smart and already doing everything that I'm supposed to do, while gently encouraging me to do more.
This is a book about attitudes and emotions and personal experiences. Because only by getting a hold of those things, will anyone ever make sound money decisions. He interviews lots of people with gigantic bank accounts and makes a vivid picture of contrast between the "rich" and the "wealthy". He makes a powerful argument that almost anyone in America can be "wealthy", as long as they save and spend carefully.
To be "wealthy" is to have enough. To be safe. To have positive experiences. To do things you really want to do.
This is a very similar message (although worlds different in delivery) as "You're Broke Because You Want To Be" by Larry Winget.
One part of the book that I want to mention is the chapter he writes on spending for one's children's education. I personally would have liked an explanation for WHY some people (rich people, apparently?) want to spend money on their children's education. As a person fairly immersed in the poverty culture, this is super foreign to me and makes no sense. I think it may have to do with rich people's search for exterior signs of wealth? Like maybe, having their child do expensive educational things might be a status symbol thing? But I guess the book isn't really written for poverty culture people so, maybe it doesn't make sense to explain such things to his core audience.
I also learned a new word. It is "flaneur". It means a rich person who does nothing. :)
I was also interested to know that people with big bank accounts give to charity for the same reasons the rest of us do. I thought they were more motivated by the tax breaks, but most say they'd do it even if they tax breaks were removed.
This book was really just so good. I kind of want to read it again right now.
July 26, 2015
Waiting for some mind blowing knowledge which didn't happen. If you are already pretty familiar with personal finance you'll know just about everything in this book. If you don't know anything about personal finance then perhaps this book would be worth your time.
August 12, 2023
This was an enjoyable read and I learned a few things but not a lot. Like me, the author is not a big spender. He hates having any consumer debt (like credit cards or car loans) and he tends to be careful with money, in part because he grew up in a home where money (or lack of enough of it) was always an issue. Yet he is also willing to spend money to enjoy life. I can relate.
The case studies of how various rich people and wealthy people (there’s a difference – hence the green line) look at money and handle money were interesting. Some of the sports stars that were interviewed were particularly interesting. Most of them make a LOT of money VERY quickly but then when their short careers are over, they make much less money. Often, these highly paid athletes blow through the big money fast and have very little left. One NFL player who handled his money well shared some advice that was given to him. “The best line I’ve heard was ‘Don’t live like a king for a little bit, live like a prince forever’”
A few quotes.
Regarding education – Where the Wealthy Spend and why it matters:
“Success in life depends on personality traits that are not well captured by measures of cognition” James Heckman (Nobel laureate) and Tim Kautz his co-researcher wrote about the Perry Preschool in “Hard Evidence on Soft Skills.” “Conscientiousness, perseverance, sociability and curiosity matter. While economists have largely ignored these traits, personality psychologists have studied them over the last century.
Regarding The Entitlement Conundrum: What Really Ruins Kids
“Research shows that holding on to money will be hard for anyone who didn’t make it. Jay Zagorsky, of the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University, has found in an analysis of data that tracked people in their twenties, thirties and forties that the money disappeared for 35 percent of those who received an inheritance. Whatever they spent it on, it did not increase their wealth.”
It was comforting to me to realize that I already think about money in ways that are in my financial best interest, and I am already doing the type of things that help people achieve financial security and keep it.
The case studies of how various rich people and wealthy people (there’s a difference – hence the green line) look at money and handle money were interesting. Some of the sports stars that were interviewed were particularly interesting. Most of them make a LOT of money VERY quickly but then when their short careers are over, they make much less money. Often, these highly paid athletes blow through the big money fast and have very little left. One NFL player who handled his money well shared some advice that was given to him. “The best line I’ve heard was ‘Don’t live like a king for a little bit, live like a prince forever’”
A few quotes.
Regarding education – Where the Wealthy Spend and why it matters:
“Success in life depends on personality traits that are not well captured by measures of cognition” James Heckman (Nobel laureate) and Tim Kautz his co-researcher wrote about the Perry Preschool in “Hard Evidence on Soft Skills.” “Conscientiousness, perseverance, sociability and curiosity matter. While economists have largely ignored these traits, personality psychologists have studied them over the last century.
Regarding The Entitlement Conundrum: What Really Ruins Kids
“Research shows that holding on to money will be hard for anyone who didn’t make it. Jay Zagorsky, of the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University, has found in an analysis of data that tracked people in their twenties, thirties and forties that the money disappeared for 35 percent of those who received an inheritance. Whatever they spent it on, it did not increase their wealth.”
It was comforting to me to realize that I already think about money in ways that are in my financial best interest, and I am already doing the type of things that help people achieve financial security and keep it.
September 1, 2023
A semi-interesting book about people's attitudes towards money, with a focus on those of the author and of those who are rich. Sullivan talks about the difference between those who are rich - currently have plenty of money - and those who are truly wealthy, holding longterm enduring assets. That is, those who are above or just below the "thin green line" he feels separates those categories. He interviews a number of very wealthy people and financial experts. They address attitudes towards a number of arenas, including saving, education, philanthropy, etc. This is not a book of practical guidance, and if it contains any actual "money secrets" I didn't see them. My takeaways are that people with a lot of money can make the same dumb financial mistakes as less affluent folk, and that income inequality is here to stay.
May 25, 2021
This book is overly anecdotal to its detriment. The author is also very wealthy, which presents some serious blinders when crafting the stories that make up this book. I assume the primary audience for this book is not wealthy, so this book fails at bringing them in. I continually paused and asked, “What is the point of him sharing this?” I never got an answer.
The best chapter is unfortunately the last one, where Sullivan discusses, finally, some interesting research, but I believe to receive its benefits you’d need the read the first part of the book. Thankfully, it’s a short book, otherwise I might not have finished it. If anything, it did provide some perspective in addition to what I’ve already learned from other (better) finance books.
The best chapter is unfortunately the last one, where Sullivan discusses, finally, some interesting research, but I believe to receive its benefits you’d need the read the first part of the book. Thankfully, it’s a short book, otherwise I might not have finished it. If anything, it did provide some perspective in addition to what I’ve already learned from other (better) finance books.
February 12, 2019
It wasn't really what I was looking for. Like others said it's mostly stories about the author hanging out with rich people and talking about them. There weren't really any "money secrets". I think this is the first personal finance book I've ever read but there was still nothing really new in here. I enjoyed some parts such as the chapter on how money causes stress for everyone, because that chapter helped me realize my unhelpful money scripts that I picked up from childhood. I wish that there were some bullet points at the end of chapters summarizing what was said but that's not a big deal.
April 6, 2019
As I started reading this book, I had high hopes for learning about money from the super-rich. By the time I got to the end, I was disappointed. The author summarized everything he learned in the closing paragraph: Buy life insurance. Sell your second home. Cut expenses. Refinance your house for a lower rate. Pay off your debts quickly to save interest.
Not exactly stop-the-presses, earth-shattering advice.
Not exactly stop-the-presses, earth-shattering advice.
June 6, 2021
loved this book. I've been nerding out on bigger pockets (real estate podcast) and a guest on the show introduced this one. I read it twice to fully understand everything. another gamechanger, next to rich dad poor dad. helps me to understand the difference between being rich and wealthy.. how people live way above their means to keep up with the jones', who are in fact poorer and in more debt than them. another gamechanger.
August 30, 2023
Went over the difference between being wealthy vs rich but didn’t cover much else in great detail. Basically keep an internal score card, think about education for your kids, and don’t sacrifice quality of life just to have a large retirement account. Spending on things to keep up with others doesn’t help and don’t worry about returns. Focus more on what your spending on.
August 30, 2023
An objective, well thought out dispensary of insight about how wealthy investors make decisions and live their lives. The actual guidance is based a mixture of philanthropy, the results of making decisions based on disciplined thinking and the realities of living with resources beyond the basics.
May 29, 2019
What I learned from this book was what a vital role education weather it be private schools or even tutors can go in changing the trajectory in someone's life. Most rich people overspend but have a nagging feeling of being poor. Show me your friends I'll show you your future.
January 9, 2021
I thought it would have more actionable tips to implement in my financial independence journey. It was more about instrospection and the way we think about wealth. Interesting read, but not what I was expecting.
July 15, 2023
This book was recommended by the WSJ in 2023. Decent overall and easy to follow. More personal observations than insightful, but I appreciated his honest and practical assessment of rich vs. wealth.
December 7, 2023
This book seemed to give vibes similar to those given by Ramit on his Netflix show and podcasts, i.e., ‘Living your rich life’, but also discusses how Americans tend to live out of their means as well. Decent read.
July 19, 2025
An interesting collection of personal stories and anecdotes from people at various levels of wealth. Only slightly dated, but worth the read - particularly if you fancy yourself a HENRY (High Earner, Not Yet Rich).
June 12, 2017
If only the book's insights were as interesting as its title.
July 16, 2017
Ни о чем. И перевод на русский не самый лучший в добавок.
September 17, 2021
Terrible. Expected more. Had a few good one liners but lost me at validating his daughter’s $24,000 a year two year old’s half day preschool. Out of touch with reality.
September 27, 2021
Doesn't really provide anything interesting, just about the random stuff which makes no difference, could have just been a short article.
June 1, 2022
So well written and compelling and filed with invaluable perspective and insights and research and experience. So invaluable and captivating. Highly recommend
November 5, 2022
2.5 I got the impression the author wrote this book merely to understand his own feelings about money; nothing practical or enlightening.
March 24, 2023
Takeaway was there are people who hold themselves accountable and those who blame others for their lot in life.
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