This story appears in the
November 2000 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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When you were little, it was all about having the best bike and
toys around. You fantasized about being waited on in a Richie Rich
mansion. But now that you're older, wiser and on your way down
the entrepreneurial road, does that quest for wealth still occupy
you?
Not necessarily. A recent survey commissioned by the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP) shows one-third of
respondents aged 18 and over said they didn't want to be
wealthy. While that's still a minority (as two-thirds were
willing to give wealth a try), 80 percent feared wealth would
change them for the worse.
The mystique of riches appears to be waning, says Melinda
Blackman, assistant professor of industrial organizational
psychology at California State University, Fullerton. Blackman
holds the media partly responsible. "With the prevalence of
millionaires, the media is showing the downfall of these
individuals and making it very public," she says. "People
realize wealth is not a panacea."
Focusing on traditional values-family, friends, volunteer
work-still seems to outweigh wealth in terms of motivation.