8 highlights
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Armed with the worldâs greatest fortune, the Vanderbilt family seemed committed to proving the idea that money doesnât buy happiness. They took it a step further, showing that when managed poorly money could in fact buy resentment, insecurity, and social anxiety. It could buy it in bulk.
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When George Vanderbilt moved into Biltmore â the largest home in America at 178,000 square feet â one newspaper in 1899 wondered what the point was.
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Money buys happiness in the same way drugs bring pleasure: Incredible if done right, dangerous if used to mask a weakness, and disastrous when no amount is enough.
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The highest forms of wealth are measured differently.
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Thereâs a difference between working hard because you want to and working hard because someone else told you you had to, and how to do it, and when to do it. Even if youâre doing the same work, the independence of doing it on your own terms changes everything
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To me, the highest form of wealth is controlling your time.
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Charlie Munger summed it up: âI did not intend to get rich. I just wanted to get independent.â
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A person whose expectations relative to income are calibrated so they donât even have to think about money has a higher form of wealth than someone with more money whoâs constantly thinking about making the numbers work.