Introduction
This article is part of the Money Myth series. In the Money Myth series, we explore how common beliefs about money may be hurting you from attaining the financial and ultimate freedom you desire. This time, we will be examining if someone can really have too much money for their own good.
Too Much Money for Bezos’ Own Good?
Jeff Bezos is one of the wealthiest people in the world, with a net worth closing in on $190 billion (April. 2022). Of course, there are the detractors out there who would say that he has too much money for his own good. With close to $200 billion, it sure seems like this is true.
Put it another way: Why does one person need so much money?
Of course, the subtext of what someone who says this is, “Bezos needs to give me his money!”
In actuality, the wealthy owe you nothing. There is a strong entitlement mentality that the rich somehow owe the poor. There’s also the misconception that the rich need to pay their “fair share” in taxes.
If you want to run a business or become more wealthy, then you need to educate yourself in the tax code. Jeff Bezo, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk have teams of financial experts consisting of lawyers and CPAs, all dedicated to helping them pay less taxes.
Think about this for a second. The salaries these entrepreneurs pay their employees are less that what they would have paid in taxes. This is how much they pay in taxes. That’s more than the average employee will pay in their lifetime. Of course, when we’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars, several million dollars in taxes doesn’t seem like a “fair share”.
To help put things in perspective, the tax code is written to help business owners succeed and motivate them into creating jobs for the economy. If employers didn’t do all they can to minimize their tax liability, then employees will get less every paycheck. They have to think about paying themselves first before they can pay their people.
This Is Capitalism
That’s how capitalism works. Money is a reflection of your level of knowledge and what you bring to the table. It represents your ability to solve other people’s problems.
For example, it may not seem fair, especially if you make $50,000 a year, that the guy coming into the restaurant where you work makes $150,000. This is where you have to realize that your knowledge of essential oils isn’t going to make you rich. You have to offer something someone actually wants and is willing to reward you handsomely for that knowledge.
Or you have the drive and motivation to lead people who can do what you can’t do but do not have the drive and motivation themselves. Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company did this.
Remember this the next time you hear people complain how the rich need to pay their fair share of taxes. That person is making money because they are providing value to their customers. The reason you’re not making money right now is not a reflection of your overall abilities. It doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck like this forever.
All it means is that at this moment, you lack the knowledge and awareness. Constant study is a requirement for anything that matters to you.
As for the “fair share of taxes” platitude we keep hearing, the cost of running a business comes down to the employee. If the employer can’t pay to keep a business running, then jobs get slashed. They pay more taxes, so you’ll end up also paying–one way or another.
Just How Much Is Enough?
The sooner you are able to shift this thinking that the rich have too much money for their own good, the faster you are able to attract more wealth into your life. The reasoning is simple: You do not want others to say the same thing of you. You do not want to hear the same criticism that you need to do more with your money, like give it away, when you’ve worked hard to get it.
Ultimately, you’re rewarded for helping other people solve their problems. You’re paid in comments, praises, Facebook Likes, or money.
The same question keep coming up: How much is enough?
For Jeff Bezos, he needs billions to fulfill his childhood dream of going to space. Amazon made that happen for him. His other company, Blue Origin, which hired a bunch of people and built the rocket that sent him to space, made his dream come true.
On your own money freedom journey, you’ll encounter the same trolls. They’ll criticize you for being too wealthy, even if you’re making in a year what Bezos makes in a second. They will ask why you need more money when you already have so much of it. What’s awful is if you donate several millions dollars to a hospital, just as Mark Zuckerberg did for the San Francisco General Hospital, you will still get reamed. People will accuse you of imposing your will with your money.
How is their criticism any different? Are they not imposing their own will, too?
Learn to block them out. Successful people do not care what other people think or do. That’s how they are able to keep the course and make their own goals come true.
Is It Really Too Much Money for Your Own Good?
As you can see, what is too much money varies from one person to another. Only you know what is in your best interest. You’re the best judge of how much money you need to help fulfill your dreams and goals.
Remember money’s purpose is to enable you to live comfortably, along with amplifying and extending the good that you can do in the world. Money also shortens the time you can do this good in. For example, your goal is to reduce greenhouse emissions. You can certainly accomplish this goal a lot faster in a shorter amount of time by giving this money to organizations. These organizations have the backing of hundreds of thousands of members who believe in the same thing.
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The best financial advice in the world will fail you if you have bad mindsets around money. What are some examples of bad money mindsets? Investing is only for the rich. I can never afford that. Money is the root of all evil.
I had many of the same money mindsets that you may now have. Through a concentrated effort, I was able to change most of these around. In the process, I transformed from a clueless guy–feeling like he’s barely making it–to someone who’s achieved a measure of financial freedom.
I invite you to get your free gift, 7 Money Mindsets Preventing You From a Positive Cashflow, today.
Discover the 7 most common myths (false beliefs) around money that’s keeping you from having more money!