Elon Musk: Why $850 Billion Can’t Buy Him Happiness

0:00This Torah class is brought to you by Torahanytime.com Recently, the richest man on planet earth and perhaps in the history of the world, Elon Musk, he set a statement and the world stood up and took notice. He said, whoever said money can buy happiness really knew what they were talking about. Someone once joked, whoever said money can buy happiness doesn't know where to shop. But the truth is that long before modern billionaires and witty one-liners, long before Wall Street, long before Silicon Valley, Khazal revealed to us the true secret of happiness. It's the mission of Masekta's voice. The mission asks, Aiza Wo Asher, who is truly rich as Samir Vachalka, the one who is happy with his lot. The mission teaches us that real wealth is not measured by how many properties a person owns, or how many millions of billions of have in your account. Or if your name appears on the Forbes 500 list. True wealth is defined by Samir Vachalka, by satisfaction and contentment.

1:02Contentment is far more valuable than material abundance. In the United States, someone earning less than $26,000 a year is considered living below the poverty line. Yet, a person can be poor by government standards and still live a life filled with joy and meaning and fulfillment. And on the other hand, someone like Ilah Mosque worth over $850 billion can be profoundly sad and miserable. To grasp the enormity of his wealth, he is $600 billion richer than the second richest person in the world. That means he has nearly four times as much wealth as the person in second place. There has never been such a disparity in world history. He has money, fame, power, influence. He can move markets with one tweet. He can move global economies with one sentence. He has access to the most powerful leaders in the world. So how can a man who has everything not be happy?

2:04And the answer is simple. Satisfying the body brings temporary pleasure, but not lasting happiness. If a person's soul is not satisfied, if you're not living a life of meaning on purpose, you will never be happy. Think about the lives of the most successful and wealthiest people today. After high school, they move on to college, they work hard to hone their skills, then into the business world. They start off at the bottom and work relentlessly 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They sacrifice family and friendships and the simple joys of life, all in pursuit of making it big one day, and in the dream of becoming a billionaire. In years past, they accumulate billions and millions. But at the same time, they let life slip away. While their siblings and their friends build families, they travel and cultivate relationships. And they, they're stuck in core rooms and boardrooms. Every night, they return home to a dark empty house, to cold, stale food, and no one with whom to share their experiences.

3:09No one to celebrate their victories with. And before they turn around, they're in their 40s and 50s, with plenty of wealth in their accounts, but emptiness in their hearts. They realize they have lost something money cannot buy. People think freedom means doing whatever I want, whenever I want, whoever I want, with whom ever I want. Why be committed to one spouse when I can live without boundaries? But with time, people like Elon Musk discovered that true happiness is not found in endless options, but in deep commitment. Real joy is found in building a traditional family and loyalty and stability and shared purpose. And that is the great illusion of our generation. People think happiness comes from having more. More money, more options, more freedom, more followers, more power. But Gazelle taught us the opposite. Happiness does not come from having more. It comes from appreciating what we have.

4:09The world chases wealth that can disappear with one market crash. Living a entire life offers wealth that no recession can ever touch. When a person comes home to a spouse who waits for him, to children who run to greet him, to a shabby stable filled with warmth, to a life filled with mitzvits and meaning and purpose, that is true wealth. When a person is respected, not because of what he has, but because of who he is, that is true wealth. So it's true, money cannot buy happiness, but living a life of tired, filled with meaning and purpose, will definitely make you happy and content. And you will be richer than the richest man in the world. And now, we know. Have a wonderful day. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by Torahanytime.com.