Is more money the answer?

There was a report out last week that said, roughly, after you meet your basic needs, more money doesn't make you happier.  We were inclined to "dig deeper."  Here's what we found.  These individuals had money, and lots of it.  Here's what they said:

I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success.
J. Paul Getty

The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone.  There is no pleasure in it.
W.H. Vanderbilt


I am the most miserable man on earth.
J.J. Astor


I have made millions but they have brought me no happiness.
John D. Rockefeller


Millionaires seldom smile.
Andrew Carnegie


I was happier when I was doing a mechanic's job.
Henry Ford



We thought also of the story of Jesse Livermore, one of the greatest speculators of his day, the 1920s, 30s, 40s.  He killed himself, with a shot to head in the coat room of the Sherry Netherland Hotel, NYC, November 28, 1940.  Fable has it that he was broke, but not true.  He had more the $5 million in cash and trusts.  He had fought depression all his life, the depression won.

Surely, all of this experience, all of these men, food for thought...............

Credit for quotes:  "When the game is over it all goes back in the box," by John Ortberg.