Rich people can be happier

A new study conducted by a researcher from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States of America has found a positive link between money and happiness.

Matt Killingsworth, who studied happiness in a large-scale research project, concluded that richer people are happier. The study used a sample of about 33,000 employed adults in North America aged 18 to 65 with a household income of at least $10,000 a year (about €9,185). The researcher also used data from a group of ultra-rich people with an average wealth of between $3 million and $7.9 million (€2.8 million and €7.3 million). Respondents answered questions on a scale of “life satisfaction.”

The study concluded that there was a greater difference in happiness between participants with rich and middle incomes than between the latter and those with low incomes. To establish this scale, the researcher used the 2024 State of the American Middle Class report from the Pew Research Center (a North American research center), which defines middle-income Americans as those “who live in households with an annual income that is two-thirds times the national median family income,” which, according to the US Census, is about $74,580 (about €68,550).

Killingsworth mentioned The keeper who was surprised by the size of the overall difference in happiness between the rich and the poor. For the researcher, money is only responsible for part of happiness, and the connection between the two goes deeper than “just buying things.” He also added that a sense of control over one’s life can explain about 75% of the connection between money and happiness. “So I think a big part of what’s going on is that when people have more money, they have more control over their lives. More freedom to live the life they want,” Matt Killingsworth added.

The researcher told the same source that the purpose of the study was precisely to broaden the horizons of what can create happiness, taking attention away from elements such as money.