Money Promise No. 4: You’ll be somebody.
Money really does make you “somebody”—but the world won’t know it until you tell them! According to a 2008 Wall Street Journal article, in Abu Dhabi when oil prices (and profits) were at record highs, vanity license plates were being taken to breathtakingly absurd levels. Ferraris became so common that it took a single symbolic signifier on one’s license plate to stand out from the crowd. For example, if an individual’s license plate said “7,” he was somebody. The city capitalized on this quest for personal significance and obliged with a monthly auction of desirable single-digit signifiers. Hundreds of wealthy bidders have showed up in the past to outbid one another for prestigious digits. Saeed Khouri paid $14 million for “1” and his cousin, Talal Khouri, paid $9 million for “5.” Congratulations, gentlemen, you are forever enshrined in the hall of single digits—for IQ, that is.

Though the prices reached spectacular highs, this was hardly a new or localized phenomenon. Wasteful vanity auctions had been taking place in Hong Kong and among Russian executives for years. These vanity plates were easily sold to people already sold on the idea that money could make them somebody. If you are not sure that people around you know that you are somebody, then you must buy an advertisement that informs the public of your “somebody” status.

Being listed in the Forbes 400 is status based on wealth. No doubt, if you find yourself on that list, people will want a piece of you because it means you are somebody in society’s eyes. But it will not make people admire, respect or love you unless you turn that status into deeds that are admirable and beneficial to those in need. Let us not juxtapose status with significance. Status can be bought—significance is not for sale.

In the spirit of David Letterman’s Top 10 lists, let me offer the top 10 distinctions between what money can and cannot buy:
10. Money can buy a bed, but not sleep.

 9. Money can buy books, but not brains.

 8. Money can buy food, but not appetite.

 7. Money can buy finery, but not beauty.

 6. Money can buy a house, but not a home.

 5. Money can buy medicine, but not health.

 4. Money can buy luxuries, but not culture.

 3. Money can buy amusement, but not happiness.

 2. Money can buy companions, but not friends.

 1. Money can buy flattery, but not respect.

I’m reminded of one of the morals of Aesop’s Fables, that true wealth lies not in money’s possession but in its use. Life is most tragic for those who have plenty to live on but nothing worthwhile to live for. Our means takes on meaning when put to work. What do you hope to accomplish? Who do you want to become? What kind of mark do you wish to leave upon this planet?

Money can help you do some significant things on this earth, but no amount in any account will get the job done until that money is put to work. Significance is rooted in addressing injustice, performing acts of mercy and coming to the aid of those who can’t help themselves. When those opportunities appear, my advice is to invest all you can. Significance is sure to follow.

Mitch Anthony is the author of The New Retirementality (Wiley), now in its fourth edition.

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