Scott Clary
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May 07 • 9 min read
The Wealth Paradox: Why Some Billionaires Are Broke
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The Wealth Paradox: Why Some Billionaires Are BrokeYou're chasing the wrong definition of wealth. Every day, you wake up and check your accounts. Revenue, profit, subscribers, followers. You're constantly monitoring metrics, always anxious about where you stand. You read about founders raising millions and feel that twinge of envy. You see competitors buying vacation homes while you're reinvesting every dollar into your business. You wonder when you'll finally make it. But what if I told you some of the richest people in the world are actually broke? Not financially broke—but broke in the way that actually matters. Morgan Housel put it perfectly: "The best measure of wealth is what you have minus what you want, and by this measure some billionaires are broke." This isn't some feel-good platitude designed to make you comfortable with mediocrity. It's a fundamental truth about wealth that most entrepreneurs completely miss—one that will transform your relationship with money, success, and satisfaction if you truly understand it. In this newsletter, I'll break down why the conventional definition of wealth is fundamentally flawed, how the wealthiest people I know measure their success, and how you can build genuine wealth even while you're building your business. Because once you understand true wealth, you'll never look at success the same way again. The Wealth Equation Most People Get WrongLet's get mathematical for a moment. Most people define wealth with a simple equation: Wealth = What You Have The more money, assets, and resources you accumulate, the wealthier you become. Simple, right? But this equation is fatally incomplete. It ignores the denominator of the wealth fraction—what you want. The complete wealth equation looks like this: Wealth = What You Have ÷ What You Want This changes everything. If what you want constantly expands to exceed what you have, you'll never feel wealthy—no matter how much you accumulate. This is why some people with millions feel broke while others with modest means feel abundant. I know founders who built eight-figure businesses but live in constant anxiety about the next milestone. They've trapped themselves in a perpetual cycle of wanting that keeps them feeling poor despite their objective success. Meanwhile, I know solopreneurs with six-figure businesses who have designed their lives so intentionally that they experience genuine wealth every day. They've mastered the denominator of the wealth equation. The problem isn't your revenue. It's your relationship with wanting. Next, let's look at how this plays out in the real world, with examples of people who seem rich on paper but are actually broke by this more meaningful measure. The Billionaire Who Can't Stop WorkingElon Musk should, by any objective measure, be one of the wealthiest people alive. At times, he's been the richest person on the planet. Yet he sleeps on a couch at the Tesla factory during production crunches. He works 80-120 hour weeks. He's described his life as "excruciating" and admitted to taking Ambien just to sleep. This isn't the lifestyle of a wealthy person—it's the lifestyle of someone who's fundamentally broke. Why? Because Musk's "wants" vastly exceed even his enormous "haves." His ambitions for Tesla, SpaceX, and his other ventures create a deficit that no amount of money can fill. I'm not criticizing his choices or ambition. But by the wealth equation we're discussing, he's running a perpetual deficit. Contrast this with someone like Derek Sivers, who sold his company CD Baby for $22 million (far less than a billion), gave most of it to charity, and now lives a life of freedom, learning, and creation. By his own account, he feels extraordinarily wealthy because his wants are modest and intentional. It's not about how much you have. It's about the gap between what you have and what you want. This pattern repeats across the entrepreneurial landscape:
They all look wealthy from the outside but live in a constant state of deficit. Now, let's explore how this applies to you directly, and how you can start building true wealth right now—even if your business is still growing. How to Be Wealthy Before You're "Rich"Wealth creation typically follows one of two paths: Path 1: Increase what you have while your wants expand even faster This is the default path. Each achievement unlocks new desires. Each milestone reveals new comparisons. Your numerator grows, but your denominator grows faster. Path 2: Increase what you have while carefully managing what you want This is the path to actual wealth. Your numerator grows through your hard work, but you maintain control over your denominator. Let me be clear: This isn't about limiting your ambition or settling for less. It's about being intentional about what you actually want versus what you've been conditioned to want. Here's how to build true wealth starting today: 1. Conduct a "Want Audit"Most of your wants aren't actually yours—they're implanted by:
Take inventory of what you genuinely want versus what you think you should want. Ask yourself:
When I did this exercise, I was shocked to discover that about 70% of my "wants" weren't actually mine. They were external expectations I'd internalized. 2. Design Your EnoughThe most powerful financial concept isn't compound interest—it's the concept of "enough." Define what enough looks like across different dimensions of your life:
This isn't setting a ceiling on your growth. It's establishing a floor for your satisfaction. When you know what enough looks like, you can enjoy everything beyond it as a bonus rather than a requirement. The wealthiest people I know have a clear definition of enough. The broke ones—regardless of their bank accounts—never do. 3. Practice Conscious Wealth DailyTrue wealth isn't a future state—it's available right now through daily practices:
The most reliable way to feel wealthy today is to spend a portion of your day in a way that would make others envy your freedom, not your money. One founder I know worth eight figures still drives a ten-year-old car, but blocks off every Wednesday for hiking with no phone. That's wealth. Let's look at how this plays out in practice with a case study of two very different entrepreneurs and their relationship with wealth. The Wealth Strategy Most Never DiscoverNow I'm going to show you how to apply this wealth mindset to your situation as a founder, creator, or ambitious professional. True wealth requires addressing both sides of the equation simultaneously—a balanced approach most entrepreneurs never master. The “what you have” and the “what you want” and the balance between the two. Growing What You Have (The Part You Already Focus On)Most ambitious people obsess exclusively over the numerator of the wealth equation:
Keep doing these things. They matter tremendously. But they're only half the equation. Managing What You Want (The Part That Changes Everything)This is the neglected side of wealth-building that separates the truly wealthy from the perpetually striving:
The growth of your desires is the silent wealth-killer that no one talks about. Every time your mastermind group upgrades their lifestyle, you feel the pull to follow. Every time you hit a revenue milestone, the target immediately moves forward. Every comparison creates new wants with the force of gravity. Without conscious management of this process, you're building a wealth-destroying machine alongside your wealth-creating business. Most entrepreneurs try to solve their wealth problems exclusively on the numerator side—just make more money! But it's like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom. No amount of water will ever be enough. The truly happy and fulfilled combine aggressive growth of their assets with deliberate containment of their desires. The Fear That Keeps Founders BrokeLet's confront an uncomfortable truth. There's a secret safety in feeling broke. When you're "not there yet," you have the perfect excuse for grinding yourself into dust, saying no to life-enriching experiences, and postponing joy indefinitely. "I'll relax after the exit." "I'll spend time with family after this fundraising round." "I'll focus on health when we hit $10M ARR." The vulnerability lies in admitting you might already have enough for happiness. When I raise this perspective with founders, I see raw fear flash across their eyes. Not fear of failure—fear of contentment. They're terrified that accepting their current situation as "enough" will kill their drive and ambition. But this fear is based on a false dichotomy. Ambition and satisfaction aren't opposites. They're powerful allies. You can be deeply grateful for what you have while enthusiastically building something greater. You can find your enough for today while creating more for tomorrow. This isn't spiritual bypass or toxic positivity. It's hardcore strategic wealth management—addressing both sides of the equation simultaneously. The founders with the longest, most successful careers aren't the most driven or the most satisfied. They're the ones who've mastered the integration of both states:
These ideas are the fundamental operating system of sustainable success. The Ultimate Wealth Hack Nobody TeachesThe wealthiest person isn't the one with the most zeroes in their bank account. It's the one who can say, with genuine conviction: "I have more than I need, and I know exactly what enough looks like." When you know what enough looks like, you make radically better business decisions. You don't take terrible deals out of desperation. You don't compromise your values for quick wins. You don't burn out your team chasing vanity metrics. You build from abundance rather than scarcity. And the ultimate irony? This mindset tends to create substantially more financial wealth over the long term because it enables sustainable, principled growth rather than destructive accumulation at all costs. Morgan Housel's insight—that wealth equals what you have minus what you want—isn't just clever. It's the most practical wealth-building formula ever created. So ask yourself honestly: By this equation, are you rich or broke? If you're running a deficit, it's time to work both sides of the equation simultaneously—growing what you have while deliberately managing what you want. Because true wealth isn't having everything. It's wanting what you already have while building something greater. Thank you for reading. – Scott Other Partners (They Have Some Special Offers For Readers.. Check Them Out)
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