Study shows how much money people would choose to have an ideal life

A recent study published by the journal Nature Sustainability tries to answer a common question regardless of country, class or age: how much money would it take to satisfy all your desires?

The researchers interviewed about 220 people in 33 countries and asked each of them how much wealth they would need to live their ideal version of life.

Based on that number, participants would have to choose the prize they wanted to win in a lottery with options ranging from $10,000 as a minimum to as much as $100 billion.

It is possible to imagine that the majority of the participants opted for the equity of US$ 100 billion. However, the study suggests that, in general, many do not think this way. Most participants chose more moderate prize options of $1 million or $10 million, with a minority opting for the maximum amount.

The researchers point out that the ideals about limits to wealth were not linked to differences in the economic development of countries, but that respondents who opted for values ​​close to US$ 100 billion “tend to be younger, people who live in cities and value power, success and independence, living in countries with a greater collective focus and acceptance of power differences [desigualdade]”.

According to the study, for a 38-year-old male with a life expectancy of 78 years, $1 million equals $25,000 a year. The figure is lower than the average income of many Western countries.

For the researchers, the results of the study indicate that ambitions towards wealth follow an ancient conception, by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, of moderation between lack and excess, reflecting a desire to be “comfortable but not extravagant”.

According to the data, the respondents who most choose the maximum value, of US$ 100 billion, are those from United States corresponding to 32% of the total number of respondents in the country, and the Indonesia , with 39%. The lowest proportion was recorded in the China with 8%, and in the Russia with 11%.

When analyzing the results of the study, the researchers point out that there is no clear evidence about how altruistic people who chose the maximum value would be.

When asked about the biggest change they would make with the money, those who chose the US$ 100 billion were the ones who most mentioned solving social problems, including on a global level.

When evaluating their values, both those who chose the median and maximum values ​​had a similar percentage of valuing the well-being of others. However, those who chose the $100 billion placed more importance on their personal interests.

“We are just beginning to understand why people differ in their desires. In addition to the stable demographic, cultural and individual differences examined here, attention needs to be directed to how people think about their own desires,” the study authors highlight.

For them, the ideal level of wealth for a person takes into account a series of personal considerations, with factors that contribute to the judgment or else restrict it.

“Asking about people’s absolutely ideal life is important to minimize restrictive factors. If people express limited desires even in their absolutely ideal life, it’s hard to imagine why they would have limitless desires after considering the practical constraints to achieving them.