Book Recommendation: Money

What Effect Does Money
Have On You?

Bucks, quid, euro – money makes the world go round, there is no doubt about it. But to what extent does it also affect personal well-being?

Possibly this question has never really occurred to someone who is busy trying to make a living, gain himself adequate compensation for daily work, prove his family with an outcome and create financial security. So it might take some external initiative to come to grips with the concept of money and its real impact on life.

Rolf Dobelli is providing just that bit. In his marvellous book Wer bin ich (”Who am I” – unfortunately only available in German language), he simply asks a total of 777 questions. And some of them are quite uncomfortable when it comes to giving a serious answer. In this context, the ones concerning money have struck me as particularly uncomfortable, since they actually put the mind to work. Here they are:

• How many of your friendships did money create, how many did it break? And how many did it manage to save?
• Can you look at a villa without wondering about its price?
• Who spends more money on unnecessary items: you or your partner?
• Put into descending order what you consider more valuable (assuming equal taxation):
  - one million lottery win
  - one million stock market profit
  - one million inheritance
  - one million interest earnings
  - one million savings
• Have you ever wished not to know the financial status of your counterpart (e.g. in a conversation)? What else would you have preferred not to know about that person?
• From which amount on does money start to become uninteresting for you?
• Which luxury would you be able to relinquish without lowering the quality of your life? And why do you not do it?
• What does the millionaire feel when meeting the billionaire?
• What would prevent you from robbing a bank if you were sure never to get caught?
• Would the world be more just if all had the same?

© Rolf Dobelli 2007

As is to be expected, there are no answers provided to any of these questions. They are simply intended to make the reader think.

And at least for me it has done just that.


Rolf Dobelli “Wer bin ich – 777 indiskrete Fragen” in Deutsch,
ISBN 3257065639



Andreas Hauser