How Many People Really Care About Wealth?

Wealth touches every aspect of our lives — time, health, relationships, environment, creativity, and yes, money. So why do so few of us think about it in such a broad sense?

This question landed front and center last week when my friend Lucia Pa?ková asked me:

“How many people do you think truly care about wealth — not just money, but the concept of wealth itself, or even the science behind it?”

It seemed straightforward, yet it sparked days of debate among my colleagues, including those in the investment management industry. Responses varied. Some argued that everyone cares about wealth at some level — consciously or not. Others suggested that for many, wealth is too distant or intimidating — something they avoid thinking about unless circumstances force them to.

Rethinking Wealth in Multiple Dimensions

We typically associate wealth with material and financial capital—income, savings, and assets. But what if wealth were the product of at least six distinct “capitals”? Imagine, for instance, a framework that includes:

1. Material & Financial Capital: Money, savings, investments, and tangible assets.
2. Health & Vitality Capital: Physical well-being, mental health, and overall energy.
3. Relational & Social Capital: The quality of our relationships, community ties, and social support.
4. Intellectual & Creative Capital: Knowledge, skills, creativity, and our capacity for innovation or lifelong learning.
5. Environmental & Sustainability Capital: The quality and sustainability of our environment, from clean air and water to stable ecosystems.
6. Time & Autonomy Capital: The freedom to direct our own lives, manage our schedules, and pursue meaningful activities.

What If?

What if wealth were understood as a derivative of these multiple capitals, rather than just a financial balance sheet? Would we see a shift in who cares and how deeply they care about building wealth in its fullest sense?

Perhaps more of us would engage if we recognized that wealth isn’t just a remote concept tied up in numbers, but something we can nurture through small, everyday choices—building relationships, improving health habits, cultivating creativity, protecting our environment, and securing our autonomy.

Who Cares About Wealth Today?

If “caring about wealth” means considering all these dimensions, how many people are actually doing it? Let’s look at a few data points:

• Short-Term vs. Long-Term: Around 58% of Americans track their spending, yet only 38% have a long-term financial plan (CNBC, 2023). Many pay attention to immediate finances, but fewer think holistically or strategically about long-term well-being across multiple capitals.
• Global Disparities: Globally, only 19% of people say they feel financially thriving (Gallup). This doesn’t mean the rest don’t care—it might mean they can’t afford to think beyond meeting basic needs. Without a foundation of Material & Financial Capital, exploring other capitals like intellectual growth or environmental stewardship may feel out of reach.
• Beyond Money: The $4.2 trillion global wellness industry highlights growing interest in health, vitality, and well-being—suggesting that some people do care about wealth in a broader sense. However, this shift remains uneven and often more accessible to affluent societies.

Clearly, a portion of the population is open to broader notions of wealth, but for many, it still feels too abstract or unattainable.

The "Conventional" Wealthy and Their Impact

The world’s ultra-wealthy — around 400,000 individuals with $30 million or more in assets—significantly shape global economies. Their businesses employ millions, and their investment decisions influence markets, innovation, and societal trends. Yet even among this group, not everyone fully engages with the concept of multidimensional wealth. Some focus narrowly on financial returns, while others explore how their resources can improve health systems, fund educational initiatives, protect the environment, or support community resilience.

Why Should More People Care?

Wealth, in a holistic sense, influences everything:

• How we invest in our health and vitality.
• How we nurture relationships and communities.
• How we expand our minds and cultivate creativity.
• How we care for our environment.
• How we protect our time, autonomy, and freedom of choice.

Still, many don’t engage with these aspects of wealth because they feel unattainable or irrelevant. If you’re worried about rent, considering your life through multiple capitals might seem like a luxury. There’s also the complexity factor: without guidance or a clear framework, holistic wealth can seem overwhelming.

Cultural narratives further complicate matters. In some places, wealth is celebrated; in others, discussing it is taboo. These narratives shape whether we view wealth as empowering, intimidating, or simply off-limits.

Calculating Who Could—Or Should—Care

Let’s consider a rough estimate. How many people could theoretically benefit from adopting a broader understanding of wealth?

• Basic Needs Met: Around 55% of the global population meets their basic material and financial needs (World Bank). With foundational security in place, these individuals have some cognitive space to engage with broader capitals—improving health, investing in learning, cultivating social ties, or considering environmental impact.
• Education and Tools: Another 20–30% might begin to care if provided with the right knowledge, financial literacy, cultural narratives, or policy frameworks that highlight the importance of multiple capitals.
• Practical Limits: Human behavior suggests that 10–20% of people might remain disengaged due to choice, apathy, or systemic barriers.

Add it up, and it suggests that roughly 70–80% of people could or should care about wealth—if they recognized it as more than money and had the support to pursue it.

What Can You Do?

If wealth can be understood as a product of multiple capitals, what steps might you take?

1. Reflect: Ask yourself, “What does wealth mean to me?” Consider not just your bank account, but your health, relationships, learning opportunities, environment, and personal freedom.
2. Assess Your Portfolio of Capitals: Identify your strengths and gaps. Maybe you’re financially stable but neglecting your health. Or you’re rich in relationships but short on time and autonomy.
3. Engage in Conversation: Talk to someone close to you about their vision of wealth. Sharing different perspectives can reveal overlooked dimensions and inspire action.
4. Small Steps First: If money is tight, focus on strengthening relationships or improving personal health habits. If you have some financial stability, consider supporting educational programs or local environmental initiatives.

The Question That Matters

Back to Lucia’s question: Do you care about wealth, not just as money, but as the synergy of multiple forms of capital that shape your life’s richness and resilience?

If so, what will you do about it?

At its core, wealth isn’t just a financial score. It’s a lens—a framework for understanding, measuring, and improving our lives across a range of human capitals. Perhaps it’s time we all started caring a little more, and a little more holistically.

CNBC (2023). Survey: Americans and Their Financial Habits. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/ (Note: Reference adapted from text. Replace with a specific CNBC article title, author, and retrieval date once identified.)

Gallup. (2021). Gallup World Poll. Gallup, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/ (Note: This source provides global well-being and financial thriving data. Use the exact report title and year if available.)

Global Wellness Institute. (2018). Global Wellness Economy Monitor. Global Wellness Institute. Retrieved from https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/ (Note: The $4.2 trillion figure on the global wellness industry is commonly cited from the GWI report.)

World Bank. (2020). Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020: Reversals of Fortune. The World Bank. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/ (Note: Refer to the specific page or section discussing the percentage of the global population meeting basic needs.)