Wood, Graeme. "Secret Fears of the Super-Rich." The Atlantic Magazine. The Atlantic Monthly Group, April 2011. Web. 2 September 2011.
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Throughout this article by Graeme Wood, he summarizes that the rich "have unique sets of worries, and face the added difficulty of knowing that many despise or envy them." He states that the rich are a "psychologically vulnerable group" giving examples throughout the article about certain respondents from a study stating how they worry about what lies ahead for people around them, causing them difficulty to live life with self-worth. He states, "Most of us, for instance, occasionally spoil ourselves with outburst of deliberate and perhaps excessive consumption: a fancy spa treatment, dinner at an expensive restaurant, a shopping spree. In the case of the very wealthy, such forms of consumption can be come so commonplace as to lose all psychological benefit: constant luxury is, in a sense, no luxury at all." Wood also talks about the rich fearing for their children as "wealth can be a barrier to connecting with other people." Another fear of the rich is that relationships can be effected by thinking, "Does he love me or my money?"
Many people are very unaware of the fears that the rich have to encounter every day by specifically putting them in a stereo-type of "lucky", or "their life is perfect". They are simply unaware of the constant thoughts going through the super-rich minds. Wood also says how people judge this specific group of people by saying, "The super-rich have lost the right to complain about anything, for fear of sounding-or being-ungrateful." Although the rich may have financial security, they do not always feel that way due to the relationships they develop with certain people. One respondent states, "I start to wonder how many people we know would cut us off if they didn't think they could get something from us." This article is important because it shows that although the rich may seem like they "have it all", they, in fact do have their own category of worries and problems that come with being wealthy.
