Matthew McConaughey says chasing wealth can leave you lost and alone — and he'd be happy with 1/50th of his fortune
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- Devoting your life to making money can leave you lonely and aimless, Matthew McConaughey says.
- The actor warned against chasing cash at the cost of relationships and other valuable parts of life.
- Warren Buffett and other wealthy people have said there are more important things than money.
People who spend their whole lives trying to get as rich as possible risk winding up lost and alone, Matthew McConaughey says.
The Oscar-winning actor spoke about the downsides of success on an episode of the "Modern Wisdom" podcast released on Monday.
McConaughey, 55, said he's met many ultrawealthy people who have "chased that dollar to be successful and to be relevant for having the most money, that the last 15, 20, even younger years were bewildered, lost, had no relationships, didn't have a purpose."
The "Interstellar" and "Dallas Buyers' Club" star said there are diminishing returns to how much wealth improves your quality of life — yet American culture reinforces the idea that more is always better.
"It's also why I wasn't surprised when Trump first got elected," McConaughey said. "He had fame, he had money. We sell that every day in the West as this is how you make it, this is what you do."
The actor said he loves money and what it lets him provide for his family, his wife, and himself.
"But would I be any less happy if I had a 30th, a 40th, a 50th of what I have right now?" McConaughey asked. "There's no way I'd be any less happy."
A bigger bank balance doesn't always translate into a more fulfilling life. "Watch out just drinking the Kool-Aid," he said, advising people to ask themselves what they want from life and what they value most.
"Just check your quality as you're chasing your quantity and make sure that whatever you're succeeding at is giving you actual profit and actually paying you back," he added.
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McConaughey pointed to relationships and how you treat yourself and others as examples of the "profit" reaped from earning money.
He said his comments might seem out of touch to people struggling financially, but he was giving his perspective.
The impact of higher inflation and interest rates has pinched household budgets since the pandemic. Steeper living costs were a central issue in the US presidential race and other elections worldwide this year.
Many rich people have said there's more to life than accumulating wealth and material possessions, and have warned against losing sight of what truly matters.
Warren Buffett once told a group of college students that close relationships are much more valuable than net worth, according to a biography of the billionaire investor titled "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life."
"Basically, when you get to my age, you'll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you," the Berkshire Hathaway CEO said.
"If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don't care how big your bank account is — your life is a disaster."