What would appeal to me about being rich is unconditional autonomy regarding work: being able to work when I want, on what I choose. In other words, having the right to decide the best use of my talents instead of having it decided "for" (against?) me. Even founders of some small companies I know ended up as clients' bitches and lost autonomy, because they knew a single client could sink them. It's also pretty much impossible to bring your A game if you feel like a subordinate. That doesn't mean you can't be a subordinate in title and have a boss and still do great work, but once a person loses a sense of autonomy, the quality of work goes to zero. When you're rich, you can avoid this situation completely and, as soon as you lose autonomy or the ability to excel, move on.<p>People romanticize the "starving artist" whose work becomes famous after his death, but I'd wager that 4/5 of the people who really moved humanity forward were wealthy people, not because they're any better (they aren't) but because they had the time and autonomy to follow their interests. Sociologically, the most effective people tend to come from the fringes of the elite (cf. Jobs, Gates): people who don't have their life and work clogged up by common burdens (distractions, stress and fear, subordination) but who also aren't in the "golden prison"-- the elite's conservative, status-obsessed core-- which is just as disabling a place to be, for a person wanting to do something good with his life, as reeking poverty.<p>My guess at how I would react if I suddenly became rich is that I'd have an hour of euphoria, then 3 days of anxiety, then 6 months of a "this is nice" celebratory mood, and then spend the rest of my life marginally happier but a lot more productive than I'd otherwise be. What appeals to me most about making lots of money isn't some false promise about being super-happy (that'll wear off) but the thought of actually being able to contribute to this world, and maybe make it better so that when I pass on into whatever comes after this place, I do so with a sense of completion and good karma.