This is an age-old question, and to many of us the answer is a resounding “yes!”. Nobel Laureate economist/psychologist Daniel Kahneman views the question as a no-brainer, but he also thinks more money does not always buy more happiness. I do not understand such non-linear relationships. (I mean, if having money makes me happy, wouldn’t I be happier if I had pots of it?)

I will instead argue that money does not necessarily buy happiness. I will even suggest that money and happiness do not have a cause-and-effect relationship at all. Rather, they both are end products of intangible causes that relate to our character, such as mental attitude, physical health, and social relationships.

Let us first see what money can buy. There is no doubt that money can buy comfort (and more money can sure buy more of it). A new leather-cushioned Lexus can make the 2-hour commute to your lousy job more comfortable than the 10-year old clunker you drive everyday. But does it also make you happy at work?

What is “happiness”? Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a state of well-being and contentment”, and, “a pleasurable and satisfying experience”. Cambridge International Dictionary says happiness is “the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction”. While they say a lot about the nature of the experience, the duration of these experiences is not quite clear. If a temporary feeling of pleasure can give happiness, then maybe money helps (2 hours behind the wheel of your cushy Lexus probably makes you happy, even though you hate where you are going).

On the other hand, a lasting happiness, what Napoleon Hill calls “enduring riches”, can only come from the intrinsic qualities of human character. A positive mental attitude, sound physical health, pleasing personality, enthusiasm, self-discipline, good family relationships and friendships - they all are ingredients that can make us happy for life. And as any self-help book will tell us, these are also essential to develop a successful career and make money.

So, yes, rich people are generally happy (and vice versa), but it is not the money that makes them happy (note the “vice versa”). Instead, it is the positive qualities of their character that make them both rich and happy. To be sure, not all rich people are always happy, but it is rare to be rich and also perpetually grumpy.