What is Wealth?

Wealth is something that most of us associate with money, our savings, our investments, our homes or other forms of “financial capital”. I am making an attempt to explain what “Wealth” is truly all about.

Did you know?

The word “WealTh” comes from the Old English words – Weal: Well-being and Th: Condition. This taken together is Wealth which means “Condition of Well-being”.

The word “Economic” comes from Greek word “Oikonomia” meaning the “Management of Household”. When have you heard economists talk about conditions of household living and management?

The “Mortgage” comes from Old French and it literally means “A Pledge unto Death” or what one can call “A Grip of Death”.

It is evident here, that we have simply twisted the meaning of words for our convenience or selfish benefits. And we have become immune to such strong language words.

The “Father of Accounting – Luca Pacioli” never defined the word “Wealth” nor did he give a definition to “Profit”. To this day, accountants have no clear definition of either of the words.

If Wealth really is not just about financial possessions and if accountants have no real understanding of how to either define or measure or account for “Genuine” Wealth then we all have a wonderful opportunity to both redefine and rediscover our real or genuine wealth.

Let’s try and define – Genuine Wealth

Genuine means having the qualities or values claimed authentic.

Wealth means condition of well being.

Genuine Wealth, then would mean as Robert F. Kennedy noted, those things that make life worthwhile. Now most of us can define these things in a few minutes.

I would leave your definition of “Genuine Wealth” to you with a note from Robert F. Kennedy in 1968...

“The Gross National Product includes air pollution and advertising for cigarettes, and ambulance to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors, and jails for the people who break them. GNP includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads. And if GNP includes all this, there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, or the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. GNP measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.” – Robert F. Kennedy, March 18, 1968.

“It is said that we know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

- Gaurav Shah, DeFinancial Times