They are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing. It is no mean happiness, therefore, to be seated in the man. Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer. William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice I ii 5-8, Nerissa to Portia
Poor and content is rich, and rich enough,
But riches fineless is as poor as winter
To him that ever fears he shall be poor. William Shakespeare, Othello III iii 176-178, Iago
Will poor folks lie,
That have afflictions on them, knowing, ’tis
A punishment or trial? Yes. No wonder,
When rich ones scarce tell true. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline III vi @9, Innogen
Riches are a good handmaid, but the worst mistress. Francis Bacon 1561-1626, De Dignitate et Augmentis Scientiarum
To compare the reward which he gets for that labour with the wealth which pours into the pockets of the landlord purely owing to the possession of his monopoly is a piece, if they will forgive me for saying so, of insolence which no intelligent man would tolerate ... This system is not business, it is blackmail. Lloyd George, address Edinburgh Castle, Limehouse, London, July 1909
Being rich tended to make people angrier not calmer ... Seneca thought that the problem with rich people like Vedius was that their expectations were absurdly high. And that’s true of the rich today. Watch people at a first-class airline check-in desk and you realise that people tend to shout more there than at the economy-class counter. The wealthier you are, the more expectations you tend to have. And it is when expectation is dashed that fury breaks out. The rich believe their money will insulate them from set-backs and frustrations. And that’s one of the absurdest expectations of all. Alain de Botton, Philosophy: Seneca on Anger, Channel 4 2000
To get rich, you have to be making money while you’re asleep. David Bailey
If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it. John D Rockefeller
The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket. Andrew Carnegie
No man is rich enough to buy back his past. Oscar Wilde
There is a gigantic difference between earning a great deal of money and being rich. Marlene Dietrich
I would like a man now who is rich, and who can give me a boat – a sailboat. I want to own it and let him pay for it. My first love is the sea and water, not music. Music is second. Nina Simone
He who is contented is rich. Lao Tzu
The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor. Thomas Malthus
If you can actually count your money, then you’re not a rich man. Jean Paul Getty, attributions & variations
A rich man without charity is a rogue; and perhaps it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool. Henry Fielding
I choose the likely man in preference to the rich man; I want a man without money rather than money without a man. Themistocles
Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. Benjamin Franklin
What is a normal childhood? We weren't rich, we were pretty middle-class. My dad survived from job to job; with him taking care of so many relatives, he couldn’t save any money. Charlie Sheen
I do not see how it is possible for a man to die worth fifty million of dollars, or ten million of dollars, in a city full of want, when he meets almost every day the withered hand of beggary and the white lips of famine. How a man can withstand all that, and hold in the clutch of his greed twenty or thirty million of dollars, is past my comprehension. I do not see how he can do it. I should not think he could do it any more than he could keep a pile of lumber on the beach, where hundreds and thousands of men were drowning in the sea. Robert G Ingersoll, The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child
We have a set of religious beliefs here to the extent that we must support the wealthy. The rich. That the rich are in terrible trouble. That if we don’t take care of the rich, everything terrible will happen. Norman Mailer, interview Hijacking Catastrophe
These are the days when men of all social disciplines and all political faiths seek the comfortable and the accepted; when the man of controversy is looked upon as a disturbing influence; when originality is taken to be a mark of instability; and when, in minor modification of the scriptural parable, the bland lead the bland. John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society
The greater the wealth, the thicker will be the dirt. ibid.
The salary of the chief executive of the large corporation is not a market reward for achievement. It is frequently in the nature of a warm personal gesture by the individual to himself. ibid.
You don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion. L Ron Hubbard
Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction. F Scott Fitzgerald
The rich get richer and the poor get – children. F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
With so much money comes incredible power. And exclusive access into the most elite circles. But just how much influence does this tiny group really have on America? And is there an ultimate plan? America’s Book of Secrets s3e7: Billionaire Agenda, History 2014
So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. I Kings 10:23
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Psalms 49:6&7&16&17
For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Psalms 73:3&12
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail,
The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. Proverbs 13:8&11
The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate. Proverbs 22:2&7&16&22
Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Proverbs 23:4&5
For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? Proverbs 27:24
Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. Proverbs 28:6&11&15&20&22&27