Enough

[GuavaHalf]

Is it possible to have enough money? Why do the super rich (Bill Gates etc, etc,) still go on working?

[Pickle]

I don't think it's money that drives Bill Gates entirely - it's world domination. He won't rest until every home on the planet has at least one computer running Windows. I would imagine that for him and the rest of the super rich, they keep on working for the power.

[Wog]

Oh yes, it is quite possible to have enough and more than enough. In fact it can get quite embarrassing because the blessed stuff keeps rolling in and there is really nothing sensible to do with it. The super rich keep working because it gives purpose to life, if you stop there is literally nothing to do because you have everything that you could possibly want, and that is not a good state to be in.

[derbyram]

The super-rich actually LIKE what they do so why would they give it up.

[WoWo]

Bill Gates gets a bit of a bad press, he virtualy retired years ago and is more of a figure head for Microsoft rather than actively involved in everything day to day. He also does a hell of a lot for charity, his foundations and donations put other companies to shame. I know you proberbly weren't having a got at him and just using him as an example. I would say I think the reason these people are rich and successfull is a by product of their general ethos, they enjoy working and do it because thats what drives them the money is really secondary.

[londondave]

Because the rich get BORED thats why they carry on working. Otherwise they have to do everything on their own like travelling/leisure pursuits etc. OR end up paying for all their friends holidays etc.

[jjackson]

Bill Gates has been a driving force behind providing all of us with the most effective method of communication devised since the telephone - without his ingenious software being made available to the world at accessible prices we wouldn't have sites such as these. He enjoys what he does and he's brilliant at it. Why do people always wish to pull down those who have achieved so much? The wealth he has accumulated is a by-product of his imaginative solutions to make a genuinely global system. He could have chosen to keep all the money. He hasn't - he contributes more than any other individual to helping eradicate disease and make other people's lives better. Envy is an unattractive human trait.

[norfolk boy]

Because they never reach their final goal !

[Yinzer]

There's an Ani Difranco song lyric that goes "Just when you think that you've got enough, enough grows. Everywhere that you go in life Enough knows". Even the not-super rich but retired go back to work simply out of boredom. Especially people who live alone.

[GuavaHalf]

jjackson. I am not picking on Bill Gates at all. He was mearly the first super rich person I thought of. I am well aware of his charitable trust and the work it does.

[GuavaHalf]

jjackson - also I am not being envious. It was a genuine question.

[jjackson]

OK GuavaHalf - accept that you are merely curious. Was largely responding to Pickle suggesting that all Gates wants is world domination and power - which actually itself wasn't critical becuase both can be used to good ends rather than bad. And I know what you mean - when you have accumulated much wealth - why not simply enjoy it? But then I guess for some, pleasure is to be found in work. Not me - or I presume - you, otherwise you wouldn't be asking the question. However I can undestand why a person who has contributed so much to a wholly original invention would derive pleasure from seeing it grow and be undestood by millions of others. I am all for lazing around on a sunny island myself, eating well and reading stimulating books.