Wealth Is a State of Mind

Two stories are coverging in my head today: Michael Jackson's premature death and Imelda Marcos's recent declaration that she is virtually penniless.

It appears that Michael Jackson really was penniless, though he didn't recognize it. He owed half a billion dollars, but remained a legendary shopaholic to the end, apparently oblivious to the reality of his situation. In his mind, if he liked it, he should own it, but due to that philosophy he actually owned nothing, because if he had lived long enough, he would likely have seen all of his purchases liquidated over time and his credit cards rejected. (I don't mean to blame MJ or even to criticize him. I see him as a tragic figure, a moonwalking, talking cautionary tale. Not quite a man, not quite a woman, not quite an adult, not quite a child...)

We all remember Imelda Marcos as the woman who owned 1220 pairs of shoes. Her husband, Ferdinand, ruled the Philippines for 20 years and plundered the treasury to the tune of billions of dollars while his people lived in extreme poverty. Of course they lost all of that and were exiled to Hawaii. A few years after Ferdinand's death, Imelda was allowed to return to her native Philippines, but she could no longer live in the Presidential Palace and many of her jewels were auctioned off by the state. Some of her remaining jewels are about to be sold to replenish the treasury, including a 150 carat diamond pendant that is as large as a human thumb.

But what I found most interesting about the AP story published this week is that Imelda regards herself as poor. She is now drawing from her husband's meager war pension while still wearing a 22-carat diamond ring. The most amazing quotes in the article are these two, both by Imelda: "Here I am, at 80, still struggling to look presentable" and "Filipinos are brainwashed to be beautiful. We're allergic to ugliness."

So wealth is a state of mind, and poverty is a state of mind, and money really has very little to do with happiness. Ordinary people who don't own extravagant homes all over the world or caches of jewels have to be reminded of this from time to time.