This episode looks at a JPMorgan survey of billionaires and what it reveals about how the ultra-wealthy think. We talk about their biggest fears, especially the fear of losing wealth, even when they have more money than they could ever spend. The conversation connects those fears to ideas from behavioral economics like loss aversion and risk tolerance. Along the way, we ask whether having more money actually makes people more cautious rather than more daring.
In this episode, we talk about:
* How many billionaires exist, and what their combined wealth adds up to
* What a JPMorgan focus group reveals about billionaire fears and priorities
* Loss aversion and why losing money feels worse than gaining the same amount
* Whether extreme wealth makes people more risk-averse in investing decisions
* The habits billionaires credit most for their success, and what actually matters
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Show notes & references
The semester is back underway, so we start with a quick check-in after the first week of classes and all the energy associated with students back on campus. Jadrian is recording from his campus office with a Coke Zero in hand, while Matt is sipping a classic Moscow mule.
This episode’s data point analysis begins with the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial this year: a staggering $8 million. For context, the average ad spot first crossed the $1 million mark back in 1994. We also briefly talk about how Netflix pulled in $1.5 billion in advertising revenue last year before landing on the number that drives the main conversation: there are currently 3,028 billionaires worldwide with a combined net worth of about $16.1 trillion.
Have you ever wondered what billionaires think about the economy, the future, or life more broadly? Wonder no longer. JPMorgan Bank surveyed billionaires on exactly these questions, drawing insights from 111 billionaire principals across 28 countries and more than 15 industries. Peter Coy (Economics for Everyone) helpfully summarized the findings on his Substack. One result stood out in particular: some of these billionaires (especially those who inherited their wealth) say they’re genuinely afraid of losing it all.
That fear opens the door to a broader behavioral economics discussion. How does loss aversion work when “1%” translates into tens of millions of dollars? Is there a meaningful difference between thinking about losses in percentage terms versus absolute dollars? And if someone suddenly became a billionaire, would they take more risks or actually become more cautious? It’s a useful reminder that risk tolerance can change with both income and life experience.
We wrap up the episode by walking through the list of “success habits” identified in the billionaire survey: reading, exercise, consistency, waking up early, prioritizing tasks, goal setting, and deep thinking time. The big takeaway is that consistency may be the hidden engine behind all the rest. None of these habits matters much if they’re tried once and quickly abandoned.
If you had to pick one habit from the list that’s helped you the most, which would it be? We’d love to hear in the comments.
Pop Culture Corner 🍿
Matt shares a clip from Hard Knocks where NFL player Carl Nassib passionately tries to teach his teammates about the glory of compound interest. Matt also quickly recommended The Simple Path to Wealth as a straightforward, low-stress introduction to personal finance and investing.
Jadrian shares a scene from Brooklyn Nine-Nine in which Gina returns from maternity leave and jokes about juggling work and a newborn. Her punchline: juggling must be easy because if it were hard, there would be rich jugglers.
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