We are all familiar with the old adage, “money can’t buy you happiness,” but there is a common misperception that the ultra wealthy are satisfied spending their lives making and counting their millions. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
A recent study published by Wealth-X examined the interests, passions, and hobbies that highnet-worth individuals (HNWI) enjoyed most when they were not busy working. The study revealed that though there was quite a bit of commonality, the most popular HNWI hobbies varied by region of the world.
Most interests appeared to have universal appeal, but the priority level attached to them seems to be driven more by geographical location than any other factors. For example, people in Latin America place a high value on family and community, and this was reflected in the ways the ultra wealthy chose to spend their free time.
The Answers May Surprise You (or Maybe Not)
Wealthy people tend to be falsely portrayed in movies or television as being absorbed only in surrounding themselves with luxury, but interestingly their favorite way to spend free time leans toward a more work related theme. Business ranked the highest both globally and in North America, with more than half of all HNWI reporting it to be their number one hobby.
While philanthropy shared an equal rating in North America, when considering all cultures, it represented just under 39% of favored hobbies. In third place, with approximately ⅓ of wealthy folks around the world choosing to spend their time on this pastime, was sports, and a close fourth was finance.
The List Doesn’t End There
Rounding out the top ten favorite hobbies for wealthy individuals in order of ranking, was education, the outdoors, public speaking, technology, aviation, and real estate. Among wealthy folks, it is clear that culture influences what they enjoy doing in their spare time. Hobbies like travel and family ranked higher globally than in North America, where politics played a larger role.
Contrary to common stereotypes, most HNWIs are invested in making the world a better place through their philanthropic and spare-time activities. They earn their success through hard work and dedication to their business pursuits, and they demonstrate similar tendencies toward their hobbies.
Another fact of life for wealthy individuals is the possibility of losing their fortunes due to the highly litigious climate in the U.S. As a business asset protection lawyer, Jeffrey Verdon helps his clients put safeguards in place to protect their wealth against the very real risk of litigation and other potentially costly claims.