Independent Thinking^®

Health & Wealth

Abraham Lincoln observed that folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be. My 40 years of experience in wealth management has taught me just how true that is – and how often it can apply to our physical and financial health.

Advantage is part of it, of course; most of us wouldn’t make it out of the modern equivalent of Lincoln’s log cabin exclusively on our own merits. The Grant Study, now in its 75th year, tracks the lives of 268 Harvard students and, in a related study, compared their experiences with those of 456 other white males of the same age in Boston’s worst neighborhoods. On average, the Harvard men stayed alive and free of disability about 10 years longer than their less advantaged generational peers. (President John F. Kennedy, one of the original subjects, was an unfortunate exception.)
 
In what appears to be a virtuous circle, happiness can also bring us financial and physical advantage. The students who experienced what the Grant Study describes as warm relationships significantly outearned their classmates, by an average of $141,000 a year in their peak earning years. Those who took care of themselves, notably avoiding excessive drinking and smoking, had far, far lower rates of divorce, neurosis, depression, ill health and death.
 
Of course, the reverse can also be the case. Significant wealth can bring its own complications, especially in relationships, which can in turn adversely impact our emotional and physical health. I’ve seen arguments between siblings, often caused by the parents who treated them differently, spin out of control, and I’ve seen countless situations in which children would have been better off inheriting wealth later or not at all.
 
As Paul Sullivan notes in his insightful new book, The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy, the best intentions of parents can often go awry. One area of perpetual concern is entitlement, which he rightly points out can affect someone whether they think they’re inheriting $30,000 or $30 million. It’s never about the money; it’s about the expectation, often ill founded. The children who turn out the best are the ones whose parents make that connection between their labor and the money it produces. I should note that our Thoughtful Giving educational series at Evercore Wealth Management addresses this topic.
 
For my part, I like to think of myself as a slightly more experienced version of the lad who played high school and Division III college football. The fact that it’s been ten years since my bilateral knee replacement gives me something to talk about at the event to mark another anniversary this year – my 50th high school reunion. Aging and its consequences are simply part of life, and it’s our job to help our clients and their families prepare, as outlined in the insurance checklist (to the right).
 
I would add a few suggestions that I feel particularly strongly about: Find a good internist who, even if he or she doesn’t accept insurance, has the time to talk to you and to really supervise your care, with a focus on prevention; be informed about your own health and keep your own records; stay creative and keep learning, both in work and in retirement; contribute your time, energy and money to causes you believe in; and don’t take on more financial risk than you are comfortable with – we know, as the internists of our clients’ wealth, that the associated stress will almost certainly affect your health. Above all, invest in your relationships. Like the men in the Harvard study, I am sure that I have benefited more from my close family and friends than from any other advantage in my life.
 
As a generation, we are living longer lives than our parents and grandparents did (and in far easier times than Lincoln). We owe it to ourselves – and to our children and grandchildren – to make these extra years as healthy and as happy as we can.
 
Jeff Maurer is the CEO of Evercore Wealth Management. He writes regularly on the opportunities and challenges facing Baby Boomers. He can be contacted at [email protected].