This is a very touching story. The BBC reported today on the story of Stephen Smith, a British man who won a £19m lottery jackpot just over a month ago, but who had been unable to truly enjoy his winnings due to poor health. Having suffered from an aortic aneurysm for several years, he had to remain within 30 minutes of a hospital in case it burst. His lottery winnings bought him confidence, he says, that his wife would be financially secure - even if his health failed. Then, last week, he was rushed to hospital with chest pains and underwent emergency surgery. Fortunately, the surgery was successful and seems to have secured his health. So Stephen can finally celebrate in style, and plans to visit Italy with his wife at Christmas - 'a dream come true'. Indeed, all Stephen's dreams seem very modest, which is what makes this tale so touching. And, he says, his newfound health has given him more happiness than the money...
Sunday, March 2, 2008
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2 comments:
But since I have my health, I suspect that winning 19 million quid would indeed make me a good bit happier. :-)
--Patrick
Yes, no doubt, Patrick! Though there is a lot of stuff around in the news about 'money not buying happiness' at the moment. It seems that health really does matter more to most people, for example.
Further, there are definitely diminishing returns - once you have a certain amount of money, you probably get more utility from giving the rest away. Which is why Bill Gates and so many other billionnaires do it, at least in part. (Funny how people don't feel so great when the taxman collects it and gives it away for them! So control must be a key factor in happiness too...)
Anyway, go buy your ticket!
E
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