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About this quote

What does it mean?
Wealth often creates an illusion of intelligence or competence, even when it is not deserved.
In plain terms
Money makes people look smart, even if they are not.
What can you take from it?
Do not assume someone is intelligent just because they are rich.

Where it applies

  • evaluating leaders
  • business hiring
  • social judgments

Putting it to work

  • check credentials independently
  • look beyond net worth

Questions to consider

  • How do you separate wealth from wisdom?
  • Has money misled your judgment?

Another view

Wealth can sometimes result from smart decisions, not just luck.

More from John Kenneth Galbraith

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  3. The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events.

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