Pursuit of fame, money brings much misery

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This article was published 06/01/2024 (657 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Acquiring great wealth may lead to universal recognition, but as this carefully researched study reveals, neither wealth nor glory is a guarantee for a happier, more meaningful life.

In pithy yet lively revelations disclosing how some individuals found their proverbial pots of gold, journalist Paul Berton also shows readers how fame and fortune builds its own rainbow or creates some foul weather.

Berton is an award-winning journalist and editor-in-chief of the Hamilton Spectator. His previous book, Shopomania (2022), sardonically exposed some shopping habits of the rich and famous while bitingly critiquing modern society’s obsession with consumerism.

It’s tempting to dismiss Berton’s most recent scrutiny of the rich as an envy-driven attempt at muckraking, but his own wealthy family background, nationally recognized name and stalwart journalistic reputation suggests a more reasoned motive.

His father, Pierre Berton, was a prolific author, popular radio and television personality, and unabashed promoter of a Canadian national identity, but knew that fame and fortune had “costs and benefits.”

According to the younger Berton, his family understood how public recognition and wealth separated them from those who only dream of such notoriety: “I am rich. I have more than most and even more than I need. I am also famous;” attempting humility, he adds, “Not as famous as my father or sports icons or politicians.”

Such comments risk being interpreted as thinly veiled hopes of becoming even richer and more famous by writing best-selling books like his famous father did, but revelations in Misfortune and Fame confirm Berton’s often-stated awareness that fame and fortune don’t bring promises of a satisfying life.

“Beyond the opulence and extravagance, there is poverty and privation. Amid the fun and frivolity, there is misery and madness,” he writes, referencing the lofty yet questionable lifestyles of the rich and famous while urging voters and especially their democratically elected politicians to actively promote better living standards for everyone, especially the less-fortunate.

Berton’s book is more than a gossip column on steroids. His journalistic skills and dedication to research is evident in the copious endnotes that help uncover some commonalities of wealthy individuals, like how they became wealthy or why they have difficulties coping with fame.

Neatly arranged into 10 chapters reflecting its subtitle, Misfortune and Fame features a terse, lucid and forcefully compelling writing style, making it a fascinating one-day read with just enough salacious detail, symbolically comparing the race for wealth and fame to circular racetrack events without clearly defined finish lines and where participants face hurdles such as fear, envy and distrust constructed by other competitors.

The number of successful rich and famous featured throughout the 10 chapters is noteworthy, and supports Berton’s repeated lament: “The gap between rich and poor continues to grow around the world.”

Offering many examples of how wealth brings opportunities for amassing material benefits without guaranteeing lifetime ownership, he relates how Richard Fuld, of Lehman Brothers bankruptcy infamy, prior to 2008 owned but then forfeited “a mansion in Florida, a sprawling home in Connecticut, a Park Avenue apartment in New York, and a seventy-one acre estate in Sun Valley, Idaho.”

Rich people also annoy other rich people — such as actor Val Kilmer, whose feud with neighbours over plans to turn his ranch in New Mexico into a bed and breakfast dragged on for years. But the most sobering reason for not obsessing over fame and fortune may be Berton’s reminder that “rich people grow old and die just like the rest of us.”

He cites the exploits of mega-rich Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, who unlike many others is keenly aware of own mortality and has registered with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation which freezes dead people, hoping future scientific discoveries will rejuvenate them.

Yet most of the super rich appear oblivious to their finite existence, explaining why billionaires such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former president Donald Trump are featured in several of the 10 reasons why you don’t want to be rich (or famous).

Joseph Hnatiuk is a retired teacher.