We’re Not Impressed: Rethinking What Wealth Really Means

I don’t know if it’s the effect of my social media hiatus or just the specific people I’m seeing online, but lately I’ve been looking at wealth, or rather, the performance of wealth, with different eyes.

Take Jeff Bezos’ recent wedding extravaganza, for example. Like many wealthy people, he spared no expense, pulling out all the stops in a way that’s meant to awe, impress, and maybe even inspire. But I couldn’t help but ask myself: Is this really the pinnacle of wealth? Renting out the city of Venice, disrupting locals, and turning a sacred ceremony into a spectacle, is that freedom? Is that the goal?

Honestly, I find it underwhelming.

Why would I want to demonstrate my wealth by inconveniencing others? Why would I need external validation when I could just look at my bank account, or better yet, let my accountant confirm it? Maybe that’s why I find these displays hard to take seriously. Because to me, real wealth isn’t about what you wear, where you travel, or who’s on your payroll. It’s an energy, a behaviour, a vibe, even a mystery.

Maybe they don’t know how to carry it differently. Maybe they never had it in the first place. In today’s world, symbolism matters. It's not just about what you have, it’s about what it means. For many, wealth is the ability to meet your needs and wants on your own terms. So again I ask, is renting out Venice truly exercising freedom, or is it still seeking approval?

Because to me, if you’re still trying to convince the world that you’re wealthy, are you really free? Do you even believe it yourself? Or are you afraid it could all be taken away, even if you claim to have earned it?

This weekend, watching it all unfold, it felt like I had front-row seats to a very expensive circus. People might not always know how to articulate what they’re feeling, but they can sense when something is off. And more and more, it feels like we’re moving away from the performance of wealth and toward something real, something grounded.

So what is wealth to me?

It’s emotional freedom. It’s the ability to move through your inner world without needing anyone else’s input. It’s choosing expansion over fear. It’s making decisions for you, not for optics. It’s seeing clearly, even when the world is fogged by performance.

To be wealthy, in my eyes, is to afford the full cost of being yourself, unapologetically. To live in alignment. To feel alive in a world that often feels numb. To navigate life on your terms, while others are still trapped in someone else’s definition of success.

That, to me, is freedom. That is wealth.

So I ask you, what are you willing to risk to be truly wealthy?