Despite being one of the richest people in the world, Elon Musk doesn’t obsess over his bank balances – wealth is just “shares” in his companies. In a 2014 BBC interview, he shrugged off riches as he said, “It’s not as if there is a pile of cash somewhere… It’s really just that I have a certain number of votes in Tesla, and SpaceX, and SolarCity, and the marketplace has value on those votes.” He further shared that if the wealth is ethical, then he’s fine with it. But profit is not what keeps him going. He’d rather pour billions into Mars mission than die rich (like Bill Gates).
Lesson to learn: If you love what you do, and solve massive problems first – then money is bound to follow. Build products people crave (like Musk’s Tesla cars, Starlink internet, etc). Focus on making an impact; when successful, it would lead to sustainable empires, not quick money.