The Wealth. The Houses. And A Nice Sea View.


I watch very few TV programmes these days...but I was fascinated yesterday by one that looked at the houses for sale on Barbados.

The scale of these properties were, in many cases, astounding...but a couple of things really stood out for me.

Many of these huge properties share beach-fronts with what could only be called shacks.

Why?

Well...some years ago - this beach-front land was given to the ex-slaves who worked on the plantations as it was all but worthless.

Not any more. The owners of some of these shacks have been offered millions of dollars to sell.

Many don't because they say that they wouldn't change the view out of their kitchen window for anything!

One of the very wealthy would-be buyers got it spot on when he said that people like him paid tens of millions for the same thing that the poor locals got for free...

- the sea views
- their own deserted beach
- the weather
- the laid-back lifestyle

Just goes to show that once you have made your fortune - you are just as likely to want to buy the things that you CAN quite often (although on a lesser scale) get for free or for very little.

Another interesting point was made by one of the maids who worked in one of the often-deserted mansions on the beach.

She could honestly say that her mult-millionaire employers didn't seem particularly happy - despite all of their wealth.

She observed that, for most people, once you made your millions...it seemed that you had to work even harder and get more stressed so that you could continue to make MORE!

She realized that, even though she was a lowly-paid maid - she had a much better QUALITY of life than those people she worked for.

Interesting stuff...and it certainly got ME thinking about the point of 'collecting' houses and material things if you never stop long enough to take a deep breath, relax, and actually ENJOY them!

Of course...not all multi-millionaires live this way - but many do.

What's the point in working yourself into the ground - WHATEVER you earn - if it doesn't allow you to EXPERIENCE life?