The Wealth Elite: A Groundbreaking Study of the Psychology of the Super Rich

In The Wealth Elite, written from his second doctoral dissertation, Dr. Rainer Zitelmann attempts to decipher what is behind the decision-making, intentions, and basic personality traits of the wealthy elite. In it, he interviews forty-five people (forty-four men and one woman) who are considered to be in the category of the wealthy elite. With the use of previous studies completed in countries such as Germany and the United States, Zitelmann puts together a series of interview questions and The Big Five test to help the reader better understand what goes on in the psychological aspect of a wealthy elite.

Key findings in Zitelmann’s research indicate that entrepreneurship and self-employment are main factors in becoming wealthy. He goes on further to find out that entrepreneurs think quite differently than employees. In fact, almost all of the interviewees stated that they would not be able to be an employee for another person or company. I found it extremely interesting that intellectual aptitude and exceptional academics did not make a person financially successful. Interviews determined the childhood background of each person in the study along with questions regarding risk-taking, positivity, gut-feeling, luck, motivation, confrontation, goal-setting, and The Big Five.

The Big Five characteristics are brought up several times and are deeply analyzed in The Wealth Elite. They are neuroticism, conscientiousness, extroversion, openness to experience, and agreeableness. The Big Five model, created by McCrae and Costa, allows the test-taker to determine which of the characteristics he or she is strong or weak in. Anyone who particularly likes taking tests of this nature such as the Strengths Finder test or Myers-Briggs will be happy to know that a copy of the test is included in the appendix of the book.

The Wealth Elite is a complete, educational analysis of successful and wealthy entrepreneurs. All topics are covered in depth with research to back up Dr. Zitelmann’s findings. I particularly enjoyed reading the interview responses of the individuals in the study. Although each participant came from a different background, it was easy to see a general pattern of thinking among these successful individuals. I would have liked to have had more information on wealthy females; however, I understand that most of the wealthy females the author procured had inherited their money as this was not the type of test subject for this study. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the psychology behind the wealthy.