Britney’s Antics Spark the Question: Would $100 Million Make Me Happier?

I went out for breakfast on a recent Sunday. At the way to our table, we stopped suddenly in front of a muted television. Britney Spears had shaved her head.

The closed-caption dialogue from the news report scrolled across the bottom of the screen. The hair stylist was saying she tried to talk the pop star out of the new style.

Later on in the meal, I stole another glance at CNN, which had cycled back to Britney. The scroll said her estimated net worth was $100 million.

“Wow,” I said, as I reached across the table to cut pancakes into toddler-sized bites. “She is so rich … and so unhappy.”

“I can’t feel too sorry for anyone worth $100 million,” my husband responded.

Which got me thinking: Would I be happier if I were worth $100 million? It does sound nice. Vacation homes at the beach and on the ski slopes. Maids and gardeners to do all the dirty work. Working only when in the mood. Not to mention all the shoes!

But look at Britney. The entire world has watched her life spiral into the most depressing, pathetic place imaginable—even while Forbes magazine was busy ranking her one of the twenty richest women in entertainment.

I don’t think we need a detailed recap of her very public embarrassments. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve seen at least some of the extensive press coverage—the night out when cameras captured her without underwear, the time she was driving and holding her young son in her lap, the 24-hour stint in rehab, the head shaving, the quickie marriage in Vegas followed by the slightly longer marriage to Kevin Federline, the ugly divorce from Federline, the latest temper tantrum in front of Federline’s apartment, captured by the paparazzi.

Suffice it to say, she doesn’t seem like a happy woman.

I am hardly the first one to ask: Does money equal happiness? The question has in fact sparked plenty of serious research through the years. A handful of happiness experts authored a story for