The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life

Bloom explains that when it comes to financial wealth, the big question is “What is enough?” He uses the Swedish word lagom, which means “just the right amount” (315), and he encourages people to envision their “enough life”: the lifestyle that would bring them satisfaction. He laments that even wealthy people are never satisfied with the amount of money they have and become addicted to the struggle to obtain more. Bloom coaches people to carefully consider their own goals and think about what would really be enough for them. Bloom believes that vying for more material wealth is the result of normal human biases but can become a “dangerous game” (318) that erodes people’s mental health.

Fifteenth-century moneylender and merchant Jakob Fugger built a wildly successful money-lending practice by creating schemes that supported royals and popes, amassing a level of wealth that was equivalent to about $400 billion in today’s money. Bloom uses Fugger as an example of someone with keen money sense and business skills who let his lust for wealth dominate his life. Fugger’s constant quest for wealth ultimately eroded his relationships and his ability to enjoy other pursuits.

Historically, money has been an essential tool in the development of human civilizations, from ancient Chinese societies to the Lydians and the Mongols under Kublai Khan.