--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'll just come right out and say it, rich…" description: "\"“I'll just come right out and say it, rich people have no imagination. They can't even scratch their own asses without a ruler and a flashlight.”\" — Ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/haruki-murakami-21_imagination_i-ll-just-come-right-out-and-say-it-rich_2471879.jpg" --- # I'll just come right out and say it, rich people have no… ![“I'll just come right out and say it, rich people have no imagination. They can't even scratch their own asses without a ruler and a flashlight.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/haruki-murakami-21_imagination_i-ll-just-come-right-out-and-say-it-rich_2471879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/haruki-murakami-21_imagination_i-ll-just-come-right-out-and-say-it-rich_2471879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/haruki-murakami-21_imagination_i-ll-just-come-right-out-and-say-it-rich_2471879.jpg) > ““I'll just come right out and say it, rich people have no imagination. They can't even scratch their own asses without a ruler and a flashlight.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealth can stifle creativity; the rich may lack the need or perspective to imagine beyond material concerns. **In simple terms:** Rich people may lack imagination due to comfort and entitlement. Key Takeaway Encourage humility and curiosity regardless of wealth. Themes wealth imagination creativity humility social class Mood reflective provocative Type philosophical social critique When to use this quote - personal development - artistic practice - social commentary - education programs Key Concepts psychology of creativity economic inequality cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - Does wealth always hinder imagination? - How can societies foster creativity across economic classes? A Different Perspective Imagination also thrives in privileged environments; not all rich lack creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Rich people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-people/) ## Related quotes > [The Democrats say the rich are rich because they stole all of their money or somehow fleeced the poor for all of their money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-democrats-say-the-rich-are-rich-because-they-stole-all-of-their/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [There are all sorts of topics and themes that just recur time and time again, which either means people have less imagination or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-henry/there-are-all-sorts-of-topics-and-themes-that-just-recur-time-and/) [Buck Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-henry/) > [If I say I'm rich enough times and enough people say it back to me, I gotta be rich, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-jhn/if-i-say-i-m-rich-enough-times-and-enough-people-say-it-back-to-me-i/) [Saint Jhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-jhn/) > [Is this the top? They say we too rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/is-this-the-top-they-say-we-too-rich/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [We commonly say that the rich man can speak the truth, can afford honesty, can afford independence of opinion and action;and thatis the theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-commonly-say-that-the-rich-man-can-speak-the-truth-can-afford/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The poor and middle class work for money,” he would say. “The rich make money. The more real you think money is, the harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/the-poor-and-middle-class-work-for-money-he-would-say-the-rich-make/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [My watch say I made it, my chains say I'm rich. Diamonds in my mouth got me talking cash s\*\*t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waka-flocka-flame/my-watch-say-i-made-it-my-chains-say-i-m-rich-diamonds-in-my-mouth-2/) [Waka Flocka Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waka-flocka-flame/) > [“I tell you, say the rich, the poor are naught but dirty wind welling in air-shafts over the cinders and droppings of the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-tell-you-say-the-rich-the-poor-are-naught-but-dirty-wind-welling-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [All i would like to say is that I'm rich and you're not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/all-i-would-like-to-say-is-that-i-m-rich-and-you-re-not/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [To people who want to be rich and famous, I'd say, "Get rich first and see if that doesn't cover it."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-murray/to-people-who-want-to-be-rich-and-famous-i-d-say-get-rich-first-and/) [Bill Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-murray/) > [Death is the great equalizer. I've seen that phenomenon many times. I've had people in my classes come to me, men and women over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/death-is-the-great-equalizer-i-ve-seen-that-phenomenon-many-times-i/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [My watch say I made it, my chains say I'm rich. Diamonds in my mouth got me talking cash shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waka-flocka-flame/my-watch-say-i-made-it-my-chains-say-i-m-rich-diamonds-in-my-mouth/) [Waka Flocka Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waka-flocka-flame/) > [“And they say he’s so rich that he spreads sugar on his honey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/and-they-say-he-s-so-rich-that-he-spreads-sugar-on-his-honey/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [I've often looked at the extremes as a way to shed light on the mainstream. Even though everybody says, "Money doesn't buy you happiness,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-greenfield/i-ve-often-looked-at-the-extremes-as-a-way-to-shed-light-on-the/) [Lauren Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-greenfield/) > [Which can say more than this rich praise, that you alone are you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/which-can-say-more-than-this-rich-praise-that-you-alone-are-you/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'll just come right out and say it, rich people have no imagination. 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