--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never before, I suspect, have so many…" description: "\"Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.\" — Mark Kingwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png" --- # Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich… ![“Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.” quote by Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png) > “Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.” [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He observes that many rich individuals lack clear purpose, suggesting wealth alone doesn't ensure meaning. **In simple terms:** Richness without purpose is common. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond wealth. Themes wealth purpose meaning Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - career planning - philanthropy - personal fulfillment Key Concepts existential economics value theory Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How can wealth be used purposefully? A Different Perspective Purpose can be elusive despite resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [“In fact, people with little purpose were two and a half times more likely to develop dementia than those with a mission.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bradley-hagerty/in-fact-people-with-little-purpose-were-two-and-a-half-times-more/) [Barbara Bradley Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bradley-hagerty/) > [“I could be wrong, but I suspect that the people we are drawn to are the ones we need most, even if we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-pag-n/i-could-be-wrong-but-i-suspect-that-the-people-we-are-drawn-to-are/) [Camille Pagán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-pag-n/) > [“I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of trying to make me happy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-am-a-kind-of-paranoid-in-reverse-i-suspect-people-of-trying-to-make/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [I suspect people always thought I had a boyfriend, so nobody came after me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-suspect-people-always-thought-i-had-a-boyfriend-so-nobody-came/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-am-kind-of-paranoid-in-reverse-i-suspect-people-of-plotting-to-make/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of having good intentions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/i-am-a-kind-of-paranoid-in-reverse-i-suspect-people-of-having-good/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [“Modesty serves little purpose. Other than to feed one’s insecurities by inviting more praise, that is. I have no need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stephenson/modesty-serves-little-purpose-other-than-to-feed-one-s-insecurities/) [Nick Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stephenson/) > [The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone… Unless we lose ourselves in service to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/the-needs-of-others-are-ever-present-and-each-of-us-can-do-something/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Ships are to little purpose without skillful Sea Men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hakluyt/ships-are-to-little-purpose-without-skillful-sea-men/) Richard Hakluyt > [Your life has little purpose if you are separate from your own knowledge within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-life-has-little-purpose-if-you-are-separate-from-your-own/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [“Though we sometimes suspect that people are hiding things from us, it is not until we are in love that we feel an urgency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/though-we-sometimes-suspect-that-people-are-hiding-things-from-us-it/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [He that has seen both sides of fifty has lived to little purpose if he has no other views of the world than he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/he-that-has-seen-both-sides-of-fifty-has-lived-to-little-purpose-if/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Let the good people teach people how to be rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-sanchez/let-the-good-people-teach-people-how-to-be-rich/) [Bo Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-sanchez/) > [Some people get rich studying artificial intelligence. Me, I make money studying natural stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-get-rich-studying-artificial-intelligence-me-i-make-money/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money doesn't make the man. Some people have money, and some people are rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-doesn-t-make-the-man-some-people-have-money-and-some-people-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mark Kingwell > [Socrates was likewise right that pissing people off is how we first, and maybe best, go about the business of provoking thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/socrates-was-likewise-right-that-pissing-people-off-is-how-we-first/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [How doe we create the world we want, rather than a world that just happens to us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/how-doe-we-create-the-world-we-want-rather-than-a-world-that-just/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [For every apparent gain, in short, we now observe a balancing danger. This is the world we have created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/for-every-apparent-gain-in-short-we-now-observe-a-balancing-danger/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Paradoxically, the problems of politics often arise not in the form of a problem of scarcity, but as one of abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/paradoxically-the-problems-of-politics-often-arise-not-in-the-form-of/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [If anyone is tweeting right now, I'm not pulling a knife on David Cronenberg!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/if-anyone-is-tweeting-right-now-i-m-not-pulling-a-knife-on-david/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Our desires are never wholly transparent, even to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/our-desires-are-never-wholly-transparent-even-to-ourselves/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Ambition is ever tempered by experience. Otherwise, fortune makes fools of us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/ambition-is-ever-tempered-by-experience-otherwise-fortune-makes-fools/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Tyranny is abhorrent, freedom benefits all, whereas violence benefits no one for long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/tyranny-is-abhorrent-freedom-benefits-all-whereas-violence-benefits/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Friendship requires a leap, not of faith but of regard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/friendship-requires-a-leap-not-of-faith-but-of-regard/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Books, like lives, are always unfinished even when they end, for to write is to struggle with contingency, to impose a certain false order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/books-like-lives-are-always-unfinished-even-when-they-end-for-to/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Neiman's book is written with considerable flair, as many critics have already noted, but it possesses a far rarer and more valuable quality: moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/neiman-s-book-is-written-with-considerable-flair-as-many-critics-have/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [If you have ever been accused of being rude when you were merely stating the truth, or called a gossip because you like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/if-you-have-ever-been-accused-of-being-rude-when-you-were-merely/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Politics is rather the creation of the best possible polity out of the deep inner needs of its citizenry - who are only some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/politics-is-rather-the-creation-of-the-best-possible-polity-out-of/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first virtue of citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-understood-as-the-willingness-to/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [We don't know what the future will bring, but that's because we are ever in the process of creating it, not because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/we-don-t-know-what-the-future-will-bring-but-that-s-because-we-are/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) [Explore all 23 Mark Kingwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) ## More Littles quotes > [You gotta have a little kid in you to play football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-edwards/you-gotta-have-a-little-kid-in-you-to-play-football/) [Herman Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-edwards/) > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I remember that the bass was turned up slightly more on the mix from last week, and I thought that was good - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ronson/i-remember-that-the-bass-was-turned-up-slightly-more-on-the-mix-from/) [Mark Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ronson/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [I was very lucky to get well known much later in life. You need to have flopped quite a few times to get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-was-very-lucky-to-get-well-known-much-later-in-life-you-need-to/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) Browse all 27,615 Littles quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Kingwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-people-been-so-rich-to-so-little/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Littles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-people-been-so-rich-to-so-little/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/mark-kingwell-25050_littles_never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-peop_2602171.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never before, I suspect, have so many people been so rich to so little purpose.” — Mark Kingwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Kingwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never before, I suspect, have so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-people-been-so-rich-to-so-little/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/never-before-i-suspect-have-so-many-people-been-so-rich-to-so-little/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```