---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At a certain level of wealth, you care…"
description: "\"“At a certain level of wealth, you care more about things like the environment and what's going to happen to later generations than preserving your own..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png"
---

#  At a certain level of wealth, you care more about things…

![“At a certain level of wealth, you care more about things like the environment and what's going to happen to later generations than preserving your own money.” quote by Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png)

> ““At a certain level of wealth, you care more about things like the environment and what's going to happen to later generations than preserving your own money.””

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

## 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 shift focus from personal gain to broader societal concerns like the environment and future generations.

**In simple terms:** Having money often makes people think about larger issues.

Key Takeaway

Use resources to support long‑term, communal goals.

Themes

wealth environment future generations

Mood

thoughtful optimistic

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- philanthropy
- policy making
- personal finance

Key Concepts

ethical responsibility intergenerational equity

Questions to Reflect On

- What motivates you to act beyond self‑interest?
- How can wealth be directed toward sustainability?

A Different Perspective

Money alone doesn't guarantee altruism.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/)

## Related quotes

> [I never would have predicted it. I didn't set out to achieve some level of wealth or size of company. I remember in 1980…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-never-would-have-predicted-it-i-didn-t-set-out-to-achieve-some/)

[Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/)

> [Can the level of wealth enjoyed by members of capitalist culture (remembering that it is 25 times greater, on average, than that enjoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-robbins/can-the-level-of-wealth-enjoyed-by-members-of-capitalist-culture/)

Richard Robbins

> [I'm convinced after spending three weeks in China and Tibet, unless the United States gets its act together, our grandchildren will be living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-kondracke/i-m-convinced-after-spending-three-weeks-in-china-and-tibet-unless/)

[Mort Kondracke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-kondracke/)

> [Rather than risk starting their own businesses, most people seek safer environments, preferring job security to freedom and a steady paycheck to greater wealth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/rather-than-risk-starting-their-own-businesses-most-people-seek-safer/)

[Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/)

> [Everybody is different and I think that we live in a material world. But for me, possessing things is not that interesting. Living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-berggruen/everybody-is-different-and-i-think-that-we-live-in-a-material-world/)

[Nicolas Berggruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-berggruen/)

> [Poverty and backwardness in the midst of clear waters and verdant mountains is no good, nor is it to have prosperity and wealth while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-keqiang/poverty-and-backwardness-in-the-midst-of-clear-waters-and-verdant/)

[Li Keqiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-keqiang/)

> [Japan is already a leader in energy efficiency, and it has a wealth of innovative technologies. We must put this expertise to use creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshihiko-noda/japan-is-already-a-leader-in-energy-efficiency-and-it-has-a-wealth-of/)

[Yoshihiko Noda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshihiko-noda/)

> [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/)

[Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/)

> [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/)

[Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/)

> [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/)

[Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/)

> [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/)

[John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/)

## More by Robert Frank

> [“As morally troubling and politically charged as the issue of inequality has become, it's not likely to cause a populist revolt. Most Americans still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/as-morally-troubling-and-politically-charged-as-the-issue-of/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [It is always the instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/it-is-always-the-instantaneous-reaction-to-oneself-that-produces-a/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/black-and-white-are-the-colors-of-photography-to-me-they-symbolize/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [My photographs are not planned or composed in advance, and I do not anticipate that the onlooker will share my viewpoint. However, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/my-photographs-are-not-planned-or-composed-in-advance-and-i-do-not/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [You do your work as a photographer and everything becomes past. Words are more like thoughts; the photographer's picture is always surrounded by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/you-do-your-work-as-a-photographer-and-everything-becomes-past-words/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [I always say that I don't want to be sentimental, that the photographs shouldn't be sentimental, and yet, I am conscious of my sentimentality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/i-always-say-that-i-don-t-want-to-be-sentimental-that-the-photographs/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [“I am always looking outside, trying to say something that is true. But maybe nothing is really true. Except what's out there. And what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/i-am-always-looking-outside-trying-to-say-something-that-is-true-but/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/when-people-look-at-my-pictures-i-want-them-to-feel-the-way-they-do/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [“There are too many images, too many cameras now. We’re all being watched. It gets sillier and sillier. As if all action is meaningful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/there-are-too-many-images-too-many-cameras-now-we-re-all-being/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [The eye should learn to listen before it looks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/the-eye-should-learn-to-listen-before-it-looks/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [“The race to make more money to keep up with the rich, he says, is the reason Americans are spending less time with children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/the-race-to-make-more-money-to-keep-up-with-the-rich-he-says-is-the/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [Above all, life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/above-all-life-for-a-photographer-cannot-be-a-matter-of-indifference/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [I have been frequently accused of deliberately twisting subject matter to my point of view. Above all, I know that life for a photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/i-have-been-frequently-accused-of-deliberately-twisting-subject/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment. This kind of photography is realism. But realism is not enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/there-is-one-thing-the-photograph-must-contain-the-humanity-of-the/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

> [Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/above-all-i-know-that-life-for-a-photographer-cannot-be-a-matter-of/)

[Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

[Explore all 16 Robert Frank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/)

## More Environment quotes

> [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/)

[John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/)

> [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/)

[Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/)

> [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/)

[Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/)

> [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/)

[Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Daily life is both the subject and environment of the work I am making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-henrot/daily-life-is-both-the-subject-and-environment-of-the-work-i-am-making/)

[Camille Henrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-henrot/)

> [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/)

[Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/)

> [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There are many more traits that the climate deniers share with the creationists and Holocaust deniers and others who distort the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-r-prothero/there-are-many-more-traits-that-the-climate-deniers-share-with-the/)

[Donald R. Prothero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-r-prothero/)

> [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/)

[Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/)

> [It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/it-s-the-same-with-this-idea-of-a-literate-public-and-also-of-a/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [Of course, learning is strengthened and solidified when it occurs in a safe, secure and normal environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/of-course-learning-is-strengthened-and-solidified-when-it-occurs-in-a/)

[Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/)

[Browse all 8,669 Environment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“At a certain level of wealth, you care more about things like the environment and what's going to happen to later generations than preserving your own money.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Frank"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-more-about-things-like-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Environment"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-more-about-things-like-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/robert-frank-31194_environment_at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-mo_1506095.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“At a certain level of wealth, you care more about things like the environment and what's going to happen to…” — Robert Frank",
                "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": "Robert Frank",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“At a certain level of wealth,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-more-about-things-like-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/at-a-certain-level-of-wealth-you-care-more-about-things-like-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
