--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have been poor and I have been rich…" description: "\"I have been poor and I have been rich. Rich is better.\" — Sophie Tucker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/sophie-tucker-30883_has-beens_i-have-been-poor-and-i-have-been-rich-ri_1533629.jpg" --- # I have been poor and I have been rich. Rich is better. ![“I have been poor and I have been rich. Rich is better.” quote by Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/sophie-tucker-30883_has-beens_i-have-been-poor-and-i-have-been-rich-ri_1533629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/sophie-tucker-30883_has-beens_i-have-been-poor-and-i-have-been-rich-ri_1533629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/sophie-tucker-30883_has-beens_i-have-been-poor-and-i-have-been-rich-ri_1533629.jpg) > “I have been poor and I have been rich. Rich is better.” [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Having experienced both poverty and wealth, the speaker declares wealth as superior. **In simple terms:** Richness is better than poverty. Key Takeaway Pursue financial security. Themes wealth poverty social mobility Mood ambitious reflective Type personal sociocultural When to use this quote - financial stability - career advancement - social comparison Key Concepts economic status aspirations materialism Questions to Reflect On - Is wealth truly better? - What non‑material values matter? A Different Perspective Wealth does not guarantee happiness or fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Poor rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-rich/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) ## Related quotes > [I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/i-ve-been-rich-and-i-ve-been-poor-rich-is-better/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [I've been poor and I've been rich, and rich is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bessie-smith/i-ve-been-poor-and-i-ve-been-rich-and-rich-is-better/) [Bessie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bessie-smith/) > [“I've been rich and I've been poor, and rich is better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-ve-been-rich-and-i-ve-been-poor-and-rich-is-better/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [“I've been been rich I've been poor Rich is better I've been young I've been old Young is better”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/i-ve-been-been-rich-i-ve-been-poor-rich-is-better-i-ve-been-young-i/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [“I knew what it was like to be poor, and that once you had become rich, anything was better than being poor again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-alexandra/i-knew-what-it-was-like-to-be-poor-and-that-once-you-had-become-rich/) Belinda Alexandra > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The poor think they will be happy when they become rich. The rich think they will be happy when they are rid of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/the-poor-think-they-will-be-happy-when-they-become-rich-the-rich/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [“Populace above, populace below! What are "poor" and "rich"...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/populace-above-populace-below-what-are-poor-and-rich/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Before you can transform your wallet from poor to rich, you've got to transform your spirit from poor to rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/before-you-can-transform-your-wallet-from-poor-to-rich-you-ve-got-to/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [“You are not the poor trying to be rich! You are the rich discovering your inheritance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/you-are-not-the-poor-trying-to-be-rich-you-are-the-rich-discovering/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [There are people who want to become rich; they become rich. If you persist you can fulfill any kind of stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/there-are-people-who-want-to-become-rich-they-become-rich-if-you/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“I take from the poor and give to the rich. They just happen to be the same individuals. Poor and stupid before they learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/i-take-from-the-poor-and-give-to-the-rich-they-just-happen-to-be-the/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [I'm not poor, but I'm not rich, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-m-not-poor-but-i-m-not-rich-either/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Rich is not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-carter/rich-is-not-better/) [Nell Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-carter/) ## More by Sophie Tucker > [Success in show business depends on your ability to make and keep friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/success-in-show-business-depends-on-your-ability-to-make-and-keep/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [I would start off with a lively rag, then would come a ballad, followed by a comedy song and a novelty number, and finally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/i-would-start-off-with-a-lively-rag-then-would-come-a-ballad-followed/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [Once you start carrying your own suitcase, paying your own bills, running your own show, you've done something to yourself that makes you one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/once-you-start-carrying-your-own-suitcase-paying-your-own-bills/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/i-ve-been-rich-and-i-ve-been-poor-rich-is-better/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [ Even though I loved the song \[My Yiddish Momme\] and it was a sensational hit every time I sang it, I was always careful… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/even-though-i-loved-the-song-my-yiddish-momme-and-it-was-a/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [It is a commentary on Berlin in 1931 that ... it was 'My Yiddishe Momme' that the Berlin Broadcasting Company asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/it-is-a-commentary-on-berlin-in-1931-that-it-was-my-yiddishe-momme/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [Playing two months or more in one city meant new songs all the time. 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Is to keep breathing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/the-secret-of-longevity-is-to-keep-breathing/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [From birth to age 18 a girl needs good parents. From 18 to 35 she needs good looks. From 35 to 55 she needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/from-birth-to-age-18-a-girl-needs-good-parents-from-18-to-35-she-2/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [From birth to 18 a girl needs good parents; from 18 to 35, she needs good looks. From 35 to 55, good personality. From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/from-birth-to-18-a-girl-needs-good-parents-from-18-to-35-she-needs/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [Gradually, at the concerts, I began to hear calls for 'the fat girl'… Then I would jump up for the piano stool, forgetting about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/gradually-at-the-concerts-i-began-to-hear-calls-for-the-fat-girl-then/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [“From birth to age eighteen a girl needs good parents. From eighteen to thirty-five she needs good looks. From thirty-five to fifty-five she needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/from-birth-to-age-eighteen-a-girl-needs-good-parents-from-eighteen-to/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) > [The key to longevity: keep breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-tucker/the-key-to-longevity-keep-breathing/) [Sophie Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) [Explore all 17 Sophie Tucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-tucker/) ## More Has beens quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) Browse all 17,972 Has beens quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have been poor and I have been rich. 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