In 1929 scores of investors committed suicide. In 2009 the same. And in the meanwhile, scores of people who live on an investment that suddenly fails and puts them in the job queues commit suicide too. Why is this? Is it a fact that the pressure of social interaction with people who do low level work is an unbearable stress, when all your history is high level work or no work at all?
Well for the why rich guys kill themselves, I theorize that perhaps they realized that money wasn't going to make them happy or something. My aunt is pretty wealthy, has been most of her life. She's on anti-depressants and is miserable most of the time. She also buys things a lot, expensive things. It's like she's trying to fill a void in her life or something. As for the losing it all and killing themselves people, what you said might be true. Not working for so long and then having little to no work experience for an extensive amount of time would make it extremely difficult to find a job. Sometimes I think about how great it would be myself never having to work another day in my life because I am pretty miserable at my job. But when I have a long period of time off 4 days or more and I am doing nothing all day I get bored and depressed. When you don't keep yourself busy it lets your mind wander and often to bad places. Makes me realize that it's a darn good thing I have a job despite it being rough sometimes, because at least it keeps me busy!
I have a theory, but it is not supported by any scientific evidence or any recognized, published studies; Investors are gamblers. They take a risk when they invest a great deal of money in any endeavor. For many of them, those risks pay off. They parlay those profits in other equally-risky investments and business endeavors. At some point, they have amassed a small fortune, and they also have the lives of many other investors, employees, and family members under their umbrella of venture capitalism. Later on, should it all come crashing down, as it did at the outset of the great depression, and then later on in several notable examples, those investors lose it all. They don't just lose all their money, they lose the money of a great deal of people who were counting on them. They find themselves in debt, and with no ready way to climb out of that crater of despair. The strong among them will adapt, evolve, and survive. The weak among them will kill themselves, rather than face the shame and indignity of their plight. It's Darwin 101, really. Sort of.
Ever went from the lifestyle of a multi-millionaire to that of someone in the middle class trap? Its certainly hell on earth, if there were a hell.
