Happiness Habit of the day by actor Madhavan: ‘Who’s happier? A beggar finding Rs 100 or a businessman making Rs 20,000 crore profit’, Dhurandhar actor on why money doesn’t determine happiness

Money is often treated as a shortcut to happiness, with bigger salaries, expensive possessions and greater wealth seen as signs of a better life. But actor R Madhavan has questioned whether having more money actually makes a person happier. In an interview with Beer Biceps, aka Ranveer Allahbadia, the Dhurandhar actor spoke about how our definition of happiness is shaped by conditioning and expectations. He also offered a striking comparison between a beggar finding Rs 100 and a businessman making thousands of crores.

Madhavan on why our idea of happiness is conditioned

R Madhavan, while discussing happiness in an interview with Beer Biceps, aka Ranveer Allahbadia, pointed out that many of the things people believe will make them happy are influenced by their conditioning. He explained that a person's desires can change depending on their circumstances and surroundings. Madhavan used the example of a Rolls-Royce to make his point. While one person may see owning one as a major aspiration, for the son of a billionaire, something similar could simply be considered a basic requirement.

This raises an important question, according to the actor: “What is enough money to be happy?”

More money does not automatically mean more happiness

Madhavan questioned the assumption that money and happiness increase in direct proportion. He said that once people start defining happiness in terms of what money can provide, they may eventually realise that “the correlation is not the same”. Having vastly more wealth does not necessarily mean experiencing vastly more happiness.

The actor argued that even the richest person in the world would not be “10 billion times more” happy than someone with far less money simply because they have more wealth.

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Madhavan's Rs 100 versus Rs 20,000 crore comparison

To explain his point, Madhavan offered a striking hypothetical situation. He asked listeners to imagine a beggar on the road unexpectedly finding Rs 100. Then, he compared that person with a businessman who has just made a profit of Rs 20,000 crore instead of Rs 30,000 crore.


“Who do you think is sleeping happier that night?” Madhavan asked. The comparison highlights how the emotional value of money can depend heavily on a person's expectations and circumstances. For someone who least expects to find Rs 100, that unexpected amount could bring immense happiness. For someone accustomed to enormous profits, earning Rs 20,000 crore instead of Rs 30,000 crore could feel like a disappointment.

Happiness is not simply about how much you have

Madhavan also pointed out that wealth does not make a person immune to difficult emotions. He noted that the richest person still has to deal with “sadness and tragedy and stress” just like anyone else. Having enormous financial resources does not mean a person experiences happiness on a completely different scale from everyone else.

His larger point is that the amount of money someone needs to feel happy is not universal. What feels like enough to one person may seem insignificant to another, while expectations can continue to rise as circumstances change.