Always Sunny in the Rich Man's World? Rich People ‘More Likely to Be Mean’, Study Says

It appears that for those dreaming of making a splash and putting on the ritz some day, the results of this research may really come as surprise.

Is money evil or not? Answering the question is certainly hard but rich people are likely to be stingier than those from poorer backgrounds, a study has discovered.

The survey was conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway, in cooperation with colleagues from Aarhus University in Denmark, who analysed data from 46,000 people across 67 countries.

Tobias Otterbring, professor of marketing at the University of Agder, explained that research in this field went “in many directions”, with some studies showing “a positive association between socio-economic status and morality,” and other surveys indicating a negative association.

He said that as to his colleagues’ research, it found that lower socio-economic status was directly linked to higher moral attitudes and behaviour.

According to Otterbring, the study’s findings showed that those who grew up in environments with low resources had a stronger moral identity, and that such individuals were likelier to donate money to charity, placing more focus on collaboration.

“Those who live in poverty are probably more dependent on other people. Perhaps they are also more sensitive to their social environment. If a poor person does something kind for another, the recipient may be more inclined to give something back,” the researcher argued.

In contrast, he added, well-to-do people may believe that they can manage on their own and do not need other people in the same way.

Otterbring expressed a hope that the findings will “inspire those of a high socio-economic status to think more about people outside their circle of friends and family, and act accordingly”.

He emphasised that the correlations found in the study are “weak, but significant”, arguing that even if only a small part of people's morality can depend on their socio-economic status, it will have “major consequences when considering the entire world”.