Reader Abstract

Never Enough John Bogle, the Vanguard founder who passed away in 2019, once told a story about money that highlights something we don’t think about enough:  At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch22 over its whole history. Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have … enough.”  Enough. I was stunned by the simple eloquence of that word —stunned for two reasons:  first, because I have been given so much in my own life  and, second, because Joseph Heller couldn’t have been more accurate.  For a critical element of our society, including many of the wealthiest and most powerful among us, there seems to be no limit today on what enough entails.  It’s so smart, and so powerful. If you risk something that is important to you for something that is unimport...

  Two topics impact everyone, whether you are interested in them or not: health and money.  The healthcare industry is a triumph of modern science, with rising life expectancy across the world.  Scientific discoveries have replaced doctors’ old ideas about how the human body works, and virtually everyone is healthier because of it.  The money industry—investing, personal finance, business planning—is another story.  Finance has scooped up the smartest minds coming from top universities over the last two decades.  Financial Engineering was the most popular major in Princeton’s School of Engineering a decade ago. Is there any evidence it has made us better investors? I have seen none.  Through collective trial and error over the years we learned how to become better farmers, skilled plumbers, and advanced chemists.  But has trial and error taught us to become better with our personal finances?  Are we less likely to bury ourselves in debt?...