Are Money Smart People Satisfied with Pay and Life? A Theory of Monetary Intelligence

In this study, we develop a theory of Monetary Intelligence, and explore satisfaction with pay and life from the virtuous money smart perspective: In order to enjoy high pay satisfaction and life satisfaction, money smart individuals must become good stewards and curb their love-of-money motive. We collect data from 6,586 managers in 32 geopolitical entities across six continents. After controlling for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and individual income, results support our theory: Money smart people simultaneously focus on their intellectual virtues of prudence and “fulfillment”—enhancing stewardship behavior (the works) and “contentment”—reducing affective motive (love of money) and keeping cognitive meaning in perspective which are associated with enviable higher pay satisfaction than life satisfaction. GDP is related to life satisfaction, but not to pay satisfaction; while income is related to both. Counter-intuitively, neither GDP nor income is related to the feelings that money brings happ...