MattCreamer.com

There’s an interesting story behind the Wall Street Journal firewall today about a new study of the ultra-rich. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is going to be asking folks in households worth $25 billion or more a battery of research questions with  such toughies as, “[On a scale of 0-10], how would you say things are these days? Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?” The idea is to get a rare glimpse into the “hearts and minds” of the rich and not-so-famous, rare because these aren’t exactly the kind of people who are responding to telemarketer calls about their frozen-pizza preferences.

I’m extremely skeptical about how much info can be gleaned in this way since people, uh, lie in surveys so much.  But I’m sure the Gates foundation can use the info for fundraising efforts and other marketing purposes. It’ll also apparently provide some fodder for dime-store psychologizing. Writes the Journal: “A recent wave of research into happiness has shown that happiness levels plateau at a certain wealth level. Yet researchers haven’t been able to measure people at the very top of the wealth ladder. While some say the very rich may be happier than the merely affluent, because they have more freedoms, others argue that happiness levels may decline at the top because of the complexities and troubles that wealth can bring, such as family feuds and lawsuits.”

Hmm. Tough life. I’m thinking what I’d really want to see is a survey of the rich and ultra-famous. Freak-show/train-wreck celebrities like Britney Spears and Tom Cruise and Lindsay Lohan. I’m serious. What’s going on in their heads? How happy are they?

Who can make that happen?