The extra zeros don’t matter - by Joseph Aquino

Growing up in Brooklyn during the 1960s and 1970s, our heroes were different.

They were rock stars, athletes, astronauts, war heroes, and the local businessman who built something from nothing. We admired achievement, but we didn’t worship wealth.

Somewhere along the way, that changed.

Today, America seems obsessed with billionaires.

We follow their every move. We read about what they buy, where they vacation, what they eat, and how much their companies are worth. Their opinions are treated as gospel. Their lifestyles are endlessly examined. Their fortunes are celebrated as if an extra zero in a bank account somehow makes a person wiser, kinder, or more virtuous.

It doesn’t.

Over the past forty years in New York real estate, I have met people from every walk of life. I’ve sat across the table from billionaires, CEOs, celebrities, politicians, landlords, retailers, laborers, doormen, and small business owners.

Some of the finest people I ever met didn’t have much money at all.

And some of the wealthiest people I met were among the most difficult.

Money is a wonderful thing. It can provide comfort, security, opportunity, and freedom. There is nothing wrong with success. America was built on the idea that anyone can rise through hard work, determination, and perseverance.

But wealth and character are not the same thing.

One does not guarantee the other.

I once knew a landlord who owned twenty-four Ferraris.

Not one Ferrari.

Twenty-four.

Most people would be impressed by that. They would see success, prestige, and status. Yet what I remember today has nothing to do with the cars.

I remember the man.

Because in the end, the cars didn’t matter.

The collection didn’t matter.

The extra zeros didn’t matter.

Character mattered.

Too often we judge people by their balance sheets instead of their behavior. We assume that because someone has accumulated tremendous wealth, they must possess tremendous wisdom.

History tells us otherwise.

The world is full of wealthy people who are generous, humble, and kind. It is also full of wealthy people who are arrogant, selfish, and consumed by money. The same is true of people with modest means.

Money simply magnifies who you already are.

If you’re generous, money allows you to be more generous.

If you’re selfish, money allows you to be more selfish.

The real test of character isn’t how much money someone has.

It’s how they treat people.

How do they treat the receptionist?

How do they treat the assistant?

How do they treat the vendor, the waiter, the driver, or the consultant?

How do they behave when there is nothing to gain?

How do they behave when no one is watching?

Those answers tell me far more than any Forbes ranking ever could.

America’s greatest strength has always been opportunity.

The belief that anyone can succeed through hard work, determination, and perseverance.

But opportunity should not require worship.

We can admire achievement without idolizing achievers. We can respect success without surrendering common sense. Most importantly, we can remember that character matters more than net worth.

When I evaluate people today, I care less about what they own and more about how they treat others.

The true measure of a person is not found in a Forbes ranking. It is found in how they behave when they possess enough power to get away with almost anything.

That was true on the playground fifty years ago.

It remains true in the boardroom today.

The modern-day bully may wear an expensive suit, arrive by private jet, and command billions of dollars in assets. But power without character is still power without character.

Personally, I’ll take a good old hard-working class stiff any day.

The man or woman who gets up before dawn, opens the store, drives the truck, teaches the class, builds the building, serves the customer, or takes the risk of starting a small business with more determination than money.

The person whose handshake still means something.

The person who keeps their word because their reputation is all they have.

America was not built by billionaires alone. It was built by millions of ordinary people who showed up every day, worked hard, honored their commitments, raised their families, and carried this country on their backs.

Those are the people I admire.

Those are the people I trust.

And those are the people who deserve far more recognition than they receive.

Give me a good old hard-working class stiff anytime.

Joseph Aquino is president of JAACRES, Manhattan, N.Y.