Wealth & Intelligence

I read an article in a newspaper (the Today paper, April 26th, 2007) recently with the heading:

____________________
“Intelligence Not linked to Wealth”
(paraphrased from article published in the Today’s paper, April 26th, 2007)

According to a US study, it was found that people with below average smarts were just as wealthy as those with higher IQ scores.

“People don’t become rich because they are smart” said Mr Jay Zagorsky, a research scientist at Ohio State University, whose study appears in the Journal Intelligence.

This study was also support by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics who conducted a survey of 7,403 Americans who have been interviewed repeatedly since 1979. From answers in 2004, people who are now in their mid-40s showed no link between brain-power and earning-power.

“Your IQ has really no relationship to your wealth. And being very smart does not protect you from getting into financial difficulty,” Mr Zagorsky said. The study confirmed previous research which has shown that smarter people tend to earn more money, but pointed out there is a difference between high pay and wealth.

“The average income difference between a person with an IQ score in the normal range (100) and someone in the top 2 percent of society (130) is currently between US$6,000 (SGD$9,000) and US$18,500 (SGD$27,900) per year,” it said. “But when it came to total wealth and the likelihood of financial difficulties, people of below average and average intelligence did just fine when compared with the super-intelligent.” – AFP
____________________

Hmmm…. does that tell you something?