Reading 'The Demons of Wealth' and Looking at Reality: The 'Graceful Retreat' of the Rich May Not Be What You Think

Have you read Never Enough (translated in Chinese as 《致富的心魔》)? The English title is very straightforward.

The author, Andrew Wilkinson, tells a smooth, almost perfect story of "finding one's way back": a barista who started out freelancing, went through one "0 to 1" process after another, accumulated massive wealth, sold his company, and attempted to emulate Berkshire Hathaway. But along with the explosive wealth came immense stress, PR crises, and disputes with former employees accusing him of underpayment. Ultimately, accompanied by his girlfriend Allison, he decided to follow Warren Buffett's path of donating his assets and retreating gracefully.

Honestly, it is a fascinating story. Wilkinson is undoubtedly an incredibly capable person. Building a startup requires luck and environment, but talent is indispensable. That intense obsession with making things happen is a gift possessed by only a few. The high-pressure startup ecosystem weeds out most ordinary people; only outliers like him have a chance to survive.

However, if we look at this autobiography with a critical eye, we notice that the perfect, closed-loop narrative feels a bit like a heavily filtered photo — beautiful, but packaged.

The subtle disconnect felt while reading becomes even more interesting when contrasted with his real-life updates. The girlfriend who walked him out of his financial confusion and symbolized a return to normal life eventually married him, but they ultimately divorced under the wear and tear of reality. And after implying his retirement, facing market fluctuations after his company went public, by 2026, he has actually switched back into "founder mode," returning to the front lines to fully embrace the AI wave.

Is this a contradiction? Not necessarily.

This inability to let go of entrepreneurship, control, and visibility is both his gift and perhaps a demon he cannot outrun.

Asking an outlier who is used to fighting in the waves to truly stop and live an ordinary life is incredibly difficult. The reflection and retirement he wrote about in the book were his genuine feelings at that specific point in time. But returning to business reality, polishing a story to make it look noble and harmonious is also a precise calculation of a top businessman to manage public resentment and company PR. In business, this is entirely understandable.

Perhaps everyone is navigating through life's tug-of-war, feeling lost while moving forward. Having seen the packaging behind the book and the grit of reality, we don't need to rush to criticize. Instead, we can better appreciate the chess moves of the capital market and the raw, inescapable obsession of a founder.