Is Buying a Mechanical Watch a “Tax on Intelligence”?
Purchasing a **Rolex**, even the cheapest model, can set you back over **$30,000**—
Is Buying a Mechanical Watch a “Tax on Intelligence”?
Purchasing a **Rolex**, even the cheapest model, can set you back over **$30,000**—and it might not even be to your taste. If you’re scrimping and saving for one, especially if it’s not for business appearances, it indeed seems like a tax on intelligence.
However, consider if you’re financially comfortable. Your savings are the result of months of frugality, choosing not to add a chicken leg to your meal at a local diner, or opting for the smaller portion of chicken rice. You’re saving for a car, a house, repaying loans, and raising children. Losing even a tenth of your savings can be heartbreaking, requiring long hours of overtime and skipped meals to recover—perhaps even cutting into your child’s tutoring budget. Every dollar has its purpose, and a misstep, like choosing a watch over a car, can lead to regret. This, too, is a tax on intelligence.
For the **wealthy**, however, choices are not so constrained. Money is just a number. If you’ve amassed a fortune of $400,000, contemplating a down payment on a house, impulsively spending $40,000 on a watch may seem foolish to many, effectively paying a tax on intelligence. But for someone like **Jack Ma**, spending $4 billion on a sports team for fun is inconsequential. Their wealth is vast enough that expenditure choices hardly impact their quality of life.
.
.