I know most people are probably gonna lean towards that money doesn't change people, it simply reveals who they were all along but honestly for me I beg to disagree. Money can absolutely change people. Give someone enough wealth, power and freedom, and you may eventually see a version of them that didn't exist before. The bottom line is that people change, it is actually in our very nature to be dynamic and be susceptible to change.
Think about someone who grew up struggling financially. They know what it feels like to count every naira, postpone things because there isn't enough money, and watch other people enjoy opportunities they couldn't afford. Then suddenly, they become wealthy. Their entire environment changes. They no longer have to worry about the price of things and they can now travel, meet influential people, live differently and make decisions based on preference rather than necessity. Do you really think all of that can happen without changing how they see the world?
Even generosity can change under certain circumstance, someone might have been extremely generous when they were poor because they understood hardship but after becoming wealthy, they might start becoming more protective of their money. They suddenly have more people asking them for help, more responsibilities and more fear of being taken advantage of and they try everything they can to never ever go back to the lifestyle they left behind.
Let's also be honest, money also changes how other people treat you. If it can change how people treat and see you, then why cant it change you . Power works the same way, give someone authority and suddenly people listen when they speak. Their decisions affect other people's lives. They can hire, fire, approve, reject, reward and punish. Over time, that kind of power can change someone's behaviour because their environment constantly reinforces the idea that they are important.
Money can also create distance, a sort of divide, you may stop using public transportation, stop shopping where you used to shop, move to a different neighbourhood, send your children to completely different schools and start spending time with people whose problems are completely different from yours. Eventually, you can become disconnected from the person you used to be simply because you no longer live the life that person lived. Of course, not everyone becomes different after becoming wealthy. There is no hard and fast rule to these things, especially human beings.
So perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle. Money can reveal parts of you that were already there, but it can also create new parts of you.
