Do We Understand the Value of Money
Last night, the prestige auction house, Christies, sold that last privately owned painting of Leonardo DaVinci. It was called The Savior of the World and sold for over $450 Million. That is not a typo. It was sold to an anonymous collector. I really do not understand how someone could have that much disposable income and choose to buy a single painting. Think of what a difference half a billion dollars would make in the world.
After I saw the painting, one question was answered for me. I understand why the buyer decided to remain anonymous. Admittedly, I am not an art expert, but, I know what I like. This is not a good painting. Somehow the phrase, The Emperor has no Clothes came to mind! Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks this. Apparently, most of the art world feels the painting is either a forgery or is not an authentic DaVinci. Even if it is a DaVinci, certainly not Leonardo DaVinci.
Yet, someone spent close to half a billion dollars on this painting. I guess I should not be surprised. I have long felt that our society has not had a clear value of money for a long period of time. On one hand, people are willing to go into significant debt to buy a new car which will drop in value by half the first time it is used. Yet, a couple of decades ago, when gas prices went up 15 cents a litre, Canadians were so outraged that this triggered an election and a toppling of government. People will spend $10,000 or more on a vacation yet will drive around for an hour in order to get free parking. I have attended sporting events where people have spent over $20 on a beer and a hot dog yet the same person will complain about the soaring prices of fresh produce. People seem to have no problem going out for a lavish meal with friends, when in truth, they are all putting it on their credit cards and no one can afford it. Worse yet, they are probably not filling full and end up stopping at a drive-thru on the way home. These same friends would have a much more enjoyable evening if they had a potluck dinner at one of their homes.
There is no one person at fault. It is all of us together putting too much value on money. Somehow we would rather go in debt than miss an evening out by admitting that they just can not afford it. Keeping us with the Jones has cost our society a lot more than money. The ironic thing is that the Jones are not even keeping up.
What happened to the value of integrity. A penny saved is a penny earned. What happened to valuing people and valuing relationships. There should be some things that are worth more than money. How do we teach our next generation about the value of money when we seem unclear.
It is a complicated question. I think common sense would tell us that we need to start with having a conversation about the value of a $450 Million dollar painting. We can start by talking about authenticity,
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