Henry Ford on Money Revealing Character
on Wednesday, February 6, 2013Henry Ford Money Quotation saying our true nature is revealed when we are moneyed and the bad side becomes public when we needn’t hide our opinion to preserve our cash. Henry Ford said:
“Money doesn’t change men, it merely unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish or arrogant or greedy, the money brings that out, that is all” — Henry Ford
In this quote, Henry Ford is expanding on his view that money itself does not inherently change a person.
He argues that if a person already possesses negative character traits like selfishness, arrogance or greed on the inside, coming into money will essentially “unmask” those qualities and bring them to the forefront by removing inhibitions.
Ford believes that obtaining wealth reveals pre-existing aspects of one’s personality rather than creating new attributes.
The quote suggests that having money is less about transformation and more about amplification – it strengthens and makes plainly visible the tendencies that existed within a person all along. Overall, Ford appears to be saying financial success is unlikely to reform fundamentally flawed character.
Birthday: July 30, 1863 – Death: April 7, 1947