Friday, November 12, 2010

Austrian Millionaire Karl Rabeder Gave Away All his Wealth

"Wealth," says Rabeder "does not create happiness. For 25 years i worked like a slave for things i did not want or need. Now my dream is to have nothing." After giving away all his things including his house, Karl has set aside a change of clothes, two boxes of books, and a laptop for his new life in the mountains.

Rabeder describes his growing disaffection with big business and the consumer society. He says," We are like sheep with a barking dog to the left of us, making us anxious about the global financial crisis and loss of jobs. And another barking dog to the right of us, warning us for the need for expensive insurance if we fall sick. So, we work for the future without being able to live in the here and now."

Karl says,"I'd look at the faces of people around me and wonder if there was a terrorist attack. Then i realized that the anxious expressions were a standard in the developed world. In terms of happiness Europe, Japan, and the USA were underdeveloped."

Karl has founded a web-based non-profit mymicrocredit.org that matches prospective investors with projects in developing countries.

Source: Reader's Digest

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