WHEN MONEY TALKS, WHO GETS SILENCED?

A recent article on Bloomberg, “Elon Musk’s Empire is creaking under the strain of Elon Musk,” got me thinking about how we live in a world where money talks. Loudly!

So loudly, in fact, that it often drowns out quieter voices filled with more substance, heart, and hard-earned wisdom. There’s a dangerous cultural reflex that equates financial success with intelligence, virtue…even vision. But does wealth really mean someone is worth listening to?

From Silicon Valley boardrooms to political platforms, we see a disturbing trend: The richer someone is, the more seriously they’re taken, regardless of the content of their character or the quality of their thinking. Wealth becomes shorthand for credibility.

And yet, more and more, we’re beginning to see the illusion fracture. These self-appointed or media-anointed sages are revealing themselves, not as sages at all, but as deeply flawed, sometimes reckless individuals whose wealth has too long shielded them from scrutiny.

Elon Musk is just one example. What once seemed like genius now often reads as volatility, ego, or even harm. For all his undeniable accomplishments, his erratic behavior and tone-deaf pronouncements make one thing clear… having money doesn’t mean having mastery over truth, decency, or common sense.

Perhaps it’s rooted in the American Dream…the idea that wealth is earned through hard work and ingenuity. But too often, that dream ignores the role of privilege, timing, and even exploitation. And it blinds us to the reality that financial gain isn’t always the result of ethical or enlightened action. Yet we continue to give platforms, and even reverence, to those with the deepest pockets.

The numbers speak volumes. In 2024, CEOs at the 500 largest U.S. public companies earned 285 times more than the average worker’s salary of $49,500, and this isn’t just an American issue. Around the world, the wealth gap continues to widen, reinforcing the notion that economic power equals intellectual or moral superiority.

The growing chasm between corporate elites and everyday employees isn’t merely financial…it’s cultural. We don’t just pay them more; we listen to them more. Their voices dominate boardrooms, media platforms, and global summits, while the lived realities of ordinary people––those with far less wealth but often far more wisdom--remain unheard.

This obsession with wealth-driven wisdom also has a more insidious side effect, it drowns out the voices of those who have historically been underpaid, underestimated, and overlooked.  Chief among them, women.

When we equate money with authority, we perpetuate a hierarchy that sidelines those who have never been granted equal access to the power or pay that might earn them a seat at the table.Women who speak from experience, empathy, or emotional intelligence are often dismissed as “soft” or “sentimental,” while men with money, regardless of their temperament, are deemed “visionary.”

When we mistake net worth with moral worth, we overlook those who speak from deep wells of lived wisdom. Think of the countless women whose insights are hard-won but habitually ignored…not because they lack brilliance, but because they lack billions.

So, maybe the question isn’t why money talks (and apparently it does). The real question is, should we even be listening? And if not, how do we tune out the noise and attune ourselves to voices that offer deeper value?

True wisdom isn’t flashy. It doesn’t always come with a private jet or an invitation to Davos. It’s often quiet, unassuming, and rooted in empathy, resilience, and reality. So, let’s stop confusing affluence with insight, and start paying attention to those who speak not from their bank accounts, but from their hearts.