12 Ultra-Rich People Opened Up About What Money Did to Them

12 Ultra-Rich People Opened Up About What Money Did to Them

From Back Row with Amy Odell by Amy Odell

April 13, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

Lane Brown discusses the psychological effects of extreme wealth with Amy Odell.

What does extreme wealth actually do to a person? Their psychology, their relationships, their behavior? New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown set out to answer that question by interviewing a dozen ultra-high net worth individuals, people worth $30 million or more. (Read his full story here.) Almost no one wanted to talk. The ones who did had never spoken about this before. Lane and Amy discuss what he found: why sudden wealth immediately isolates you, how self-made billionaires think versus inheritors, why the goalpost never stops moving no matter how much you have, and the eight-step psychological descent — mapped out by a therapist who treats the ultra-wealthy — that can turn an ordinary rich person into someone completely detached from reality. Part 2 is available to Back Row premium subscribers at backrow.net/subscribe, which includes full newsletter access. You can also subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. CHAPTERS 00:00 — Introduction 01:19 — Meet Lane Brown 02:12 — What Extreme Wealth Does to a Person 03:21 — The First Thing Money Does: Isolation 06:36 — Who Counts as Ultra-Wealthy? 07:28 — How Lane Got Mark Cuban to Talk 09:31 — Why the Rich Refused to…

People in this episode

Host: Amy Odell

Guest: Lane Brown

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Magazine

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