What Billionaires Fear Most

What Billionaires Fear Most

January 29, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

This episode explores a JPMorgan survey revealing the fears of billionaires, particularly their fear of losing wealth, and connects these fears to behavioral economics concepts.

This episode looks at a JPMorgan survey of billionaires and what it reveals about how the ultra-wealthy think. We talk about their biggest fears, especially the fear of losing wealth, even when they have more money than they could ever spend. The conversation connects those fears to ideas from behavioral economics like loss aversion and risk tolerance. Along the way, we ask whether having more money actually makes people more cautious rather than more daring. In this episode, we talk about: * How many billionaires exist, and what their combined wealth adds up to * What a JPMorgan focus group reveals about billionaire fears and priorities * Loss aversion and why losing money feels worse than gaining the same amount * Whether extreme wealth makes people more risk-averse in investing decisions * The habits billionaires credit most for their success, and what actually matters If you liked this conversation, you might also enjoy Show notes & references The semester is back underway, so we start with a quick check-in after the first week of classes and all the energy associated with students back on campus. Jadrian is recording from his campus office with a Coke Zero in hand, while…

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Hosts: Matt, Jadrian

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Organizations: JPMorgan

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