A six-figure salary and five-star hotels. Why I gave it all up to be happy

Growing up, Sahil Bloom was convinced material wealth was the secret to a happy stress-free life. But then he asked himself five key questions.

Sahil Bloom quit his successful career as financier to pursue a life guided by happiness – not wealth. Instagram

Miranda Levy

Jan 29, 2025 – 11.35am

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If money doesn’t buy you happiness, what does? It was a question plaguing financier Sahil Bloom as he drove his Lexus Coupe (with scarlet leather seats) home, where an expensive bottle of wine was waiting.

On the surface, everything was rosy. “At the age of 23 I left college straight into a six-figure salary at a private equity firm,” says Bloom. “I had the promise of millions and millions in the future from carried interest, a performance-based pay reward.

The Telegraph London