MW 'It will not bring you happiness': I have advice for your single, childless 62-year-old multimillionaire reader

By Quentin Fottrell

'Go to Walmart and pay off someone's layaway account'

"If all else fails, create a scholarship fund for my child so she can attend college." (Photo subject is a model.)

Dear Quentin,

I read the letter from and your response to "Solitary Gourmet," the reader who said he had no heirs and millions of dollars ("I'm a loner: I'm 62 with a multimillion-dollar portfolio and no heirs. Should I find a wife for my twilight years?"). No, I do not think he should go find a wife just because he has too much money. Does he really think he would find fulfillment that way?

I think his search should go a little deeper than finding a woman. I have advice for him: Is there anything you are truly passionate about? If not, do you find that odd? You should search your soul. I'm sure you could find someone you could help. Why not help those who paved the road to where you are today, if nothing else floats your boat? You certainly did not attain your wealth alone.

Go to Walmart $(WMT)$ and pay off someone's layaway account. Find a school and pay for lunches for a year for children who need help. Do you know how many kids depend on school lunches Monday to Friday, and have little or nothing to eat over the weekend? A lot. (Roughly 10 million of the 44 million people in the U.S. who are estimated to live in poverty are children.)

If all else fails, create a scholarship fund for my child so she can attend college. She's a teenager, but I'm a single parent, so you know I'm already on the hunt for funds. I'm not too proud to ask you for help. I work in a funeral and cemetery office, and I can tell you this: You can't take money with you when you die. It will not bring you ultimate happiness, and it will not satisfy your soul.

That happiness and satisfaction comes from looking in the mirror and loving yourself. Do good. Be good. Help those around you who are struggling. Pay it forward. Time is the only thing that truly has value. No amount of money will ever give you more of it. Go be a kid and live life with your money. Do the things that make you laugh. P.S. Don't forget my check if all else fails to make you happy.

Your Much Poorer Friend

Related: 'I have more money than I know what to do with': I'm a single millionaire with no heirs and don't like spending. What's wrong with me?

Without the pull of a spouse and kids, there's more incentive to stay late at the office.

Dear Friend,

He sounded pretty happy to me.

I agree with the spirit of your letter. That said, I don't agree that success on investment apps like Robinhood (HOOD) means you need to turn into a Robinhood-like figure, stealing from the rich in order to give to the poor. Or, in this case, raiding your own retirement to pay off layaway accounts for customers at Walmart. The implication that he is not living a full life unless he gives his money away is misguided.

He does not need me to defend his honor or his single status, but while I may as well play devil's advocate. He has listed his high school in Hawaii as beneficiary on two of his brokerage accounts, so he's certainly got a "grá" - that's Gaelic for deep affection - for charitable endeavors. It's a good lesson for anyone with dough: Balance your own needs with the needs of others, because you never know when the tide will go out.

This gentleman clearly enjoys his work in television news and finds it stimulating and exciting. I assume he has other hobbies - fitness or books or something else - that he did not mention in his relatively short letter. It's important to have work-life balance, and that can be more difficult to achieve when you are on your own. Without the pull of a spouse and kids, there's more incentive to stay late at the office.

Indeed, some research, workplace surveys and anecdotal evidence do suggest that single people and employees who don't have children are more likely to be asked to work longer hours, stay late and even cover shifts for their co-workers who do have kids. Ridding oneself of unconscious bias can be a daily practice, so I hope this 60-something single man does not sacrifice too much of his downtime for overtime.

No one does anything alone, but this reader is a self-confessed loner, and he's sitting on a big nest egg, in part, because he started early. "I got started with investing while I was still at business school some 40 years ago," he wrote. "So that portfolio has now grown into the multimillions." Such is compounding on a long runway to retirement.

Related: 'He didn't really pay attention': I told my friend he left millions on the table in retirement. Did I do the right thing?

Single supplement

What I liked most about his letter, aside from his philanthropy, was his sense of humor. He wrote, "Since I'm a loner, I don't have any really close friends, either. Or, God forbid, should I find someone to marry just for the purpose of taking care of me in my twilight years?" I did not get the impression that he was actively looking for a wife. He appears to like his own company, and that's no bad thing (especially in retirement).

It's more expensive being single - you're responsible for all the bills, and you're subject to single supplements at hotels and on cruises. Plus, you don't get the same opportunity to lower your tax bill by filing jointly. Society, too, can favor couples, whether it's using single people as seat fillers when there's an odd number at a dinner party or not having the benefits of a family plan on cellphone service or health insurance.

You raise an important point about inequality, and it's something that no one should forget, nor should people take their good fortune for granted. When people with millions of dollars write to this column and ask questions about the meaning of life or the mechanics of a Roth conversion or an IRMAA Medicare cliff, they sometimes invoke the ire of readers who see them as humble-braggers. I take each letter on its own merits.

To that point: Studies say 14 million children in the U.S. live in food-insecure households, with one in five children - and nearly half of Black and Latino children - facing hunger. Nearly 30 million students depend on school lunches at nearly 100,000 schools nationwide. Of those meals, more than 21 million are provided free of charge and another 800,000 at reduced prices. (Read more here.)

I don't blame you for throwing your hat in the ring, either. It's tough enough being a parent, but a parent on a single income has an even bigger mountain to climb. Given the sector you work in - funeral services - I can see why you believe it's important to value every day and treat it like your last, while simultaneously planning for a long life. Your client base, meanwhile, is evergreen - or, to employ corporate lingo, "sticky."

You can't take it with you, except into retirement.

Related: I'm selling my $1 million Maui home. Will my agent charge me less than a 6% commission?

The Moneyist regrets he cannot respond to letters individually. Check out The Moneyist's private Facebook group, where members help answer life's thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

'I'm already feeling anxious': My ex-husband offered to give me a $30,000 lump sum for child support. Is there a catch?

My husband took out a $100,000 Parent PLUS loan for his daughter. She dropped out, citing mental-health issues. Should we refinance?

'I experienced many years of poverty': I worked until 70. Why do wealthy retirees look down on those with less savings?

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-Quentin Fottrell

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May 21, 2026 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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