Ambiance

The Last Word on Billionaires

January 1, 2020 at 8:23 pm (By Amba)

from Brain Pickings, Joseph Heller via Kurt Vonnegut:

“True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.

“I said, ‘Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel Catch-22
has earned in its entire history?’

“And Joe said, ‘I’ve got something he can never have.’
And I said, ‘What on earth could that be, Joe?’
And Joe said, ‘The knowledge that I’ve got enough.’”