Does having money, after a poor life, make you a better person or just the opposite?

Going to be the same person. With money.

That person not knowing how to deal with the new found wealth.

Or they think they do. THAT always gets them into trouble.

This is what I am working towards, not to be filthy rich of course, but I was poor so I want to not be poor anymore and I’m working to not be poor anymore (I’m not poor anymore, but I still want more). But I’m sure I will change somewhat, because I know the person I want to become, I just can’t be that person yet. People will still recognize me, but I will be happier and more generous than ever before.

It is far too likely that you will burn through the money quickly and become poor again. If you have never learned to handle money, it’s easy to lose it.

I think because of your previous lifestyle, you would continue to be thrifty deep down, and think of your good fortune as exactly that ‘good fortune’ and spend accordingly, but carefully.

My first instinct is that money tends to corrupt people and someone in that situation is likely to blow the money on wasteful stuff. The lives of lottery winners tends to follow that pattern. But there are people I know who grew up poor and now have plenty who still live like they have to struggle. My guess is that the majority waste their money, but the ones who can’t enjoy it, hoard it. I don’t know which is a better person. Hopefully there are a few who handle it well, but you don’t hear about them.

I’d be able to help people more :) That is the difference.

That depends entirely on the person.

I’d splurge a little…just a little and invest the rest in educational programs and higher learning opportunities for as many kids as I could.

In my experience, it depends.
They can be better for it, but only if they manage to not ‘fall in love’ with money.

They are more ‘aware’ generally, but too often they view money as an ends rather than a means.

I don’t think there is any general predictor; different people will react differently.

I’m sure it depends on the individual, and multiple circumstances. But, the most complete and moral people I know started with nothing and became very successful. The biggest dicks I know were from wealthy families.

It totally depends on the person not just the circumstances of getting the money. It depends on what kind of person that person was before. What kind of values they have. What kind of hidden dreams they had.

It has everything to do with how you relate to money. Does it control you, or do you control it?

It’s interesting to note that football players who have never had any teaching about how to use/spend/save money, when they become fabulously wealthy, go bankrupt less than two years after they retire.

it did happen to me, I was far more foolish when I was poor.

Not any better or worse as a person than I am now. As for handling a planeload of dosh, I’d call the very well-regarded financial planner of one of my former employers and we’d get something in place.

Money’s not the root of all evil, the LOVE of it is.

Not that exact senerio but something similar happened to me.
My lifestyle DID change. I have done and seen things I never imagined.
For me, I did decide that having wealth would not change my attitude about social justice. I will not support tax cuts for the wealthy just because they effect me.
I still believe that “To whom much has been given, much is required.”
i know others who have come up from nothing and who have made a 180 in their political opinions now that they have something to loose. I don’t have much respect for them.

It might make a person more appreciative of that money having scrapped so hard for it.
Not the case with lottery winners though. Poor people who come into scads of money really quickly have a tendency to go wild with their new fortunes and it gets them into trouble. The thing to do for lottery winners is to upgrade their lifestyle while conservatively managing that newfound wealth. These folks that go nuts and party like Sean Combs find themselves in bad times again really quickly.
Money itself does not make people good or bad. Money is a static object. It’s how people act with it that determines if they’re good.

Capt. Fantasy. good answer. after all, money is just a piece of paper. wife and i decided that our attitude about life would never change. we would take care of our children first and see that their homes were paid for. then, we would donate a certain percentage to a charity of our choice and lastly, hire a CPA to handle the rest. my only concern are would be people coming out of the woodwork for a loan, especially ghost relatives. most answers here are correct, that a persons attitude would change for the worst at first, or at least until they have blown all their money. i believe that most people tend to go back to their roots upbringing. once poor, always poor. good example is Jedd Clampett…..Beverly Hillbillies. thanks all for the answers. john