Actually, I have very little of material wealth. First, I went to college. If you don't know, some people take out loans. I became a public servant for very little pay to do what I was interested in and what I thought would contribute to society. I ran up debt just by the cost of living and making payments on my COLLEGE LOANS (and I gave some money to my girlfriend for an important purpose). Then, I was unemployed for a short while (that cost money too, even with unemployment benefits). Finally, I started trading in NYC because it seemed like an interesting (and perhaps exciting) experience to gain, and started at the WORST time. The latter of course further compounded my debt!
What's more, even to the extent that I took up trading to try and make good money (which was certainly part of it), I did so to buy SECURITY, not for prestige, status or to purchase tons of useless or overpriced material goods (I don't need or want a BMW when I can buy a perfectly good Ford, don't need a Rolex or Guci (sp?) when my casio works just fine, and don't need my own gym when I can go work out and a perfectly good fitness center, etc). As far as giving half my money away, I would certainly do this if I were FILTHY rich. What part of FILTHY rich did you not understand? If I were filthy rich, it would mean that I would have far more money than I would possibly need for security or even adventure. A person only needs so much money for the aforementioned aims, after that it is simply about power and prestige.