Wealth & Money Quote by Daniel Defoe

Money has always had a funny way of passing itself off as intelligence. Defoe’s “He that is rich is wise” lands like a proverb, but it’s really a pressure test for a society that confuses outcomes with virtue. Written by a journalist who lived through the rise of modern finance, expanding trade, and a newly aggressive credit economy, the line captures an early capitalist mood: wealth isn’t just security, it’s proof. If you have it, you must have earned it; if you don’t, your judgment is suspect.

The intent is less to compliment the rich than to describe a social reflex. “Wise” here isn’t contemplative wisdom. It’s credibility. Riches buy you the benefit of the doubt: your plans become “sound,” your risks become “bold,” your failures become “learning experiences.” The same behavior looks reckless or stupid when performed by someone without money. Defoe’s compact phrasing mimics the simplicity of the belief itself, the kind that spreads because it’s convenient. It turns an unequal world into a moral one.

The subtext is cynical and observant: people don’t merely respect wealth; they retrofit reasons to justify it. Defoe, steeped in pamphlet culture and public argument, understood how quickly public opinion becomes a marketplace too. The line anticipates our modern habit of treating the rich as gurus by default, mistaking access for insight and winnings for wisdom. It’s not advice. It’s a diagnosis of status masquerading as sense.