"I enjoy my money, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'd certainly rather be rich than poor"
About this Quote
Plain-spoken and unembarrassed, the admission slices through romantic myths about artists who ought to appear indifferent to money. Christine McVie, the quietly commanding songwriter and keyboardist of Fleetwood Mac, built a career on melodic clarity and emotional honesty. Her stance on wealth carries the same qualities: direct, unadorned, and grounded in lived experience. Coming up through the British blues circuit and eventually helping to craft one of the best-selling albums in history, she knew both lean years and dizzying success. Preferring riches to poverty is not a moral statement so much as a practical one, and she refuses the coyness often expected of public figures, especially women, when discussing money.
For a band mythologized for its tangled relationships and excess, McVie often came across as the adult in the room: pragmatic, private, more interested in songs than spectacle. That sensibility echoes here. Money, to her, was not a fetish or a performance; it was comfort, security, and the freedom to work on her own terms. The candor also pushes back against the lingering notion that commercial triumph compromises artistic integrity. Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits married craft and accessibility without apology, and McVie’s writing helped define that balance. Enjoying the rewards simply acknowledges the reality that art exists within an industry and a life that require resources.
There is also a feminist undertone. In a business that often expects women to downplay ambition, her willingness to state a preference reads as a claim to agency. She does not conflate wealth with happiness; her songs reveal how money cannot buy reconciliation, trust, or serenity. But it can buy time, space, and independence—the conditions under which a songwriter can think, feel, and create. The line lands as a gentle correction to sanctimony: do the work well, accept what comes of it, and do not be ashamed to enjoy the stability it affords.
For a band mythologized for its tangled relationships and excess, McVie often came across as the adult in the room: pragmatic, private, more interested in songs than spectacle. That sensibility echoes here. Money, to her, was not a fetish or a performance; it was comfort, security, and the freedom to work on her own terms. The candor also pushes back against the lingering notion that commercial triumph compromises artistic integrity. Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits married craft and accessibility without apology, and McVie’s writing helped define that balance. Enjoying the rewards simply acknowledges the reality that art exists within an industry and a life that require resources.
There is also a feminist undertone. In a business that often expects women to downplay ambition, her willingness to state a preference reads as a claim to agency. She does not conflate wealth with happiness; her songs reveal how money cannot buy reconciliation, trust, or serenity. But it can buy time, space, and independence—the conditions under which a songwriter can think, feel, and create. The line lands as a gentle correction to sanctimony: do the work well, accept what comes of it, and do not be ashamed to enjoy the stability it affords.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wealth |
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