Wealth Fatigue Syndrome: The disease of isolation and lack of motivation suffered by top 1%.

Lonely, troubled by guilt and loathed by wealth equality activists – it can be tough being one of the top 1% in the world

Imagine, for a moment, that you are a member of the super-rich, one of the privileged 1 per cent, that exclusive club that has more money than the rest of us put together. Lucky you. You exist on a plane where whim is the reason you get out of bed each morning: the purchase of a tropical island, the acquisition of more gold taps for your bathroom. Your wardrobe – which is walk-in, naturally – might even boast more Jimmy Choos than Victoria Beckham's (also walk-in). The 99 per cent languish beneath you in perpetual soft-focused toil and struggle, and life is good, right?

Wrong. In 2015, you, hypothetical moneybags, have been bestowed with a conscience, and your bank balance is starting to feel like a burden. You need help. (You can afford it.) Your condition even has its own name now: wealth fatigue syndrome. And there are an increasing number of specialist therapists on hand to help, and from whom you will receive what you likely won't from the rest of society: a sympathetic ear.

“The media's idea of the 1 per cent is people that go out all the time and party, and buy cars, and keep spending,” says Jamie Traeger-Muney, an American psychologist practising in Israel, and the founder of the Wealth Legacy Group, which aims to help the wealthy “lead a rich life”.

“But my clients have more sense of conflict over their wealth. They feel lucky and privileged, yes, but they also have unique problems to deal with, and my work is to make them feel more comfortable with their status, to help them see what positive changes they can make in their lives.”

Many such millionaires, she suggests, struggle with the safety nets into which they were born – and statistics show that most were indeed born into wealth; few make it themselves. They often go to great lengths to conceal their fortune in social circles in an attempt to pass themselves off as “normal”. “There is a lot of secrecy around wealth, especially with friends,” she says, suggesting that many are scared to “come out” if they are the kind of person that cannot just foot the bill in any restaurant they visit, but buy the restaurant, too.

So what is the solution? Bill Gates would suggest excessive philanthropy, while many a hip-hop impresario seems quite happy building entertainment empires and funding youth projects. But still there is struggle. Mo' money, as the sage put it (specifically, in this case, Biggie Smalls), mo' problems.

READ MORE