Notes

¹ Late in their lives, Charles de Gaulle and his wife were being interviewed by an American television journalist. Although the interviewer had done his best to include Madame de Gaulle in the conversation, Le Grand Charles utterly dominated the proceedings. Finally, as the interview neared its end, the determined journalist turned directly to Madame de Gaulle and asked, “What is the most important thing in life?” Madame de Gaulle's command of the English language had never been robust, and her accent was usually impenetrable, but in this case she had understood the question perfectly. She settled back comfortably in her chair and replied, “A penis.” A stunned silence followed. But General de Gaulle merely leaned toward his wife and said, “Happiness, madame, happiness.”

² For a compelling view of the volatility of the 1 percent—really, people like Larry, not the truly rich—see Robert Frank's recent book, The High-Beta Rich: How the Manic Wealthy Will Take Us to the Next Boom, Bubble, and Bust (New York: Crown Business, 2011).

³ Actually, as Charles Murray has recently pointed out, affluent families have significantly lower divorce rates than poor families: Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 (New York: Crown Forum, 2012).

⁴ Incidentally, by using the term “marriage” I am engaging in a bit of shorthand for any long-term, loving relationship. I realize that many people are offended by use of this term for couples who are simply “domestic partners.” But these relationships are subject to the same challenges as more traditional marriages, and to the same satisfactions and joys.

⁵ Wives of successful men are a far better example than husbands of successful women partly because there are far more of them, and partly because the social pressure on men to work is so powerful that husbands of successful women tend overwhelmingly to engage in traditional work whether they really wish to or not.