By knowing Jack the banker.

Jack, we will call him, was one of my distant cousins. Jack was a very successful banker; so successful that he could retire tomorrow and live in luxury for the rest of his life. He was very wealthy.

Now, Jack wasn’t just a distant cousin; he was a distant man. Even in his closest family, he was an elusive figure. Why?

Well, Jack was wealthy, and… they weren’t. Because, of course, money is the best scale to judge someone’s worth, Jack never had time for them. Jack thought of himself as too good for his family.

The financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 hit. Jack the banker went broke. And you know what? He started showing up to a few more family functions; his feet planted a little lower to the ground; his head shrunk a little smaller.

Maybe it was losing all his wealth; maybe it was losing his young trophy wife who soon divorced him after the crisis? But he seemed to be a better guy.

Jack the banker had a way with money, though. 8 years later, he was an even wealthier man. How wealthy? Don’t ask me, or even his close family.

We don’t see him anymore. But if you are looking for him, be sure to check the ivory tower. I heard he was there last.

Let a man be judged by how he treats those when he has everything. And Jack’s first wife? Let a woman be judged by how she treats those who have nothing.