Joseph's Views on Wealth

In 1907 Joseph wrote to his children about the opportunities of wealth to contribute to public life and also the dangers associated with it. His Quaker principles and experience of life led him to state that “the observation of a lifetime has led to the belief that any considerable amount of wealth more often proves to be a curse rather than a blessing…… The great advantage, and perhaps the real justification of wealth is, that it adds to the potential power of a person’s usefulness.”

He was particularly concerned that his grandchildren did not adopt unfortunate habits having been brought up in a wealthy family, warning against self-indulgence and emphasising Quaker values of simplicity and of ensuring that personal expenditure allowed for support to the needs of others who were less well off than themselves: “what is much needed at the present time is, that educated men and women who are able to command considerable leisure, should apply their powers directly towards this amelioration of the appalling social evils which exist in this country.”