I think it’s what the Buddhists call suffering. There’s no end to wanting, especially not if you’re convinced that it can soothe your existential unease. I think that Elon and a bunch of the other billionaires are almost like gamblers or alcoholics, only they’re constantly trying to soothe that unease by chasing just one more zero or a little bit more power or control. Of course, the relief never comes, so they just keep digging, convinced that if they just get enough zeroes or control, they’ll finally feel some relief.

Imo, this is distinct from the local millionaires. I’ve met some successful mid-size business owners who were pretty chill people. One I’m thinking of in particular mostly uses his money to help fill unmet needs in his community (I.E. local shithead ambulance companies refused to adequately cover the community because there wasn’t (enough) money in it for them, so he started his own, with blackjack and hookers, and everyone’s happy. The company just barely breaks even each year, the crews are well taken care of, and the community is very happy with the service provided). If you ran into the dude on the street, which has happened, you probably wouldn’t guess he was a millionaire. Meanwhile, you’d probably never run into the likes of Elon in the wild, because of his very valid concern of getting reincarnated.