Why Male Leaders and Billionaires May Need Financial Therapy Most
- Amanda Craft
- Aug 23
- 2 min read
In July 2025, Associate Professor Prince Sarpong published a compelling piece in The Conversation titled “Why male corporate leaders and billionaires may need financial therapy more than anyone.” His argument was clear: beneath the image of control and rationality, many of the world’s most powerful men are quietly carrying a heavy psychological burden tied to money.
This is a truth I see every day in my work.
The Silent Crisis of Wealth
Corporate leaders and billionaires are celebrated as visionaries, disruptors, wealth creators. Yet, as Sarpong notes, wealth does not insulate against distress in many cases, it magnifies it. For men in particular, money and masculinity often become intertwined. Success and self-worth merge, and when markets shift, acquisitions are challenged, or valuations fall, it’s not just numbers at stake. It’s identity.
Research shows that when masculinity feels threatened, men often react with aggression, rigidity, or overconfidence. In the boardroom, this can look like hostile takeover battles, defensive deal-making, or high-risk gambles that cost billions. In the family office, it can manifest as control struggles, workaholism, or strained relationships with heirs and spouses.
The consequences ripple far beyond the individual they shape markets, industries, and legacies.
What Financial Therapy Offers
Financial therapy was designed to bring together psychology, behavioural economics, and financial planning to address the emotional drivers of money decisions. For high-net-worth men, it offers something rare:
A safe space to separate identity from assets.
Tools to recognise unconscious patterns such as the “endowment effect” (overvaluing what you already own) or reflexive reactions to perceived threats.
Support in navigating legacy pressures, succession planning, and family wealth conversations with clarity rather than conflict.
As Sarpong argues, this work is not indulgence it is necessity. When unchecked financial stress drives decision-making at the highest levels, the fallout can affect employees, communities, and global markets.
A Structural, Not Just Personal, Good
Financial therapy for billionaires and corporate leaders is not about rehashing childhood trauma on a couch. It is about integrating disciplined financial strategy with emotional awareness so that decisions are grounded, not reactive. It is about helping leaders make choices aligned with values rather than unconscious anxieties.
At Auriavia, I call this financial acculturation the process of becoming fluent not only in wealth itself but in the unspoken codes, meanings, and pressures that come with it.
For male leaders, this means shifting the focus from proving masculinity through conquest, to leading with clarity, balance, and vision.
Because at the highest levels of wealth and power, the real risk is not losing money. It’s losing perspective.
Comments