“ Money does n’t grease one’s palms happiness ” : a phrase uttered only from the mouths of people who often have lots of it . We ’ve all been order this at one stage or another , and while money is sure as shooting not a warranty of happiness , studieshave suggested that get a little supererogatory to cover all bills and go on lavish holiday can help get you there .

Now , another subject has been add to the pile , finding that giving multitude from different background and culture extra money ( $ 10,000 to be accurate ) appears to make them happier – but only up to a point . Those earning $ 123,000 a class or over did not appear to increase happiness , suggesting there is a spot at which money becomes less impactful on overall quality of life .

“ By comparing cash receiver with a control condition group that did not obtain money , this preregistered experiment provide causal grounds that immediate payment transfer substantially increase felicity across a diverse global sample distribution , ” the author write in the discipline published in PNAS .

“ These gain were greatest for recipients who had the least : Those in gloomy - income countries gained three sentence more happiness than those in high - income body politic . ”

discover out whether money can actually buy happiness is monumentally difficult . felicity is a spectrum , so measure it accurately over prison term in just one person is hard ; comparing this to others is even tougher . In an attempt to clear up more on the case , two wealthy presenter agree to redistribute $ 2 million ( £ 1.7 million ) to 200 the great unwashed across seven countries ( sorry , we wanted to take part too but it ’s over now ) . Countries ranged from high - income countries , such as the USA , to lower GDP average countries , such as Kenya . The player all spoke some English , had a wide array of ages , and were mostly educated to level level or high .

They were given a one - off requital of $ 10,000 ( £ 8,500 ) and told to spend it in three months , before being expect to fill out a monthly resume for three month and another sketch six months after payment . A controller group of 100 individuals who did not receive any money was also include ( bad group ever ) .

found on the five - particular atonement with Life Scale and a one to five score value positive and negative affect , participant who received money indicated significant happiness improvements over the control grouping , with the effect being high in lower - income state . People with $ 123,000 per class earnings see no substantial gain in felicity .

Across the 200 Johnny Cash - receiving participants , entire life expiation improved by an average of 0.36 distributor point per person . While the wealthy conferrer ' gratification decreased by an estimated 0.16 points each , overall , the redistribution of riches leave 225 times more satisfaction compared to the donors keeping the money .

On balance , it appears that , up to a gunpoint , money can purchase more felicity , and the red ink of money for loaded people likely has less of an impact than the profit experience by others . As one of the authors toldABC News , $ 10,000 is a life - changing amount of money for many , and in this vitrine , the resultant role speak for themselves .

The study was write inPNAS .