The CEO of a healthcare firm worth $2 billion only felt wealthy after clearing $100,000 in student loans—but that happiness ‘vanished’ in less than 3 days

When picturing the CEO of a billion – dollar company, it’s easy to fall into the common stereotypes: a well – groomed businessman dressed in designer clothing, traveling by jet from one international meeting to another, accompanied by a team of assistants. However, not every entrepreneur enjoys the rewards of their success with a flashy lifestyle—some are just grateful to pay off their student loans.

Serial entrepreneur Sami Inkinen has founded and grown three different companies—including two unicorns—over his 20 – year career. Although the Virta Health CEO has amassed wealth due to his business success, he isn’t concerned about his net worth. In fact, Inkinen only considered himself wealthy when he was able to pay back the $100,000 in student debt that was draining his bank account.

“There was one moment in my life when I felt rich. And after that, I’ve never thought about money,” Inkinen tells . In 2008, three years after Inkinen co – founded the real estate search company Trulia, he sold a batch of secondary shares worth $500,000 pre – tax. “I had enough money to pay off all my student debts. I could buy whatever I wanted, and I bought a very expensive bicycle and furnished my small apartment in San Francisco.”

The immigrant entrepreneur first entered the world of entrepreneurship with the mobile software company Matchem back in 2000 when he was still living in Finland. After serving as the co – founder and VP of business development for two and a half years, Inkinen sold the company for a few million dollars and left his life in Europe to move to the U.S.

The Gen entrepreneur enrolled in Stanford’s MBA program, graduating in 2005 with an advanced business degree and $100,000 in student debt. A consulting giant offered him a six – figure job with a $10,000 signing bonus. It was an opportunity for Inkinen to quickly pay off his loans, but he passed on it and returned to entrepreneurship.

For the next decade, the entrepreneur helped turn Trulia into an industry mainstay before acquired the company for a huge $3.5 billion in 2015. Now, Inkinen is in his 11th year as a founder, serving as the CEO of the $2 billion healthcare business Virta Health. His student loans are paid off, his bills are covered, and his housing is fully furnished.

Inkinen will always remember the excitement of financial security he felt in 2008, but he says the thrill was short – lived. It’s not in his nature to be “money – driven,” the executive says.

“This feeling that money brings happiness disappeared in less than two or three days. I thought, ‘Okay, well, it’s nice that I have no debt,’” Inkinen explains. “Money isn’t going to make or break my life, and it won’t bring me happiness.”

The CEO is ‘happy with very little’ and doesn’t think of money

Many may mock the idea that money can’t buy happiness, but for Inkinen, a good quality of life is what he truly wants.

Growing up in Finland, he had access to a lot of social services. The country’s healthcare system is mostly free, funded by public tax dollars; and all levels of education, from primary school to college, are free for students. This might be part of the reason why Finland consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world and took last year. Inkinen says that this culture has given him a preference for non – material happiness.

“Personally, I’ve never been driven by money [because] in Finland, we have free education and free healthcare. I’ve always felt that I have everything I need. I was happy with very little,” the Virta Health CEO says. “I’ve always felt like I’ve had enough. I was 37 years old when I bought my first car. I didn’t think, ‘Oh, I can buy the coolest car and drive around aimlessly.’”

And his mindset didn’t change when hundreds of thousands of dollars entered his bank account. It doesn’t matter if he makes a big profit by selling his shares or has a great success and opens the New York Stock Exchange. Inkinen always focuses on the goal: becoming a major player in Silicon Valley.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, it’s sold, now everything is different.’ The money and the one – time bell – ringing at the IPO didn’t mean much to me,” Inkinen continues. “I was lucky to be able to pay my student debt with one check. And after that, I really haven’t thought about money.”

The business leaders who believe money doesn’t buy happiness

There is a lot of comfort that comes with wealth; the extremely rich don’t have to worry about paying rent, saving for retirement, or repaying tuition debt. But happiness reaches its peak after a certain point—which experts say is around $500,000 in annual income. And founders who have overcome difficult financial situations and emerged victorious are sharing their opinions.

Shark Tank investing icon Barbara Corcoran says the old saying that “money doesn’t buy happiness” is actually true. The entrepreneur, who sold her real estate company Corcoran Group for $66 million, said she is well – qualified to talk about this issue: “I know because I’ve been poor. And I’ve been rich. And I’ve been in between. So I can speak from both experiences.”

“You start looking for the next thing that money can buy,” Corcoran said in 2023. “I’m no happier today than I was when I was extremely poor. Do you think something would have changed? No, I’m still insecure about the same things. I’m still nervous about the same things.”

Similarly, investing legend Warren Buffett may be worth , but his spending habits aren’t nearly as extravagant as the amount in his bank account. The of Omaha still famously lives in the same modest Nebraska home he bought for $31,500 back in 1958; Buffett also drove a 20 – year – old car around town instead of a sportier one. The former CEO clipped coupons and went to McDonald’s while sitting on a multi – generational .

“I don’t think that the standard of living is the same as the cost of living beyond a certain point,” Buffett said at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in 2014. “My life wouldn’t be happier…it would be worse if I had six or eight houses or a lot of different things. It just doesn’t match up.”