BILLIONAIRE GIVING AWAY MONEY

A Japanese billionaire is giving away $9 million to his Twitter followers as part of a social experiment to find out if money can buy happiness. Yusaku Maezawa, who founded Japan’s largest online fashion mall, will dole out 1 million yen — or $9,000 — to 1,000 followers to see if the cash boosts their overall happiness. The lucky recipients will be selected at random from those who retweeted his Jan. 1 post announcing the giveaway. (* Rats. I can just stop reading now, I guess.) Maezawa is calling this “a serious social experiment.” The impact of the windfall will be tracked through regular questionnaires and Maezawa is encouraging those to spend the money however they like.
* Knowing Japan, it will all go into Hello Kitty and weird vending machines.
* $9 million, or as Jeff Bezos calls it, chump change.
* If you’re a billionaire, don’t you already know if money buys happiness?
* Will money buy happiness? Let me guess: Yes, then not so much, but then yes.
* “Hello? Mr. Maezawa? I got the $9,000, but it’s not working. I think I need some more.”