Money Can Buy a Longer Life—to a Point
Once Americans make it to their late 50s, the wealthiest 10% live to a median age of around 86 years, roughly 14 years longer than the least wealthy 10%, according to a study published earlier this year in JAMA Internal Medicine. People with more money can afford healthier food, more healthcare and homes in safer, less-polluted neighborhoods, says Kathryn Himmelstein, a co-author of the study and a medical director at the Boston Public Health Commission. “We know the things that help us age better, and everyone’s always disappointed when you tell them,” says Andrew Scott, director of economics at the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford, England.
