Most people chase money as the ultimate measure of success, only to feel unfulfilled when they get it. That’s because real wealth is more than financial gain. It also includes your time, relationships, physical health and mental well-being. In this book, Sahil Bloom shows you how to build all 5 types of wealth, so you can enjoy material abundance, freedom, energy, fulfillment, and deeper connections. In this free version of The 5 Types of Wealth summary, we’ll explore each type of wealth: to understand its significance, why it is essential, and how you can start cultivating it today.
In essence, this summary will cover:
- What are The 5 Types of Wealth?
- Part 1: Designing your Ideal Life
- Part 2: The 5 Types of Wealth
- Getting the Most from The 5 Types of Wealth
- The 5 Types of Wealth Chapters
- About The Author of The 5 Types of Wealth
- The 5 Types of Wealth Quotes
Let’s dive straight into it!
What Are The 5 Types of Wealth?
This book introduces a holistic way to measure and build wealth across 5 dimensions—Time Wealth, Social Wealth, Mental Wealth, Physical Wealth, and Financial Wealth—so you can design your dream life rather than pursue money at the expense of what truly matters.
We live in a world obsessed with money and status. We keep chasing the next promotion, higher salary, or bigger house, only to feel empty when we “arrive.” In reality, external rewards cannot deliver lasting fulfillment.
The author Sahil Bloom discovered this firsthand. Despite achieving career and financial success by his thirties, he felt unfulfilled and realized he was using the wrong “scoreboard.”
Through reading, research, and conversations with people from all walks of life, he uncovered a universal truth: everyone ultimately craves 4 things—time, relationships, purpose, and health. Money is an enabler, but meaningless without the other four.
In this free summary, we’ll outline Bloom’s insights on:
- How to design your Ideal Life
- The 5 Wealth Types and how to build them
For more details, examples and practical tips, check out our full 17-page summary bundle of The 5 Types of Wealth (with text, infographic and audio formats).
Part 1: Designing Your Ideal Life
Money is a powerful tool and enabler, but not the end-goal in life.
For years, Bloom made it an annual birthday ritual to ask elders in their 80s/90s: “What advice would you give to your younger self?” The advice varied from relationships to love, friendships, health, or purpose, but they never involved money.
Research confirms this. At lower levels of income, money can relieve stress by providing essentials like food and shelter. But beyond a baseline, money does little to increase happiness.
If you use money as the sole measure of success, you’ll get stuck in the endless pursuit of more, since there’ll always be someone richer than you. True happiness come from 5 types of wealth—time, social, mental, physical and financial—with money as a means to support the other 4 pillars.
What are the 5 Types of Wealth?
These are the 5 parts of wealth according to Sahil Bloom:
- Time Wealth: Being intentional with how you spend your finite time and energy on what matters most.
- Social Wealth: Having deep connections with a close circle, plus meaningful relationships with a broader network for learning and belonging.
- Mental Wealth: Cultivating an inner life that fuels clarity, curiosity, growth, and resilience.
- Physical wealth: Maximizing long-term health, fitness and vitality.
- Financial wealth: Having enough to support the other 4 types of wealth and live the life you want.
And, here’s a visual summary of the 5 Types of Wealth:
True happiness comes from addressing all 5 pillars:
- Track the right metrics,
- Make wiser decisions, and
- Design your life around what truly matters.
Your priorities will shift as you move through phases in life, whether you’re just starting your career, raising a family, or navigating loss. Think of the 5 types of wealth like dimmer switches: at different stages, you can dial certain areas up or down.
In our full 17-page version of The 5 Types of Wealth summary, we elaborate on how to use Bloom ‘s approach to:
- Calculate your current “wealth score”.
- Craft a “Life Razor”: a one-sentence, identity-anchored rule to protect your priorities and guide your decisions.
- Identify your True North and stay on-course with a compass that includes : (i) your goals and anti-goals for each type of wealth, (ii) high-leverage systems and habits that create outsized impact and momentum and (iii) do monthly, quarterly and annual reviews to stay on-track.
Part 2: The 5 Wealth Types
1. TIME WEALTH
Our time in this world is finite. Once a chapter in your life is closed, you cannot relive it. Time wealth is about recognizing how precious time is, and consciously directing your energy to what matters most.
Time poverty is correlated with stress, poor health, lower happiness, and disconnection from loved ones. Just consider these statistics:
- 75% of UK parents report being too busy for bedtime stories.
- 84% of U.S. executives cancel vacations for work.
- 80% of professionals lack time for what they truly want.
Ask yourself: How much time do I have left with the people I care about? Prioritize time for loved ones rather than regret only when they’re gone. Research shows that:
- Time with parents, siblings and friends tends to drop significantly after youth.
- Time with our own children drops after their early years—there’s only a short window when you’re their whole world.
- We spend significant time with co-workers from ages 20-60 (so choose work and colleagues who bring energy and meaning).
- With age, we spend more time with our partner and alone. Your choice of partner shapes your happiness and fulfillment than any other relationship. Learn to enjoy time with yourself.
Learn to run smarter, not faster. The more you try to pack into your day with productivity tools, the more time-poor you feel.
- Direct your energy and focus to high-leverage areas or activities.
- The Newtonian view of time (Chronos) sees time as quantitative and absolute, while the Einsteinian view (Kairos) sees time as qualitative and relative.
- Direct your attention to Kairos moments that can deliver disproportionate returns (e.g. time with loved ones).
In our complete 17-page book summary, we go deeper into:
- The 3 progressive pillars of Time Wealth: awareness, attention, and control and how you can utilize them for effective time management.
- How to use the 12 high-leverage systems of the Time Wealth Guide to build upon these three pillars, such as making use of the Energy Calendar, Two-List Exercise, Eisenhower Matrix as well improving time management skills via Index Cards, Parkinson’s Law, productivity habits, steps to overcome procrastination, the principles to delegate effectively and more.
Here’s a quick visual overview of the first pillar, extracted from our full infographic summary.
Interested to find out more? Learn how you can make time for what truly matters in 4 powerful steps with our Make Time summary!
2. SOCIAL WEALTH
Social Wealth is about building deep, meaningful connections with selected people, build on trust, support, and value.
Ask yourself: Who’d be sitting in the front row of your funeral? These are the handful of people who share your life most deeply—the relationships that truly matter and deserve your time, care, and presence.
Human beings are wired for connection. A famous Harvard study found that relationships are the biggest predictor of happiness, health, and longevity. Modern life often pushes us in the opposite direction.
In our complete book summary, we offer additional insights on:
- The 3 pillars of Social Wealth i.e. depth, breadth, and earned status.
- The Social Wealth Guide and its 10 key systems including how to map your key relationships, ways to deepen your relationship, the 2 rules to deepen love, the 4 principles to make better conversations, the 4 principles to build meaningful connections, building a brain trust, ways to improve public speaking skills and the 2 questions to determine earned status.
Learn how you can enhance your relationship and feel deeply loved with our The Five Love Languages summary!
3. MENTAL WEALTH
Mental wealth refers to an inner life of clarity, curiosity, resilience, and growth. It shapes how we experience everything, and it compounds into all areas of life. A key is to preserve the childlike curiosity you were born with.
In our full 17-page summary, we also dive into:
- Reconnecting with your inner child and living life on your own terms
- The 3 pillars of Mental Wealth i.e. purpose, growth, and space.
- The 10 practical systems included in the Mental Wealth Guide such as the list of mental wealth hacks, finding your Ikigai, ways to identify pursuits that energize you, how to use the Feynman technique, ways to improve retention, how to think deeply using the Socratic method, setting aside a Think Day, thing to include in your daily routine, how to create a power-down ritual and using journaling to improve mental health.
Interested in learning more? Uncover how to shape your mindset for better outcomes with our Mindset summary!
4. PHYSICAL WEALTH
Physical wealth is your health, fitness, and vitality. It’s the foundation that makes every other form of wealth usable. We can’t control our genes or the body’s natural decline over time. However, we can control the daily habits that affect our internal and external health. Ask yourself: Will you be fit enough to be dancing at your 80th birthday party?
In our complete book summary, you will learn:
- How to focus on the basics to build physical wealth, such as improving your sleep quality, eating habits etc.
- The 3 pillars of Physical Wealth are: movement, nutrition, and recovery.
- The Physical Wealth Guide and its 6 systems the 30-day challenge, adapting the Level 3 training plan, setting tones with morning routines, the 8 common-sense nutrition principles to follow, the nine 9 rules for pro-level sleep and the breathing techniques you can utilize to maintain optimal stress levels.
Interested in finding out more? Uncover the series of practical lifestyle changes that can help you to feel better now and prevent diseases over the long term with out Good Energy summary!
5. FINANCIAL WEALTH
Financial wealth is about having “enough” to support the other 4 types of wealth. It comes from understanding that money is just a tool, not an end in itself nor a measure of your worth.
In our complete The 5 Types of Wealth summary, you’ll also learn:
- To uncover your definition of enough, the 5 levels of Financial wealth, and the ways you can stay on course instead of getting distracted by gimmicks.
- The 3 pillars to build Financial Wealth: income generation, expense management, and long-term investment and how to turn short-term net cash flow into long-term wealth.
- The 8 practical systems of Financial Wealth Guide including defining what’s enough for you, Bloom’s list of financial hacks,. building career success, the 6 foundational meta-skill, managing expenses, 8 proven tools for investment, the return on hassle spectrum for determining worthwhile investments and investing in yourself.
Discover the surprising truths of how ordinary people became millionaires in 1 generation! Check out our The Millionaire Next Door summary!
Getting the Most from The 5 Types of Wealth
The ideas from this book can be life-changing, but only if you apply them. If you’d like to zoom in on these ideas and get more detailed insights, examples and actionable tips, do check out our full book summary bundle that includes an infographic, 17-page text summary, and a 34-minute audio summary.
The book includes many stories and examples for each of the major themes, with extra details and tips for each of the 5 guides, along with Bloom’s personal practices. To get started, you can purchase the book here or use the quiz in the book or Bloom’s website to measure your baseline across the 5 types of wealth. Then, make every important decision with all 5 areas in mind, and regularly review where you stand on each area, and build true, eternal wealth.
The 5 Types of Wealth book has 4.7 stars on Amazon (2126 reviews).
Who Should Read This Book
- Professionals, entrepreneurs, and ambitious individuals who want to achieve success and fulfillment without burning out.
- Lifelong learners and personal growth enthusiasts who want a holistic framework to design an intentional, fulfilling life across all dimensions of wealth: money, time, health, purpose, and relationships.
The 5 Types of Wealth Chapters
Rather than go by chapter summaries, we craft and organize the points in our for clarity and conciseness. Here’s the full chapter listing from The 5 Types of Wealth by Chris Ronzio, to give an overview of the original content structure in the book.
See All Chapters (Click to expand)
Prologue: The Journey of a Lifetime
Designing Your Dream Life
1. One Thousand Years of Wisdom: What Advice Would You Give to Your Younger Self?
2. The Five Types of Wealth
3. The Wealth Score
4. The Life Razor: Keeping the Earth in the Window
5. Your True North: Climbing the Right Mountain
Time Wealth
6. The Big Question: How Many Moments Do You Have Remaining with Your Loved Ones?
7. A Brief History of Time
8. The Three Pillars of Time Wealth
9. The Time Wealth Guide: Systems for Success
10. Summary: Time Wealth
Social Wealth
11. The Big Question: Who Will Be Sitting in the Front Row at Your Funeral?
12. The Uniquely Social Species
13. The Days Are Long but the Years Are Short: Parents, Kids, and Lost Time
14. The Three Pillars of Social Wealth
15. The Social Wealth Guide: Systems for Success
16. Summary: Social Wealth
Mental Wealth
17. The Big Question: What Would Your Ten-Year-Old Self Say to You Today?
18. A Tale as Old as Time
19. The Three Pillars of Mental Wealth
20. The Mental Wealth Guide: Systems for Success
21. Summary: Mental Wealth
Physical Wealth
22. The Big Question: Will You Be Dancing at Your Eightieth Birthday Party?
23. The Story of Our Lesser World
24. The Three Pillars of Physical Wealth
25. The Physical Wealth Guide: Systems for Success
26. Summary: Physical Wealth
Financial Wealth
27. The Big Question: What Is Your Definition of Wealth?
28. The Financial Amusement Park
29. The Three Pillars of Financial Wealth
30. The Financial Wealth Guide: Systems for Success
31. Summary: Financial Wealth
Conclusion: The Leap of Faith
The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life [Publication Date: February 4, 2025 / ISBN: 978-0593983522]
About the Author of The 5 Types of Wealth
The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life is written by Sahil Bloom—an American writer, investor, and former collegiate baseball player. He graduated from Stanford University and later worked at Altamont Capital Partners (a private-equity firm). Bloom rose to prominence by sharing accessible insights on business, finance, and personal growth online. Today, he manages his investments and ventures through SRB Ventures and SRB Holdings, while reaching millions through his writing, speaking, and
media presence.
The 5 Types of Wealth Quotes
“Never let the quest for more distract you from the beauty of enough.”
“Money isn’t nothing—it simply can’t be the only thing.”
“Life is about direction, not speed.”
“Outcomes follow attention. Scattered attention leads to random, ordinary outcomes; concentrated attention leads to focused, extraordinary outcomes.”
“Every successful person will give you some variation of the same advice: Focus on the most important things.”
“Proximity to people you love is worth more than any job will ever pay you.”
“When you surround yourself with inspiring people, the journeys become more beautiful, and the destinations become more brilliant.”
“Happiness is not a destination but a direction; how you travel through life and whom you travel with is what counts.”
“You are capable of so much more than you realize.”
“Reflecting on the past is a good way to fuel your growth, but dwelling on the past is a good way to inhibit it.”
Click here to download The 5 Types of Wealth infographic & summary
