ProverbWisdomInternational origin1860

The greatest wealth is health

Meaning: Good health is more valuable than any material possession or social status.

Origin: An old saying with many relatives, such as "health is better than wealth." Ralph Waldo Emerson put it most memorably in The Conduct of Life (1860): "The first wealth is health."

Equivalents in German, Russian, and Arabic

  • German: Gesundheit ist der größte Reichtum (literally: Health is the greatest wealth)
  • Russian: Здоровье дороже богатства (Zdorov'ye dorozhe bogatstva) (literally: Health is dearer than riches)
  • Arabic: الصحة تاج على رؤوس الأصحاء لا يراه إلا المرضى (Aṣ-ṣiḥḥa tāj ʿalā ruʾūs al-aṣiḥḥāʾ lā yarāh illā al-marḍā) (literally: Health is a crown on the heads of the healthy that only the sick can see)

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