Einstein’s Scribbled Theory Of Happiness Sells For $1.5M In Record Auction

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By Ari Feldman October 25, 2017

A scribbled note by Albert Einstein containing the beloved physicist’s theory on happiness sold for a record $1.6 million dollars at an auction this week in Jerusalem, the Guardian reported. Original estimates for the value of the document — a scribbled note given to a courier in Tokyo — were between $5,000 and $8,000.

Einstein’s valuable advice? He wrote that “a quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest.”

“I am really happy that there are people out there who are still interested in science and history and timeless deliveries in a world which is developing so fast,” the seller, who wished to remain anonymous, said after the sale.

It was the highest amount ever paid for a document at an auction in Israel, according to auctioneers. A second Einstein note written at the same time — it reads, “where there’s a will, there’s a way” — sold for $240,000.

Einstein gave the courier the “tip” after receiving a message at a Tokyo hotel in 1922 — just after having been notified he would receive the Nobel Prize in Physics.

“Maybe if you’re lucky those notes will become much more valuable than just a regular tip,” Einstein reportedly told the messenger.

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

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