I entirely agree about the importance of being satisfied with what you happen to have. We use a local bank, and we park some of our money in certificates of deposits, which are FDIC insured. Whenever we go to roll over a CD, the bank agent often recommends that we see one of its investment counselors. When we tell her we live frugally and we're entirely content with the modest funds we already have, you can almost see her brain struggling to grasp what we're saying: for her, it really "does not compute"!

And yes, greed is one of the several "hooks" con artists use to play the marks. (My step-grandfather worked as a carnival sharper in his youth, back in the very early 1900s. He had left home in Copenhagen to go to sea when he was 13., and once he got to North America, he jumped ship and made his way on land. So I heard some things growing up.)