Dana White believes money is not the key to happiness.
White recently shared some life advice with viral street
photographer Peter Fouad, who goes around asking for life advice
from famous personalities. White says if someone is unhappy when
they are broke, they will likely be unhappy even when they are
rich. White advises people to find something they like doing and
try to be happy doing it every day. The
UFC head honcho claims some of the happiest times of his life
were when he was broke.
‘Money Changes Everything’
“If you’re miserable when you’re broke, you’re gonna be really
miserable when you make some money,” White said. “The key to life
is be happy. Figure out what you like to do, get up and do it every
day, and be as happy as you can possibly be. Some of the happiest
times of my life was when I was broke. Money changes everything, I
think. Not always [for the better]. If you’re happy when you’re
broke, you should be happy when you have some money.”
White started from humble beginnings, initially working as a
fitness boxing instructor. White later started managing fighters
and took over UFC with the Fertitta brothers when the company was
about to go bankrupt. White is given the lion’s share of credit for
building the UFC into a multi-million dollar empire. White’s net
worth in 2025 was approximately $600 million, according to
Forbes.