Success in business often comes with a heavy burden: the challenge of knowing whether people value you for who you truly are or for the benefits your connections and success can offer. It’s a cross that many who achieve popularity and success must bear. The loneliness at the top is real. I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine who runs a successful local business. She shared how often people try to use her for her connections and what she can offer. Now, when she meets new people, she’s more cautious—once bitten, twice shy; this includes dating. Has this ever happened to you? How do you handle it? Let’s talk about it…

Miguel Amaral: “The top is generally successful. Other people come to you to get it, not because they like you and care for you. They just want their piece. At the top, there are no real friends, because they envy you, and your charming colleagues, who flatter you, are often plotting your downfall to elevate themselves. The key thing here is, success is often wealth, power, brilliance. There are people who will try to get dirt on you like hyenas hunting on a lonely lion. The top is a place full of fear, hate, insecurity, greed, domination, backstabbing.”

Dareki Apoc: “When you’re too good, whether it be money or being a genius, people start valuing you for that instead of who you are. You don’t know who you can trust, who will help you once the benefits that come with you vanish.A friend, who has a perfect GPA so far (for two semesters 4.0 outta 4.0) very recently talked to me about this. I asked about making a lab group with him and joked about how everyone wanted to hug him (make a group with him). There he said that you know they don’t hug me, they hug something else and whether it was a good thing or not. Besides, you have to watch your attitude more than usual. Plus if you’re too good, being smart, for some it’s hell. I can’t describe the chaos and frustration that comes with logical thinking. Smallest of things make no sense.”

Laurel Deveso: “It is said that you are lonely because you had to step on all your peers along the way in order to MAKE it to the top.Think about the situation. You are the alpha, the top dog, the one with all the power. On their end, they are worrying about how to act around you now, because you hold their lives in your hands. Meanwhile, you are realizing that you have no way of knowing if someone truly cares about you or if they are only kissing your ass so they don’t lose their job.No trust means no true relationship. That is why it is lonely at the top.”

Zernab Mehmood: “It’s because at the top people don’t love you, they love your money, status and fame basically your height. You are surrounded by people but you are alone and it’s the worst loneliness.If you don’t want to or know how to enjoy the solitude and peace the top brings then the top is not for you.”

Noam Winter: “People can be envious, and treat you poorly for your success. Everyone seems to want something from you.The only people you can talk to, who will understand your problems and issues are your peers. At the top, peers are often competitors.The one hungry for your position is looking for your weak points and errors to exploit, to unseat you.”

Steven Ussery: “As best as I can tell, the opposite tends to be true. People who are usually evaluated as being successful by most people tend to have more friends than a person of the opposite state. In fact, if people think you are a “loser” they are less inclined to be your friend. Rather, they gravitate towards people that they want to be like instead.I am basing this observation on my being 70 years old and having known many hundreds of people all over the world. (I have been to 25 countries in my life.) This trend tends to transcend social/cultural barriers. It seems the same nearly everywhere.Of course, all opinions of this kind are highly subjective. However, that is honestly how it appears to me.”

Nimish Gupta: “Let me keep this simple. Successful people have lots of followers, Many enemies and few countable friends.”

Roxanne: “I’m not exactly sure that I relate to that sentiment either as I’m an extroverted loner by choice, top or bottom.I guess what the person, who coined the term, meant is that once you reach a certain level of success, not many people will be able to relate to you. Kind of like being at the top of mount Everest. In addition, no one will see you as a “buddy” or an equal. People will be pretentious and nice because they think they can benefit from associating with you.
Now, I would like to remind them to enjoy it, because from top to bottom it could be a very fast descent. Just ask Harvey or Bill. Better being lonely on top, then in a big company being bottom in jail. Right, Weinstein?”

G C V: “Do successful people have fewer friends? Yes. That’s why they are successful.
If you have more friends, your time is not properly utilized on your achievements, most of the time you spend on friends. People who invest time on friends, news, fun, and so on, are the news readers. People who don’t do them are the news creators. Rich people become successful, they enjoy life more than the ordinary. Ordinary people enjoy life in the early days, and suffer later. Choice is yours, you want to create news or watch news.”

Vishnu: “Yes, there is a successful person who didn’t have any friends.In fact, this type of individual may be more common than you think. Take for example the story of Henry Ford—the founder of the Ford Motor Company.He was an introverted and solitary man who worked hard to achieve his goals despite having no close relationships with anyone. Despite his lack of social support, he still managed to create one of the most iconic companies in history thanks to his tireless ambition and dedication. He went from working as a machinist at age 16 all the way up to becoming one of America’s wealthiest entrepreneurs by 1919.His success was so great that it inspired millions around him and continues to do so today. Henry’s story serves as proof that even without close friends or family members, anyone can become successful if they are willing to put in enough effort and dedication into their work. It also shows us how powerful our own minds can be when we focus on reaching our goals—no matter what obstacles stand in our way.”

Nualthong Ieamngam: “Does success always lead to meaningful relationships with other people? Success leads to relationships with people around both in a good and bad side. Some people are pleased with us with love and sincerity. Some people are pleased, but envious in their minds.”