[Ads-l] Quote Origin: When I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life …

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I received a request to explore the following cynical quotation
attributed to Oscar Wilde:

When I was young I used to think that money was the most important
thing in life. Now that I am old, I know it is.

I was unable to find a close match in the writings of Wilde. It is not
listed in "Oscar Wilde in Quotation: 3,100 Insults, Anecdotes, and
Aphorisms" (2006). Further, it is not listed in "The Wit & Wisdom of
Oscar Wilde" (1996) edited by researcher Ralph Keyes.

Yet, I did find a thematically congruent dialogue within "The Picture
of Dorian Gray" (1891). During a scene in chapter three the jaded and
hedonistic character Lord Wotton (Henry Wotton) met with his uncle
Lord Fermor (George Fermor) and discussed money:

[ref] 1891, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Chapter 3,
Quote Page 47 and 48, Ward, Lock & Company, London. (Google Books Full
View) (The book version of the tale was changed; QI was unable to find
the quotation in the original serialized story in  "Lippincott's
Monthly Magazine") link [/ref]

https://books.google.com/books?id=NsYuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22that+money%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
"Money, I suppose," said Lord Fermor, making a wry face. "Well, sit
down and tell me all about it. Young people, nowadays, imagine that
money is everything."

"Yes," murmured Lord Henry, settling his buttonhole in his coat; "and
when they grow older they know it. But I don't want money. It is only
people who pay their bills who want that, Uncle George, and I never
pay mine."
[End excerpt]

The acerbic rejoinder was spoken by a fictional character and not by
Wilde himself.

I conjecture that the quotation in the inquiry was not written or
spoken by Oscar Wilde; instead, it was derived from the dialogue via a
faulty memory. Wilde died in 1900, and the earliest close match for
the quotation I was able to find appeared in 1945.

The Quote Investigator article is here:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/05/17/money-know/

Feedback and enlightening citations would be welcome,
Garson O'Toole

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