It all depends on what exactly a person wants. If they only want a life of material possessions and convenience, then of course money will buy that for them. But if they want a peaceful life, or a life where they are truly loved by others, or if they want to control other people's inner opinions, or if they want anything of that sort, money won't buy it.

There's a famous anecdote, immediately undoubtedly apocryphal, that states that the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope was once found by Alexander the Great. The latter took pity on the impoverished philosopher, whose habit was to sleep in a tub in the city square, and said that he would grant him whatever request he had, whether it be wealth or land or power. Diogenes, however, who was absolutely content with his lot, only asked that Alexander move a little to the left or right--he was blocking the sun.

Money can guarantee you a place in history.

But what good does that do to the dead person? Epictetus once asked this question to a man seeking a public office in Rome, and the latter said that, if nothing else, his name would remain on the public records long after he died. Epictetus replied that if that is all he wanted, the man would be better off carving his name onto a stone and dropping it into the sea: his name would last longer that way.

And to use another apocryphal legend about Diogenes and Alexander, the latter is said to have found the man digging in the palace grounds in Macedonia, surrounded by skulls and bones. When he asked what the philosopher was doing, Diogenes said: "I was looking for the bones of your father. But I can't seem to tell the difference between your father's bones and those of his slaves."