The man who loses wealth in life
Will lose his friends on cue.
He'll also lose his sons and wife
And acquaintances too.

But when he becomes rich again
They all come running back.
Your only friend on earth is then
Money, white or black.

tyajanti mitrani dhanairvihinam putrashcha darashcha suhrijjanashcha |
tamarthavantam punarashrayanti artho hi loke manushasya bandhuh ||

A wealthy man with lots of gold
Is well-bred, well-read, golden-souled,
Is versed in scriptures thousandfold,
Is silver-tongued, and lo behold,
Is handsome too! Let truth be told:
All virtues simply follow gold.

yasyasti vittam sa narah kulinah sa panditah sa shrutiman gunajnah |
sa eva vakta sa cha darshaniyah sarve gunah kanchanamashryanti ||

With knowledge that’s in books and verses
And money that’s in others’ purses,
In times of need, when times are funny,
You’ve zero knowledge, zero money.

pustakastha tu ya vidya parahasta gatam dhanam |
karyakale samutpanne na sa vidya na taddhanam ||