In Dalio's Global Powers Index, country power measures show no correlation with health or happiness beyond a certain living standard.

The test is whether Dalio's own Global Powers Index data or published analysis (for example 'The Changing World Order' materials or the country power index reports) shows that, among countries above some level of living standards, the index's power measures have no meaningful correlation with health outcomes, and with happiness as the proposition adds. TRUE: his published data or analysis shows a flat or negligible correlation (for example near-zero or not statistically meaningful) between power scores and both health and happiness measures above a living-standards threshold. MOSTLY TRUE: this holds for health, as in the quote, but the happiness part is not shown or is only weakly supported. MIXED: the published material shows a weak but clear positive correlation above the threshold, or no correlation for one of the two outcomes and a clear one for the other. MOSTLY FALSE: the index does not examine this relationship, so the claim is stated as established without support, or it is drawn from a narrow subset of the data and stated as general. FALSE: Dalio's data, or an analysis of it, shows a clear, substantial positive correlation between power and health above the living-standards threshold.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Global Comparative Analysis of the Relationship among Power, Environmental Performance and Public Health University of North Carolina Asheville, Journal of Undergraduate Research · May 2019

   “Power, rather than income alone, affects both Environmental Performance and Public”

2. E2 WTF is Finance #Ep 2: Ray Dalio on Money, Bubbles, and Playing the Game (Transcript) SingjuPost (transcript of WTF is Finance podcast with Nikhil Kamath) · 20 December 2025 Own record

   “You look at studies of history and you find in studies of history what brings about happiness and health past a certain amount of money of basic subsistence life. There’s no correlation between the amount of money you have and the amount of healthy happiness you have.”

3. E3 WTF is Finance #Ep 2: Ray Dalio on Money, Bubbles, and Playing the Game (Transcript) SingjuPost · 21 December 2025 Own record

   “what brings about happiness and health past a certain amount of money of basic subsistence life. There’s no correlation between the amount of money you have and the amount of healthy happiness you have.”

4. E4 Global Comparative Analysis of the Relationship among Power, Environmental Performance and Public Health University of North Carolina Asheville, Journal of Undergraduate Research · May 2019

   “the higher the Environmental Performance, the higher the life expectancy, controlling for income.”

5. E5 [PDF] The Changing World Order | Asia Business Council Asia Business Council (hosting Ray Dalio / Bridgewater Associates text) · September 2020 Own record

   “I will first distill my findings into an index of total power of empires, which provides an overview of the ebbs and flows of different powers, that is constituted from eight indexes of different types of power.”

6. E6 Which Countries Are the Happiest in 2024? Visual Capitalist · 6 October 2024

   “This graphic shows the happiest countries among the world's major economies, based on analysis from Ray Dalio's Great Powers Index 2024.”

7. E7 Which Countries Are the Happiest in 2024? Visual Capitalist · 6 October 2024

   “Meanwhile, the U.S. ranks 10th, demonstrating that economic strength doesn't always correlate with happiness.”

8. E8 Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio.en_cleaned (1) Scribd (user upload of a transcript of Ray Dalio's video) Own record

   “While age can be a good indicator of future longevity, a better way is to look at health indicators. One can do that with empires and their vital signs too.”

None of the evidence shows Dalio's Global Powers Index data or analysis reporting a correlation, or the lack of one, between power scores and health or happiness above a living-standards threshold. E5 describes the index as built from eight power sub-indexes and shows no such analysis. E6 and E7 show that a happiness ranking was drawn from his 2024 index, but they offer only a general remark with no correlation figure or threshold. E1 is an independent study that does not use Dalio's index, and E2, E3 and E8 are Dalio's own general statements, which do not settle the criteria.