What causes a person to become greedy?

Answer 1

It's the satisfaction they get from obtaining what others don't have. They get money, like it, and don't want to share the wealth with others because they'd rather have it all to themselves.

Answer 2

the main reason why a person turns greedy is that they got something and felt a temporary happiness and mistakenly wanted more and more of it hoping to feel that happiness again. But unfortunately, most people will just become greedy in the end. Sadly, its human nature. :(

Answer 3

All the responses posted previous to mine are correct. They all have correct answers to your question, but here is one more to add to the equation: INSECURITY
A feeling of depravation or fear of depravation - whether that fear is actually justified or just sub-consciously imagined. The insecure feeling or fear of never having enough of something - no msatter HOW MUCH the person may already have.

Take "gluttony" for instance. It is the particular form of greed that centers on food. A hypnotherapist who does past-life regressions reported that WITHOUT EXCEPTION, EVERY fat patient regressed into at least one past death by starvation!
My boyfriend, who spent most of his childhood on farms, told me that you cannot get just ONE pig to fatten up. In order to fatten up a pig, you have to get at least one more pig to put in the pen with it. (It seems that, as long as it has no competition for its food and feels that the food supply is not threatened, a pig does not overeat. However, the moment a potential competitor appears next to it at the feeding trough - and threatens its food supply - a pig will immediately start living up to its name.)
If you have a pet cat or dog, it will be more likely to overeat and become obese if food is put down for it only at certain times and then taken away again. When the food appears only periodically, the pet knows it better eat as much as it can as fast as it can because the food is going to go away again soon. Whereas, if there is food left out all the time, the pet knows it is always there whenever it wants to eat and feels no urgency or anxiety to overeat.

With us humans, this same feeling applies to things other than food, too. Money, power, ANYTHING that we humans deem necessary, or even just desirable, can become the subject of depravation anxiety - even though that anxiety may be far from justified.

It is certainly not the ONLY reason for greed, but it is definitely up there near the top of the list and well deserving of mention.

Answer 4

Not to be predictable, but I gotta say its largely in how you are raised. While most of our parents saw silly things like food as a neccesity, there are others there who see their toddler's real need for an iphone. What seems like greed to us is just taking care of business for the other 1/2.

Answer 5

Some people are under the impression that money and things buy happiness so the more they obtain, the happier they think they'll be. It's sad. Also, some people equate things and money with being successful....also not true.

Answer 6

Sometimes it's a desperate unmet sense of need. Sometimes people have been raised to be spoiled and have a feeling of entitlement and lack of empathy for others. Some people, I think, are born that way.

Answer 7

The entity of America thrives upon all seven of the Christian deadly sins. Greed is nothing more than a by-product of The American Way. In this wonderful country...all 7 are embraced. Think about them, and you will see a market for each.

Answer 8

I think when all else fails,(love, relationships and friendships), money is the only thing left to obtain. ;-)