It didn't feel the right thing to do, so I phoned him the next day and rejected the kind opportunity.

Whatever the reason of your rejection was I personally would be really proud of you. I was in your situation once. I rejected as well. It just didn’t feel right. Perhaps this money was not worth being someone else’s puppet in my case.

...has made lots of money in the financial industry. Is he happy? I don’t think so. He is still single, never married, and emotionally lost.

Almost every single day I read about rich and very successful people committing suicide. Just today in US very successful traveler all over the world Anthony Bourdain apparently committed suicide. At first I was shocked and then I thought about not everything is as nice as it seems. No money can always make you happy.

As the joke says – it's always better to be rich, healthy and happy than poor, sick and sad.

The only question remains “is it even possible to be rich, healthy and happy all at the same time?
I couldn’t say it better about people in financial industry “They are lying to themselves, convincing themselves that they can buy their way to heaven.” But as you mentioned, people make choices.
“There is nothing like spending time with someone you love, a friend or a spouse; Caring for them, basking your mind, heart, and soul in the essence of the moment.”
You are sooo right! I couldn’t say it better either.
You gave your friend A a great answer. Don’t become a slave to your money. At the and we work to live, we don’t live to work!
When it comes to your friend B. When I pray, I pray mostly for our health, peace in the entire world and not to get into situations where my family would suffer or starve. I never pray to be rich. Only to have what I need to support myself and my family. And also to live 120 years together with my wife lol.
At some point I agree with your friend C. I’m a house owner. I also own a small construction business and my wife is an interior designer. One of the main reasons we bought a house was that we could do everything by ourselves. Designs, bathrooms, kitchens, electricity, plumbing...you name it. It really makes me and my wife happy to be able to do everything we love. We don’t work like crazy, especially since this one health incident I had in my past.
At the end everyone should do what he loves to do. In many cases homeless person could be happier than rich financial person with expensive house and car.