Tony Robbins' secret to wealth has nothing to do with money

Tony Robbins has clearly figured out a thing or two about money.

He went from a cash-strapped upbringing to an estimated net worth of $440 million, has coached some of the wealthiest people in the world, and even wrote a book about mastering your money, "MONEY: Master The Game."

His financial perspective is unique - he does not equate wealth with a dollar sign.

In an episode of Lewis Howes' podcast, "The School of Greatness," Robbins shared what he calls the secret to wealth: gratitude.

He credits his philosophy to Sir John Templeton, an investment pioneer who turned $10,000 into billions during the World War II era.

Despite his massive success buying low and selling high, when Robbins personally asked Templeton about how he got so wealthy, Templeton didn't mention anything about investments or the stock market.

"I asked him, 'What is the secret to wealth?'" Robbins tells Howes. "And his response was, 'You know it. You teach it - it's gratitude.'

"I asked him 'Why do you say that?' And he said:

Because if you have a billion dollars, and every day you live pissed off and frustrated, the quality of your life is called pissed off and frustrated. But if you have next to nothing, and are grateful for whatever it is you have, you're the richest person that you're going to know. It doesn't matter how much money you've got if you don't have gratitude.

That's not to say you can't have both gratitude and money, as Robbins and Templeton exemplify.

If you want to build tangible wealth, read up on investing basics, how the richest people think and act, and some of our favorite personal finance books for building a fortune.