Money Shrinks Soothe Souls Of The Tragically Rich

"Everyone is impacted by class and by wealth and by money, and it looks really different depending on where you fall on that spectrum," Gilmore said. "In no way can we compare our problems to someone living paycheck to paycheck, but there are ways that having wealth impacts us in real ways."

About 75 percent of wealthy people have earned their money — not inherited it — so losing money can cause anger, anxiety and depression, said James Grubman, a wealth coach based in Turners Falls, Mass.

A billionaire who loses half his net worth has the same reaction in the brain that a poor person who loses his or her home does, said Richard Peterson, author of "Inside the Investor's Brain: The Power of Mind Over Money." There's a "biochemical cascade" that produces profound feelings of disappointment.

"I have a client whose net worth was about $400 million and now it's about $200 million and you would think he's about to be put out on the street by the way he reacts," Peterson said, explaining that the man is upset because he can no longer afford his private jet.

"For the rest of us, that would be ridiculous," Peterson said. "So you have to fly first class, what's the big deal, right? But I can't react that way because he really is going through devastation."