When he became ill and was putting his affairs in order, upon discovering that he hadn't a penny to his name, he burst into laughter. He marked his accounts as "settled," and then went on to write in his will, "We come into the world owning nothing; to depart the world with possessions, now that's shameful!"
吳稚暉病危時，結算財產帳務，發現總數掛零時，竟然破涕為笑，在帳冊上寫下「恰當」二字，同時在遺囑中書明：「生未帶來，死仍支配，可恥！」