Though successful, he soon abandoned this life: "Business is just to make money to live; I do not love money and fear the headaches of money management. This lifestyle went against my basic nature and made me unhappy."
「做生意真是為錢生活，我不愛花錢，也害怕管錢的麻煩，這種違背本心的生活，真難過。」據熟識他的人表示，當年余承堯在商場上，也算烜赫一時，但他棄商戒俗的理由，卻如此簡單不過。