We show that body mass increases with economic resources among most South Africans, although not all. Among Black South Africans the relationship is non-decreasing over virtually the entire range of incomes/wealth. Furthermore in this group other measures of success?(e.g. employment and education) are also associated with increases in body mass. This is true both in 1998 (the Demographic and Health Survey) and 2008 (National Income Dynamics Survey). This suggests that body mass can be used as a crude measure of well- being. Used in this way it suggests that unemployment is involuntary. This is true even if we control for household ?xed e¤ects.