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Throughout the Suits season, Louis Litt seems to need constant recognition from his colleagues. He seems to feel inferior to other senior partners like Jessica and Harvey (especially Harvey). He feels insecure about himself and lacks self-confidence.

Why does he have this "inferior" psychological issue, given that he was revealed to be the richest person in the law firm despite holding a more junior position (watch Season 6 episode 1) compared to Harvey and Jessica? His bosses were somewhat embarrassed when they learnt how rich Louis was. Logically, his bosses should feel inferior and not him. Louis behaves like a "loser" when he is actually the biggest winner of the firm.

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I haven't seen the show in a while and don't have any references handy but as i recall Louis wasn't as cool and liked by others like Harvey was. Louis was always recognized as good at his job but he was never part of the in crowd, and failed at the interoffice politics necessary to rise as quickly and be as prominent as Harvey. So Louis's personality made it hard for him to have the professional successes that Harvey enjoyed but that same personality made it easy for him to be a good financial steward.

Harvey on the other hand was careless with the money he earned but his charisma allowed him to do better in the office politics of the firm leading to more professional success but a worse financial position than Louis. Overall depending on how you define winner or best either one of them could be worthy of those titles. You seem to view their balance sheet as the arbitrator of success, and not professional achievement in the form of being managing partner.

In all reality Louis had enough money to maintain his lifestyle if he quit getting a paycheck, unlike Harvey. However, as portrayed in the show becoming managing partner and mastering the relevant politics to become the de facto leader was the holy grail. Harvey was always closer than Louis in attaining this goal, making Harvey the better man in terms of the show like it or not.

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    Lawyers in Suits work for money. So, it would be fair to say whoever makes the most money is the winner. Whoever has the most money can buy up whatever law firm and call the shots even if he is not a lawyer. So, in my book, Louis is the winner. I guess it is just an eccentric psychological issue that Louis has with himself that only he himself can deal with it. Upvoted your answer. I think Louis has already enough money, so he does not need more to feel good. He is past that stage. It seems he needs more respect than money to feel good since he already has enough money.
    – curious
    Dec 21 '17 at 4:42
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    @curious they don't just work for money they work for obscene amounts of money. That being said Louis's money isn't what put his name on the door but dirty politics. I liked Louis too when I watched the show, but he did lack political soft-skills that Harvey had and envied the opportunities that political prowess gave Harvey. Louis is a titan in his arena, but unfortunately the traits that let him succeed in his arena didn't include the traits he needed to achieve his goal.
    – Erik
    Dec 21 '17 at 4:49
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    "So, it would be fair to say whoever makes the most money is the winner. " That's your opinion, but it doesn't mean that's Louis's opinion. Louis's self-esteem is going to be influenced by his ability to get what he wants, not his ability to get what you think he would want. Throughout the show, the thing he always seems to be chasing after is respect, not money.
    – Steve-O
    Dec 21 '17 at 16:28
  • @curious 'the payoffs for different players cannot be directly compared' ?
    – BCLC
    Sep 25 '18 at 14:31
  • @Steve-O So, 'the payoffs for different players cannot be directly compared' right?
    – BCLC
    Sep 25 '18 at 14:31

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