Forbes has the "Richest People in the World" in their latest issue - well the top 300 - and it is an interesting list. Top 3: Bill Gates Warren Buffet Paul Allen What I find really interesting is that 217 of the top 300 are Americans, a change from a few years ago when the list was dominated by Japanese. Second, the 217 people represent over 1 TRILLION dollars!!!!! Holy ****! Those 217 are worth more than the GNP of France! I just find it absoltuely unreal that 217 people control that kind of personal money. It's one thing if a corporation is worth big bucks, but for literally .0000001 percent (I used a calculator ) of the US population to have that kind of money is mind boggling. ------------------ Things do not change; we change. - Henry David Thoreau
That is nuts! Why can't I know some of these people! ------------------ "Win if you can, lose if you must but always cheat!" - Jesse Ventura
And how did he get to be the richest man in the world? By exploiting the workers, by hanging on to outdated, imperialist dogma that perpetuates the social and economic differences in our society. ------------------
Where's Mark Cuban when you need him? What "imperialist dogma" is Gates clinging to? Ask Paul Allen or any of the other hundreds of Microsoft millionaires how miserable a fellow he is. I thought Microsoft employees had it pretty good. What kind of abuses are you citing here? ------------------ "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak. Because someday you will have been all of these."
Without getting into a debate about the accumulation of wealth, at least Gates is fairly responsible with his money. I wonder what his children think of the fact that he's decided to leave almost all of it to charity, though . ------------------ Newbiehad... coming to a bbs near you, October 31st.
Gates wasn't very charitable until about 5 years ago. He took a lot of heat from a number of organizations who had questioned how much he was making versus how much he was donating. I also read an article where his father (a guy who is rich in his own right) said he had a talk with his son about charitable giving and pointed out the conern. Gates now gives millions of dollars every WEEK to many charities. I respect him for that even if he did have to build a monopoly to do it. ------------------ Things do not change; we change. - Henry David Thoreau
Whew.... I thought it kind of an odd criticism coming from an Audi driver! ------------------ "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak. Because someday you will have been all of these."
You got a link Jeff? ------------------ I stole your money and I did your daughter at Texas A&M University
I like Bill Gates, and I'm glad he's still at the top of the list. He seems to be very generous with his money, and he just recently gave like $100 million for AIDS relief in Africa. ------------------
Hmm.. which one of the three hundred would like to pay for my college education? ------------------ Shane "Save Our Rockets" "Life without basketball in Houston........without an arena that is what it will be"
Hey mrpaige, As soon as I saw that quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail I knew then that you didn't what the hell you were talking about. That quote was a bout government. If you didn't know. Well I applaud Bill for not having to tear down his innovation. I applaud a free market. He created a monopoly by being the best at what he does. Steal software. He deserves to have a monopoly until someone can come along have a better more desirable product. That's a classical view of it. ------------------ The proud President of "The Tree Question." Foundation. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Quote from from Colby: "Let me recap for you: We have harnesed fire, landed on the moon, and cloned some sheep." The coldest reply ever given to a newbie.
While you can make an impassioned plea for the free market, the meaning of the phrase "just kidding" flies right over your head. I've never thought anything like that. I just thought it would be funny to mention the quote in this context. I meant nothing beyond that and was not making any kind of actual comment about Gates or anyone else. ------------------
obviously the phrase, "just kidding" flew right over your head. don't mind me. I was only playing. that's all I have left now that I will be losing my moniker. ------------------ The proud President of "The Tree Question." Foundation. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Quote from from Colby: "Let me recap for you: We have harnesed fire, landed on the moon, and cloned some sheep." The coldest reply ever given to a newbie.
I have no problem with accumulation of wealth. I do have a problem with people who were born on third base and they act like they had hit a triple. People like Gates have to be respected for recognizing the path and putting in the hours to get where they need to be. The guy has the type of personality that would make him a millionaire even if he was driving a truck. ------------------ I let the dogs out.
Its all relative when it comes to money...how much is 100 million worth to him? not much at all...to us, its a heck of a lot but to him, its chump change...taking into account how much he makes a year, I approximate its the same as someone who earning 40K a year donating 50 dollars...how impressive is that? ------------------