Honestly don't care if someone makes billions off of their own talents and skillsets. If you become a billionaire through that means you won at Life. Congrats. I think people have issues with people who make billions through "investing". Now LeBron has millions of his billion dollar evaluation that came from investments but the core base of how he became wealthy wasn't through exploitation of labor and taking credit for it. Its through him being exceptionally gifted at something people want to watch and be entertained by. The problem isn't the amount. The problem is with how they got the billions for me at least. Being a talentless human that just throws money around and extract as much wealth from that through the labor of others is what people have issues with. You shouldn't become a billionaire through that means.
Money drives innovation to a point. Eventually it leads to consolidation and monopoly as it swallows all competitors and seeks to reduce costs by any means necessary. The lie is that Billionaires are good because they create jobs. The truth is they’ve offshored the jobs for slave wages in China, Vietnam, etc. Doing so has enriched their shareholders but the majority of the stock market is owned by a relatively small amount of the uber rich. How do you stop billionaires? By reintroducing pre Reagan tax rates and increased corporate taxes. This will of course lead to lower stock prices. Which will lead to less Billionaires since their wealth is tied to their stock ownership. If you take the wealth out of the stock market and instead utilize it for healthcare, childcare, blue collar jobs, etc. this country would be better off.
I disagree with some things JuanValdez said. I started from nothing except a high school diploma and I've raised a family and have wealth, without starting my own business ( been working for companies all my life, and I put myself through college in my 40s). i dont have power relative to other people. Don't want it. I could easily have multiple large houses or expensive cars. Don't want 'em. Not all wealthy people are like that. Elon Musk has never done anything to prevent me from gaining wealth. And i know guys who have walked a different path - taken the risk of building their own businesses, struggled greatly at times and for several years, then later sold their businesses for lots of money. Musk and Bezos didn't do anything to prevent them from gaining wealth. Overall, I believe that the rhetoric of hatred against billionaires usually comes from victim-mindset losers who don't want get up in the morning, work hard, reduce frivolous spending, save & invest carefully & wisely & patiently, build good relationships, and try to improve themselves.
I agree on taxes. I don't totally disagree with this post and my opinion on taxes is that we definitely can invest more in things like education to improve poor communities. We can also use more tax money to help people offset the growing cost of higher education However I believe the middle class which is a very large percentage of the population is living very comfortably as is. I don't believe taxes should be punitive but the wealthy can contribute more. We are not on the verge of a revolution or upheaval of our society but if we continue on the current path we will be
Most people get up to go to work but fewer people are willing to make the sacrifices you have. You should be proud but people want to work.
Exactly it’s also hypocritical on a rockets fan board to hate our billionaire Tilman Fertitta for not being as rich as the other billionaires and then complain on the d&d that billionaires exist who do you think pays the millionaires ? batman was a billionaire Bruce Wayne is a hero @Salvy @ROXRAN @CrixusTheUndefeatedGaul @RB713 @Scarface281
If I was a billionaire I'd be crying for the illegal immigrants too, then proceed to find out what I want to buy next that makes me feel happy....
When you have unlimited money, you want unlimited power. That's what Elon wants. Essentially an org chart where Presidents of nations report directly to him.
You know who’s a billionaire even richer than Elon and for some reason nobody here complains about ? at least Elon works for like 4 companies this breh doesn’t work he just takes everyone’s money @pgabriel @CrixusTheUndefeatedGaul
Here's another thing... When I was younger, I always imagined that being wealthy was having a bank account with millions of dollars in it and buying all kinds of fancy rich things... ..but the reality (at my wealth level, at least) is... if you put millions into a bank account, it'll just depreciate, which is dumb. And many of the fancy rich things will also depreciate or can't be truly enjoyed (e.g.. I knew a guy who bought a Ferrari, but ended up getting rid of it because he didn't enjoy driving it anywhere for fear of it getting damaged or stolen). So, really, you try to diversify and invest in things that will appreciate in value. If i gave you a million dollars, yeah - you could spend it, but you'd be wiser to invest it in something that could turn it into five million. It's like that. For the billionaires... they're so rich, they can do anything they want. So, if they're doing something, I don't think it's for power - I think it's because they have a passion for what they're doing. What can they do with 50 billion that they couldn't do with 40? To them, it's just numbers on a sheet of paper.
.. and then there's Trump.... He also is wealthy enough to do whatever he wants. I tell ya... if I had his wealth, and almost half the country hated me and two people tried to kill me.. I'd just disappear and go sit on a beach for the rest of my life. Certainly, one must have a huge ego to be President. But I don't believe that Trump chooses to be president for more money or more power. I believe that wants to do what he thinks is best for our country, because he's passionate about it. ...and I believe that is true for every previous president. Although I disliked many things about Biden's administration,I believe that he was trying to do what he thought was best for the country, and didn’t seek the presidency for power or wealth.
how do so many people in this thread not have enough money to become supporting members of this web site? or do you all just LIKE advertisements?
I actually donated many years ago and was a "contributing member". Then I got banned for a while (because I complained about the banner ads). When I got un-banned, my account was back to "member". I actually didn't know until just now that "supporting members" don't see ads. When I donated, there was no benefit for doing so, and I still had the banner ads.
Billionaire wealth surges by $2 trillion in 2024, three times faster than the year before, while the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990 Oxfam predicts there will be at least five trillionaires a decade from now. 204 new billionaires were minted in 2024, nearly four every week. Sixty percent of billionaire wealth is now derived from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections, as Oxfam argues that “extreme billionaire wealth is largely unmerited.” Richest 1 percent in the Global North extracted $30 million an hour from the Global South through the financial system in 2023. Oxfam urges governments to tax the richest to reduce inequality, end extreme wealth, and dismantle the new aristocracy. Former colonial powers must address past harms with reparations. Keep in mind, this happened under both presidencies. There's compelling reasons for both sides. I support raising estate taxes. Wealthy argues they have a choice God Given Right of where their hard earned dragon hoard goes, but once they die, no amount of necromancy, legal wizardry, or ventriloquist puppetry can discern your true intentions a year or ten years later. You just enable the immediate survivors to be lazy and live off compound interest without directly contributing back to society. Giving pledge sounds noble on the surface, but it's more legal and accounting jargon to family plan and shelter from taxes. I have no problem with Carnegie and Rockefeller endowments. Patty Boy on the robber barons of old. Nice history lesson. Very American?
ha! I just re-upped yesterday as luck would have it, I endured about 30 seconds of ads before I hit the PayPal button . . . . For $75 it is surely worth it
