Rich Gets Richer As We All Know, but There's More

[ingiltere]

Elon Musk Wealth
2012: $2 billion
2026: $719 billion

Jeff Bezos Wealth
2012: $18.4 billion
2026: $255 billion

Mark Zuckerberg Wealth
2012: $17.5 billion
2026: $212 billion

Federal Minimum Wage
2009: $7.25
2026: $7.25

Obscene. We must raise the minimum wage to a living wage.

https://x.com/BernieSanders/status/2081451529521836385

Today I came across a tweet by Bernie Sanders. It showed changes in the net worth of the world's richest people. He also compared this to the minimum wage, but that's not the main point I want to address.

There have always been ultra rich people in the world. But over the past two decades, the gap between these ultra rich and even other wealthy individuals has widened significantly. I'm not even counting the poor. A segment of society has emerged that possesses more wealth than any single person could ever consume, even if they lived for 10.000 years.

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings, nor am I saying everyone should have the same income. Human desires are limitless, but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much? How long will this continue? Even as someone with an average income myself, I feel sorrow for people struggling with hunger and poverty. So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

[jossiel]

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

This has been a talk for so many years while they can address and help with world hunger, remember that these people are private citizens and it's not their thing to solve world hunger. But they can influence governments to deal with it.

I think many of them are supporting some charities but poverty, hunger these are endless problem even if they deal each of it per country.

but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much?

IMO, most of their wealth aren't really into plain cash but into stocks and other shares that they possesses. One more important thing to note is about they're able to reduce their tax obligations.

While we're very eager to see many of them help to deal with global problems and such, each of them shares different values, and have their main personal goals and focus.

And just recently, Elon said that this:
Money Won't Matter In 2036, Elon Musk Makes Bold Claim; Explains Why. A scary prediction which is likely to eradicate more jobs.

[ingiltere]

-snip-

That's what I mean and that's actually something worth to think about. These people are richer than many governments and have more influence in the world. There have always been ultra rich people, but now there's a select few in the elite whose wealth amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars. A gap has formed that would make even a billionaire look an ordinary person.

I'm not saying they should end world hunger (though they could do more if they wanted to), people with almost a trillion dollars in assets have the power to turn any government into their puppet.

On one hand, we got politicians who says water resources are running out, people should take showers together. On the other hand, there's a handful of people devouring the world's resources.
I also saw Elon's interview where he said money will have no meaning in 10 years. That was on my mind as I was writing about the thread. We're definitely going through an interesting period.

[RGBTC]

Wealth must be earned fairly. Hard work is a motto for those who simply want to make ends meet. But to attain a Forbes-approved title, several professional mottos must be adhered to. I believe that even if these wealthy individuals become philanthropists, there will be greater potential for instability. A person's intellectual level determines how much income they can accumulate and how much wealth they can manage. If poor people have to manage their spending of $5 for 2 days from their hard work, They could easily spend $10 a day on gov. subsidies.

After all, civilization would not survive without a social hierarchy. Those at the lowest level would serve those at the higher above them, and so on.

[Stepstowealth]

So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

First I would like to say that being rich and being generous are two very different things and while it is very possible to have someone who is rich and generous at the same time it is also very possible to have someone who is rich and not generous at the same time.
Sometimes also, you'll be surprised by how much of help that these very rich people are trying to render to people on different levels through different means but because they do not post it on social media it looks like they're not doing enough to help people around them. My only grievance with people who are very wealthy is that rather than trying to help people far away I think it is always better you try and help people around your immediate environment first , so that the goodness can spread from within to the outside.

[PostQuantumBTC]

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

If you become a trillionaire today and you decide to share all your money with people in the world, just know that poverty is not eradicated, some people will remain in poverty.

Another thing is that if all the wealth in the world is shared equally today in a way that there is no rich men and poor men but all equal, this will affect the world badly. What will happen at last is that there will be rich and average people emerging again and also poor people will emerge.

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings, nor am I saying everyone should have the same income. Human desires are limitless, but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much? How long will this continue? Even as someone with an average income myself, I feel sorrow for people struggling with hunger and poverty. So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

Do you know the number of people that these people that you are talking about employed? They are the soruce of livelihood for millions of people.

Do not think it is the money they have in bank, no it is not the money they have in bank. It is their properties that makes most part of the money estimation that you are seeing.

They said Elon Musk has the strongest security in the world, did you know how much he is paying them? It is not a small amount of money.

[Opiate32]

So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

Our problem is that we always expect people to solve problems that are usually the responsibility of the government. Most people often mix wealth with control but they are never the same thing. Someone can be worth hundreds of billions on paper because they own shares  in a company but that doesn’t mean that they can easily just sell off everything to solve global poverty. Even if they try, the root cause of poverty, corruption, weak governance will still exist.

I don’t think expecting a few billionaire to fix this is realistic. A long and lasting solution can only come from the government and also economic opportunities not just depending on philanthropy.

[jcojci]

Rich gets richer but more rich people coming especially if they know how to manage their money properly. If people set their minds about how becoming rich, they will see the way to go there although not easy. But many people still don't see and stuck on usual daily activities instead searching for the way to increase their wealth. Rich people can see the opportunity to improves their wealth so they will not stop becoming richer but I guess if someone starts to become rich and popular, they seems gets help from something "untouched" that people don't see it. I don't know but that is only my guess and I hope that is wrong.

[Fortify]

Today I came across a tweet by Bernie Sanders. It showed changes in the net worth of the world's richest people. He also compared this to the minimum wage, but that's not the main point I want to address.

There have always been ultra rich people in the world. But over the past two decades, the gap between these ultra rich and even other wealthy individuals has widened significantly. I'm not even counting the poor. A segment of society has emerged that possesses more wealth than any single person could ever consume, even if they lived for 10.000 years.

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings, nor am I saying everyone should have the same income. Human desires are limitless, but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much? How long will this continue? Even as someone with an average income myself, I feel sorrow for people struggling with hunger and poverty. So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

There should definitely be a new tax on this level of wealth, especially when you consider that most of these fortunes are managed in a way where they use every single loophole possible to avoid paying anything but the bare minimum - which can often mean they pay effective tax rates of less than 10%. The biggest problem might be they have so many resources available to them which will be targeted at any politicians that even contemplate trying to rein in this excess. This is more wealth than most people could spend in a thousand lifetimes living in absolute luxury. The one thing worth mentioning though, is it is paper wealth often tied directly to the share price or companies rather than liquid wealth that is sat in other assets.

[Free Market Capitalist]

Today I came across a tweet by Bernie Sanders. It showed changes in the net worth of the world's richest people. He also compared this to the minimum wage, but that's not the main point I want to address.

There have always been ultra rich people in the world. But over the past two decades, the gap between these ultra rich and even other wealthy individuals has widened significantly. I'm not even counting the poor. A segment of society has emerged that possesses more wealth than any single person could ever consume, even if they lived for 10.000 years.

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

The nonsense Sanders spouts—and that you’re repeating here—fails to take into account that the standard of living for people with lower incomes has risen tremendously. Not long ago, being poor meant going hungry and, in many cases, starving to death, whereas today the poor are overweight. That, thanks to an ideology opposed to the one you advocate, humanity has achieved levels of well-being that were unthinkable just a couple of centuries ago. 

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings,

Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta

You, Sanders, and all you fucking communists are nothing but that—a bunch of envious people.

[Betwrong]

~ So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

Yes, it's possible to change things in the world because, fortunately, the real power doesn't lie in the hands of those people. Unlike in the past, they can't do whatever they want today, and they will have less and less power in the future. Also, I think it's not only about limiting their power. They can be educated with good books, songs, and films, and eventually become good guys.

[crwth]

I imagine that the reason why it's so different from other rich people is that the modern technology that we have accelerates it so much compared to other traditional businesses. The scalability is so fast that they have taken advantage of it.

You know, their wealth has increased because of the assets that they already owned before, maybe with their investments. There is an increase in value and hence an increase in their value as well.

It's really different because their reach is global; it's a lot. So I understand why they have increased their wealth exponentially.

[arkey34]

I absolutely agreed with your statement day by day rich is getting richer general people dont change their lifestyle due to money they are became poor.Poverty rate is increasing significantly day by day.We have to careful about money mangement for our future generation.

[viljy]

In his research, Stiglitz devoted quite a lot of attention to the problem of blatant inequality as a central topic (for example, in the book "The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them"). So this is a well-known problem. No wonder populist politicians use it. In fact, all these figures of gigantic wealth are conditional. Musk's wealth has recently decreased from more than a trillion dollars to about 800 billion dollars due to the decline in the capitalization of SpaceX. So don't take the numbers literally.

The real problem is that most of the capital does not work for the benefit of society, but is parasitic to financial speculation. These are the capitals of the heirs, which are managed by the funds (since many heirs do not want to manage anything, but only enjoy permanent hedonism). To smooth out the situation with the degradation of the wealth structure, there are even studies about it. Recently, one such dubious study came to my attention, which claims that now more than half of the world's capital belongs to active entrepreneurs in the first generation.

But these are mainly the spheres of AI, IT, that is, the sphere of the mega-bubble. And when the bubble bursts sooner or later, the structure of global wealth will again show the data predicted by Piketty for this century - 80% of inherited capital (mostly non-productive capital) and 20% productive capital of active entrepreneurs.

[Porfirii]

I imagine that the reason why it's so different from other rich people is that the modern technology that we have accelerates it so much compared to other traditional businesses. The scalability is so fast that they have taken advantage of it.

You know, their wealth has increased because of the assets that they already owned before, maybe with their investments. There is an increase in value and hence an increase in their value as well.

It's really different because their reach is global; it's a lot. So I understand why they have increased their wealth exponentially.

Many of the businesses of these super rich people are based on creating new markets that have replaced the structure of the current ones, and turning thousands of traditional companies into vassals. They are not generalizable exponents of how the economy has behaved, and should not be taken as normal or the basis on which to argue that everything should experience such growths.

[Frankolala]

These ultra rich people have a proper financial management and the knowledge on how to grow wealth. Not many people in the world has this. If you give some poor people a huge amount of money to invest, they might end up lavishing it and become broke again. Even if they give out all they have it wouldn't survive the beneficiaries for ten years if they don't multiply it. The government isn't making life easy for the poor.

[Rockstarguy]

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings, nor am I saying everyone should have the same income. Human desires are limitless, but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much? How long will this continue? Even as someone with an average income myself, I feel sorrow for people struggling with hunger and poverty. So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

What do you want them to do? Do you expect them to share all the money they have with the poor people in society just to show sympathy for the poor? It doesn’t even work this way because if you are to be among the wealthy people, you won’t share all you have gathered to show kindness to the poor.

One thing you need to know is that most of these wealthy people have their foundations that support the less privileged. Most wealthy people, especially entrepreneurs, are valuable to society because they have different companies and businesses that employ average citizens, and this is one of the benefits of having wealthy people in our society. You shouldn’t expect them to touch the lives of every poor person in the street.

[Oasisman]

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

I understand why it looks unfair, but is it really the billionaires who are causing this poverty? These ultra rich people do have a lot of charities for several purposes, like building public image and reputation, long term legacy, and including tax advantages, and in fact that's one of the many reasons why they become even richer.
They may have donated millions of dollars globally, but as we all can see, it did not solve the poverty. Why? Well, several factors are causing it. From corruption and weak institutions down to a lack of economic opportunities. In most third-world countries, they don't even have a proper education system.

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings, nor am I saying everyone should have the same income. Human desires are limitless, but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much? How long will this continue? Even as someone with an average income myself, I feel sorrow for people struggling with hunger and poverty. So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

Again, I understand your sentiments, but feeding the poor is not the job of the ultra rich people, and it is not their goal at the very beginning, so why has it suddenly become their obligation now?
Again, they have charities, and I think that should be enough to help the government aid those struggling people. If they possess that enormous amount of wealth, that's because everything that they worked for has paid out very well.

[Zlantann]

There have always been ultra rich people in the world. But over the past two decades, the gap between these ultra rich and even other wealthy individuals has widened significantly. I'm not even counting the poor. A segment of society has emerged that possesses more wealth than any single person could ever consume, even if they lived for 10.000 years.

The middle class is declining because the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. The world is now structured in a way that you cannot survive without using some services. By the time you pay for these services, you end up with nothing at the end of the month. And these big corporations benefit from creating these products, thereby increasing their net worth.

It seems unfair that there are so many ultra rich people in the world while hunger and poverty still exist in some parts of the world, that the gap remains so vast no matter how much charity they give.

It's painful, but you can do nothing about it. The world system is capitalist-driven. Maybe another economic system might emerge in the future. But for now, the gap between the rich and poor will keep getting wider.

I'm not envy of anyone's earnings, nor am I saying everyone should have the same income. Human desires are limitless, but isn't it strange for one person to possess so much? How long will this continue? Even as someone with an average income myself, I feel sorrow for people struggling with hunger and poverty. So how can these ultra rich people have a clear conscience? Frankly I can't understand it. If it's possible to change things in the world, the power lies in their hands. At least that's how it seems to me.

If you see people suffer, don't blame business owners. The goverment has the responsibility to protect and provide for the people. In most countries, these capitalists control the goverment; hence, policies are not made to benefit the poor. But to make the rich get richer. I dont also don't envy them because most of us will want to be like them if we are oppurtuned.

Do all you can to avoid poverty. And if you have more than enough, help people in need.  

[davis196]

Today I came across a tweet by Bernie Sanders. It showed changes in the net worth of the world's richest people. He also compared this to the minimum wage, but that's not the main point I want to address.

There have always been ultra rich people in the world. But over the past two decades, the gap between these ultra rich and even other wealthy individuals has widened significantly. I'm not even counting the poor. A segment of society has emerged that possesses more wealth than any single person could ever consume, even if they lived for 10.000 years.

Raising the minimum wage in the US won't solve the problem, because it would cause higher inflation and potential layoffs in the industries, where most employees are working at a minimum wage. Having higher inflation and growing unemployment levels can be really bad for the economy.
What created those multibillionaires is the money printing machine, which is owned by the Federal Reserve. If the money in circulation in the US were under control, those ultra rich multibillionaires would be only billionaires. The stocks owned by Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos are artificially pumped by the money printing machine. Those stocks would cost 10 times lower, if the Wall Street market collapses tomorrow. The financial bubble is about to burst, I just don't know when it will burst.