5 ms·

Her net worth is $340 million. $50k is not a huge amount for her.

by _rpd 9y ago

alsetmusic 9y ago
> Her net worth is $340 million. $50k is not a huge amount for her. The degree of wealth does not negate the absurdity of the investment.
- wand3r 9y ago
  I would argue that it isn't an investment. It is an indulgence.
  - _rpd 9y ago
    Exactly, her self-care budget is just higher than most people.
Scaevolus 9y ago
That's equivalent to someone with a $1M net worth spending $150 on a dog.
- gilbetron 9y ago
  It's also equivalent to someone that makes $50k/year (roughly the median income in the US) spending their entire salary on a dog.
gilbetron 9y ago
Of course she can afford it, that isn't the point.
- _rpd 9y ago
  The point is that she spent some money to help cope with grief. If she had a median net worth she would have bought a bottle of high end scotch, and no one would have so much as blinked. She spent the same relative amount on cloning her dog, and it was likely much more effective than the bottle of scotch would have been.
Johnny555 9y ago
That doesn't mean that $50K couldn't be put to far better use. As a self-professed dog lover, that money could save a lot of dogs from euthanasia in a shelter. Cloning a dog is purely for personal vanity.
ridgeguy 9y ago
No, not for her. But $50K could be life-changing for lots of people. $50K donated to a battered women's shelter would probably do more good than $50K spent cloning a dog. And I speak as one who has a dog whom I love so much that if I had Streisand's wealth, I'd be seriously tempted by the cloning option, but wouldn't do it. If tech progress brought the cloning cost down to $1K, I'd rethink the matter.
- noonespecial 9y ago
  >If tech progress brought the cloning cost down to $1K, I'd rethink the matter. Rich people splashing $50k on it when its brand new is exactly how this comes about. Lots of people with "too much" money buy stupid cars you can hardly sit in and ridiculous mechanical watches that barely keep time for far more. This seems pretty tame to me.
  - gilbetron 9y ago
    Yeah, that's actually a thing I was thinking about. Rich people doing "stupid" things actually finances companies to improve and advance so that "stupid" things become affordable. $50k is dumb. $1k, I'd think about. $300, I'd do today for my 14 1/2 year old "bullet" (pitbull+basset) mix dog :)
- _rpd 9y ago
  Streisand is already a notable philanthropist, even if she gave away 99% of her wealth $50k still wouldn't be a huge amount for her.

Her net worth is $340 million. $50k is not a huge amount for her.

by _rpd 9y ago

Her net worth is $340 million. $50k is not a huge amount for her.

> Her net worth is $340 million. $50k is not a huge amount for her. The degree of wealth does not negate the absurdity of the investment.

wand3r 9y ago
I would argue that it isn't an investment. It is an indulgence.
- _rpd 9y ago
  Exactly, her self-care budget is just higher than most people.

Scaevolus 9y ago

That's equivalent to someone with a $1M net worth spending $150 on a dog.

gilbetron 9y ago
It's also equivalent to someone that makes $50k/year (roughly the median income in the US) spending their entire salary on a dog.

gilbetron 9y ago

Of course she can afford it, that isn't the point.

_rpd 9y ago
The point is that she spent some money to help cope with grief. If she had a median net worth she would have bought a bottle of high end scotch, and no one would have so much as blinked. She spent the same relative amount on cloning her dog, and it was likely much more effective than the bottle of scotch would have been.

Johnny555 9y ago

That doesn't mean that $50K couldn't be put to far better use. As a self-professed dog lover, that money could save a lot of dogs from euthanasia in a shelter. Cloning a dog is purely for personal vanity.

ridgeguy 9y ago

No, not for her. But $50K could be life-changing for lots of people. $50K donated to a battered women's shelter would probably do more good than $50K spent cloning a dog. And I speak as one who has a dog whom I love so much that if I had Streisand's wealth, I'd be seriously tempted by the cloning option, but wouldn't do it. If tech progress brought the cloning cost down to $1K, I'd rethink the matter.

noonespecial 9y ago
>If tech progress brought the cloning cost down to $1K, I'd rethink the matter. Rich people splashing $50k on it when its brand new is exactly how this comes about. Lots of people with "too much" money buy stupid cars you can hardly sit in and ridiculous mechanical watches that barely keep time for far more. This seems pretty tame to me.
- gilbetron 9y ago
  Yeah, that's actually a thing I was thinking about. Rich people doing "stupid" things actually finances companies to improve and advance so that "stupid" things become affordable. $50k is dumb. $1k, I'd think about. $300, I'd do today for my 14 1/2 year old "bullet" (pitbull+basset) mix dog :)
_rpd 9y ago
Streisand is already a notable philanthropist, even if she gave away 99% of her wealth $50k still wouldn't be a huge amount for her.