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If you have tons of money to spare, you can afford to throw money “at the wall” and see what sticks. For every case of losing money, there’s probably a lot mor

If you have tons of money to spare, you can afford to throw money “at the wall” and see what sticks. For every case of losing money, there’s probably a lot more that pays off, especially when a billionnaire can afford to have entire staff working to minimize the chance of bad investments. If a great opportunity arises, you can put much more into the pot (most people would have to put their whole life savings in). Also, any single problem isn’t likely to completely screw you, you just pay for it and move on. For many people, they are literally one step from bankruptcy and can’t have anything go wrong. Also, if you can afford even slightly nicer stuff, it is probably better-made and won’t require outright replacement. You can afford more insurances to avoid paying the full cost of what you do replace. (Most people will never do this.) And the rich have way, way more time. They probably aren’t figuring out how to juggle two jobs, taking many-hour commutes, etc., all of which gives even more opportunity. And that’s just off the top of my head, there’s probably more. You can’t even begin to equalize a system with so much advantage built in to one side. My guess is that it starts by giving people more time. Fix the “need two jobs” problem permanently. Make housing more affordable to minimize travel.

horsemoney 8y ago
>> For every case of losing money, there’s probably a lot more that pays off, especially when a billionnaire can afford to have entire staff working to minimize the chance of bad investments. Not true at all! Most businesses sink, even with the smartest people on board it's really hard to beat the S&P 500 longterm, that's why managed funds are suffering and also a big reason why stocks are overpriced right now. Everybody just buys into passive investing. It's gotta come down, but the best experts won't be able to time it. Think about it, if all it took was money to hire some experts to beat the market, why not make a product out of it to sell to everyone? Warren Buffet can't hold a candle to the capital commanded by middle-class retirement investors.
skookumchuck 8y ago
> And the rich have way, way more time. The ones who make the money tend to be workaholics. > If you have tons of money to spare, you can afford to throw money “at the wall” and see what sticks. You can afford it, sure, but you'll lose pots 'o money that way. > For every case of losing money, there’s probably a lot more that pays off, especially when a billionnaire can afford to have entire staff working to minimize the chance of bad investments. If your staff is so great, they'd be making the money themselves. Besides, anyone can hire such staff - that's what mutual funds are. Any billionaire I've read about made their investment decisions themselves. > My guess I recommend reading some biographies of wealthy people and how they got that way. Kennedy, Jobs, Gates, Carnegie, Buffet, Musk, Hearst, Getty, Walton, Bezos, take your pick, etc.
- cannonedhamster 8y ago
  > The ones who make the money tend to be workaholics. Citation needed. > You can afford it, sure, but you'll lose pots 'o money that way. Which misses the point, anyone else CAN'T > Any billionaire I've read about made their investment decisions themselves. That's a myth. They have the money to externalize things other people don't so having money means you have more time to spend on yourself and others. Most billionaires you read about that grew up poor are in the vast minority of people who ended up in the top 1% > I recommend reading some biographies of wealthy people and how they got that way. Kennedy, Jobs, Gates, Carnegie, Buffet, Musk, Hearst, Getty, Walton, Bezos, take your pick, etc. War profiteering, Screwed employees out of their stock, born fairly wealthy which allowed him access to tech others didn't have, Robber Baron, Talented and Lucky, Talented and Lucky, Printed lies, Money from parents, Externalized costs onto US taxpayer, Used investor money to build a company because he came from a banking background. Most of the people didn't get wealthy because they worked harder, were smarter, etc. They either were in the right place at the right time and their hard work enabled them to take advantage of their luck or they were born into wealth and used that as an advantage. You're also comparing wildly different time periods with different rates of economic mobility. That's not to say these people were undeserving of their wealth or that they are bad people, but realistically wealth for the vast majority of people is something that they are born into, especially in top 1%. This point is especially poignant when you realize that the families that are wealthy in parts of the world such as Venice, Italy today are roughly the same families that were wealthy in 600 AD. Edit: To clarify I think we're all really talking about the top 1% of the developed world. Not just the worth at large as others have noted most of us reading this are probably in the top 1% globally when including undeveloped nations.
  - skookumchuck 8y ago
    > Citation needed. Read biographies of Gates, Jobs, Carnegie, Bezos, Rockefeller, Walton, Buffett, etc. (More than just the wikipedia page.) > Which misses the point That isn't the point. The point is that method of increasing wealth (randomly thrashing about) does not work. > That's a myth. For which of the ones I mentioned? > Most billionaires you read about that grew up poor are in the vast minority of people who ended up in the top 1% We're talking about middle class to the 1%. All of the ones I mentioned went that route.

horsemoney 8y ago

>> For every case of losing money, there’s probably a lot more that pays off, especially when a billionnaire can afford to have entire staff working to minimize the chance of bad investments. Not true at all! Most businesses sink, even with the smartest people on board it's really hard to beat the S&P 500 longterm, that's why managed funds are suffering and also a big reason why stocks are overpriced right now. Everybody just buys into passive investing. It's gotta come down, but the best experts won't be able to time it. Think about it, if all it took was money to hire some experts to beat the market, why not make a product out of it to sell to everyone? Warren Buffet can't hold a candle to the capital commanded by middle-class retirement investors.

skookumchuck 8y ago

> And the rich have way, way more time. The ones who make the money tend to be workaholics. > If you have tons of money to spare, you can afford to throw money “at the wall” and see what sticks. You can afford it, sure, but you'll lose pots 'o money that way. > For every case of losing money, there’s probably a lot more that pays off, especially when a billionnaire can afford to have entire staff working to minimize the chance of bad investments. If your staff is so great, they'd be making the money themselves. Besides, anyone can hire such staff - that's what mutual funds are. Any billionaire I've read about made their investment decisions themselves. > My guess I recommend reading some biographies of wealthy people and how they got that way. Kennedy, Jobs, Gates, Carnegie, Buffet, Musk, Hearst, Getty, Walton, Bezos, take your pick, etc.

cannonedhamster 8y ago
> The ones who make the money tend to be workaholics. Citation needed. > You can afford it, sure, but you'll lose pots 'o money that way. Which misses the point, anyone else CAN'T > Any billionaire I've read about made their investment decisions themselves. That's a myth. They have the money to externalize things other people don't so having money means you have more time to spend on yourself and others. Most billionaires you read about that grew up poor are in the vast minority of people who ended up in the top 1% > I recommend reading some biographies of wealthy people and how they got that way. Kennedy, Jobs, Gates, Carnegie, Buffet, Musk, Hearst, Getty, Walton, Bezos, take your pick, etc. War profiteering, Screwed employees out of their stock, born fairly wealthy which allowed him access to tech others didn't have, Robber Baron, Talented and Lucky, Talented and Lucky, Printed lies, Money from parents, Externalized costs onto US taxpayer, Used investor money to build a company because he came from a banking background. Most of the people didn't get wealthy because they worked harder, were smarter, etc. They either were in the right place at the right time and their hard work enabled them to take advantage of their luck or they were born into wealth and used that as an advantage. You're also comparing wildly different time periods with different rates of economic mobility. That's not to say these people were undeserving of their wealth or that they are bad people, but realistically wealth for the vast majority of people is something that they are born into, especially in top 1%. This point is especially poignant when you realize that the families that are wealthy in parts of the world such as Venice, Italy today are roughly the same families that were wealthy in 600 AD. Edit: To clarify I think we're all really talking about the top 1% of the developed world. Not just the worth at large as others have noted most of us reading this are probably in the top 1% globally when including undeveloped nations.
- skookumchuck 8y ago
  > Citation needed. Read biographies of Gates, Jobs, Carnegie, Bezos, Rockefeller, Walton, Buffett, etc. (More than just the wikipedia page.) > Which misses the point That isn't the point. The point is that method of increasing wealth (randomly thrashing about) does not work. > That's a myth. For which of the ones I mentioned? > Most billionaires you read about that grew up poor are in the vast minority of people who ended up in the top 1% We're talking about middle class to the 1%. All of the ones I mentioned went that route.