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Perhaps if you backed off for a second and considered the amount of wealth this person had to create, and the people and businesses they had to support (besides

Perhaps if you backed off for a second and considered the amount of wealth this person had to create, and the people and businesses they had to support (besides Bugatti) in order to achieve this level of wealth, you'd find that it's not as obscene as you think. That process was the one that "moves us forward as a civilization and society." IOW, as you get to this level of wealth, you improve the lives of the others who provided you products and services. Does it really matter to you that much what this person then chooses to do with their accumulated cash? How is buying the car worse than, say, a single person winning a $13M lottery? Would you complain about that?

ceejayoz 7y ago
> Perhaps if you backed off for a second and considered the amount of wealth this person had to create... It's possible that amount is zero, if they're just spending their parents' money. Plenty of multi-generational wealth sitting around.
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
  Anything's possible. However, in the world we live in, it's more likely than not that someone with money earned it themselves.
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    Tech's been shifting the balance, but there's still a very substantial portion of the folks with this sort of throwaway money who're sitting on family fortunes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2014/10/03/there-are-more-self-made-billionaires-in-the-forbes-400-than-ever-before/#3db2fb283369 https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2014/10/03/there-... > In 2004, we had 59% of the Forbes 400 having made their own fortune, as opposed to 41% who inherited it. But, again, at the extremes we still saw a full one-tenth of the list, or 40 of them, having fully inherited their fortunes and not working to grow it, and only 4.75% of them, or 19, as totally self-made, having battled adversity to reach the top. > Thus, the most encouraging results come from this year’s Forbes 400. For the first time in our data set, we see the number of self-made billionaires who rose from nothing, and overcame various tough obstacles, outpacing those that just sat on their fortunes. A total of 34 billionaires, or 8.5%, scored as 10s, or more than three times as many as in 1984. The number of 100% inherited fortunes as a percentage of the total fell to 7%, with 28 billionaires in the 1 category, compared to 99 back in 1984. There's a higher chance these days someone spending millions on a car is some sort of "job creator", but it's by no means guaranteed. The supercar set may lean more towards Saudi oil wealth sort of folks, as well.
    - iancmceachern 7y ago
      This is exactly my point. The great job and wealth creator's (a la Warren Buffet, Gates, etc.) just aren't interested in things like this. The latter in your comments above are the folks buying things like this. There is no real meaningful difference between this and say a Range Rover. We can't, and shouldn't presume to tell other people how to spend their money, but we can talk together as a society to discuss our common priorities and values. That's my point, our priorities as a society seem to be shifting.
iancmceachern 7y ago
I agree that there are many (most?) who achieve this level by doing great things for those around and who work for them and moving society forward. In my experience those folks are less flashy than the folks driving these around. No "complaining" here. I'm pointing out the fact that a 13 million dollar supercar is a great object to point at to highlight income disparities and our apathy towards them. It has spawned some good discussion from which I have learned.

ceejayoz 7y ago

> Perhaps if you backed off for a second and considered the amount of wealth this person had to create... It's possible that amount is zero, if they're just spending their parents' money. Plenty of multi-generational wealth sitting around.

HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
Anything's possible. However, in the world we live in, it's more likely than not that someone with money earned it themselves.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  Tech's been shifting the balance, but there's still a very substantial portion of the folks with this sort of throwaway money who're sitting on family fortunes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2014/10/03/there-are-more-self-made-billionaires-in-the-forbes-400-than-ever-before/#3db2fb283369 https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2014/10/03/there-... > In 2004, we had 59% of the Forbes 400 having made their own fortune, as opposed to 41% who inherited it. But, again, at the extremes we still saw a full one-tenth of the list, or 40 of them, having fully inherited their fortunes and not working to grow it, and only 4.75% of them, or 19, as totally self-made, having battled adversity to reach the top. > Thus, the most encouraging results come from this year’s Forbes 400. For the first time in our data set, we see the number of self-made billionaires who rose from nothing, and overcame various tough obstacles, outpacing those that just sat on their fortunes. A total of 34 billionaires, or 8.5%, scored as 10s, or more than three times as many as in 1984. The number of 100% inherited fortunes as a percentage of the total fell to 7%, with 28 billionaires in the 1 category, compared to 99 back in 1984. There's a higher chance these days someone spending millions on a car is some sort of "job creator", but it's by no means guaranteed. The supercar set may lean more towards Saudi oil wealth sort of folks, as well.
  - iancmceachern 7y ago
    This is exactly my point. The great job and wealth creator's (a la Warren Buffet, Gates, etc.) just aren't interested in things like this. The latter in your comments above are the folks buying things like this. There is no real meaningful difference between this and say a Range Rover. We can't, and shouldn't presume to tell other people how to spend their money, but we can talk together as a society to discuss our common priorities and values. That's my point, our priorities as a society seem to be shifting.

iancmceachern 7y ago

I agree that there are many (most?) who achieve this level by doing great things for those around and who work for them and moving society forward. In my experience those folks are less flashy than the folks driving these around. No "complaining" here. I'm pointing out the fact that a 13 million dollar supercar is a great object to point at to highlight income disparities and our apathy towards them. It has spawned some good discussion from which I have learned.