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They aren't even held accountable when they sell products that spark a nationwide overdose epidemic. "That may seem like a lot of money, but billionaire math c

They aren't even held accountable when they sell products that spark a nationwide overdose epidemic. "That may seem like a lot of money, but billionaire math can be deceptive. The Sacklers proposed to pay the $4.5 billion out over nine years. Their current fortune is estimated to be at least $11 billion. Conservatively, with interest and investments, this means they can expect a 5 percent annualized rate of return on that fortune. If that’s the case, they’ll be able to pay the fine without even touching their principal. When they’re done paying in 2030, they will probably be richer than they are today."[1] There are a few cases of powerful politicians serving jail time. I can't think of a single case where a billionaire was put in jail, except for Madoff, because he was stealing from other billionaires. When you've got billions, you have enough to buy politicians every cycle. You are effectively above the law, forever, regardless of how well your initial product line is doing. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/opinion/sackler-family-opioids-settlement.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/opinion/sackler-family-op...

smabie 5y ago
Billionaire dictators get put in prison or worse all the time. However I suppose that's a subset of politician
roenxi 5y ago
The US has around 700 billionaires. That is comparable in size to the US House of Representatives. There are a lot more politicians than billionaires. Plus there is a lot more turnover in politicians than billionaires. It doesn't tell you anything that only 1 of them went to jail. Even assuming they are incarcerated at something close to the background rate (an unreasonable assumption) we would expect 0% of them to be in jail; at any given moment. Adjust that for the fact that they have basically no rational reason whatsoever to commit crimes and there is nothing unusual going on.
- Apocryphon 5y ago
  Why only look at billionaires and exclude multimillionaires?
  - roenxi 5y ago
    1) Because the comment said "billionaire" 2) "Wealthy person goes to jail" isn't actually all that newsworthy. Politicians are always going to get more news headlines because, ironically, or politics.
- nicoffeine 5y ago
  > Adjust that for the fact that they have basically no rational reason whatsoever to commit crimes They may have no rational reason to fear prosecution, but they commit crimes all the time. Becoming untouchably wealthy does not remove base desires from anyone, it only shields them from accountability. "The uber-rich also shield their wealth through elaborate purchases of real estate, yachts, jets and life insurance. Moving money around between bank accounts, estate and inheritance planning, engaging in a web of complex financial engineering, help them from paying their fair share of taxes. Some of the documents suggest the possibility of financial crimes, including money laundering."[1] If you don't file your taxes correctly and you fail to pay the fines, or you attempt to defraud the government, there's a very good chance you will do time. The same is not true of the billionaire class no matter how much money the steal through tax avoidance schemes. Once they have enough money, they can lawyer up and get out of just about anything, even the repeated sexual assault of their own family.[2] The only time they are held to account, with a few exceptions, is when the victims are other billionaires or powerful autocratic states. This is not some new anti-wealth idea. Equal application of the law regardless of wealth, birth, or status is the fundamental American value. Or at least it was. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/04/the-pandora-papers-exposed-how-the-worlds-rich-and-famous-hide-their-wealth-with-tax-avoidance-schemes/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/04/the-pandor... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartercoudriet/2019/06/28/curt-johnson-billionaire-sexual-assault/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartercoudriet/2019/06/28/curt-...
  - roenxi 5y ago
    They are billionaires. They can probably just buy what they want, even for some of the more out-there base desires. Why risk jail time? You seem to be going to tax minimisation - sure, the billionaires have a massive advantage when they engage with the law relative to you or I - but there is no reason they should go to jail for that. The basic assumption is if you have multiple accountants doing your tax return then the tax return should be legally proper. It got a lot of attention.
    - nicoffeine 5y ago
      I'm not talking about Zuck trying to buy a personality in the form of a custom yacht. I'm talking about Epstein and people like that who prefer to rent people against their will, or the Sacklers who will gladly set ethics and death tolls aside if there is enough profit opportunity. Billionaires should to go jail for tax fraud, preferably in proportion to the amount of money they stole. They are not running their itemized deductions by a typical accounting firm. They are seeking out teams of lawyers and accountants with a reputation for hiding money, and paying millions of dollars because they expect them to be good at it.

smabie 5y ago

Billionaire dictators get put in prison or worse all the time. However I suppose that's a subset of politician

roenxi 5y ago

The US has around 700 billionaires. That is comparable in size to the US House of Representatives. There are a lot more politicians than billionaires. Plus there is a lot more turnover in politicians than billionaires. It doesn't tell you anything that only 1 of them went to jail. Even assuming they are incarcerated at something close to the background rate (an unreasonable assumption) we would expect 0% of them to be in jail; at any given moment. Adjust that for the fact that they have basically no rational reason whatsoever to commit crimes and there is nothing unusual going on.

Apocryphon 5y ago
Why only look at billionaires and exclude multimillionaires?
- roenxi 5y ago
  1) Because the comment said "billionaire" 2) "Wealthy person goes to jail" isn't actually all that newsworthy. Politicians are always going to get more news headlines because, ironically, or politics.
nicoffeine 5y ago
> Adjust that for the fact that they have basically no rational reason whatsoever to commit crimes They may have no rational reason to fear prosecution, but they commit crimes all the time. Becoming untouchably wealthy does not remove base desires from anyone, it only shields them from accountability. "The uber-rich also shield their wealth through elaborate purchases of real estate, yachts, jets and life insurance. Moving money around between bank accounts, estate and inheritance planning, engaging in a web of complex financial engineering, help them from paying their fair share of taxes. Some of the documents suggest the possibility of financial crimes, including money laundering."[1] If you don't file your taxes correctly and you fail to pay the fines, or you attempt to defraud the government, there's a very good chance you will do time. The same is not true of the billionaire class no matter how much money the steal through tax avoidance schemes. Once they have enough money, they can lawyer up and get out of just about anything, even the repeated sexual assault of their own family.[2] The only time they are held to account, with a few exceptions, is when the victims are other billionaires or powerful autocratic states. This is not some new anti-wealth idea. Equal application of the law regardless of wealth, birth, or status is the fundamental American value. Or at least it was. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/04/the-pandora-papers-exposed-how-the-worlds-rich-and-famous-hide-their-wealth-with-tax-avoidance-schemes/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/04/the-pandor... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartercoudriet/2019/06/28/curt-johnson-billionaire-sexual-assault/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartercoudriet/2019/06/28/curt-...
- roenxi 5y ago
  They are billionaires. They can probably just buy what they want, even for some of the more out-there base desires. Why risk jail time? You seem to be going to tax minimisation - sure, the billionaires have a massive advantage when they engage with the law relative to you or I - but there is no reason they should go to jail for that. The basic assumption is if you have multiple accountants doing your tax return then the tax return should be legally proper. It got a lot of attention.
  - nicoffeine 5y ago
    I'm not talking about Zuck trying to buy a personality in the form of a custom yacht. I'm talking about Epstein and people like that who prefer to rent people against their will, or the Sacklers who will gladly set ethics and death tolls aside if there is enough profit opportunity. Billionaires should to go jail for tax fraud, preferably in proportion to the amount of money they stole. They are not running their itemized deductions by a typical accounting firm. They are seeking out teams of lawyers and accountants with a reputation for hiding money, and paying millions of dollars because they expect them to be good at it.