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Why are billionaires immoral? That seems completely backwards. They created value not by coercion, but by commerce and improved the world. https://www.youtube.

Why are billionaires immoral? That seems completely backwards. They created value not by coercion, but by commerce and improved the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtJwAYJ9B08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtJwAYJ9B08 The whole pie has gotten larger since the industrial revolution and has lifted people out of poverty at an unprecendented rate through Capitalism. The current zeitgeist in places like HN and in progressive circles is worrying. There was just a recent thread about how India lifted people out of poverty and people were downvoting pro-Capitalist comments even though that's the truth no matter how you twist it.

wilsonnb3 4y ago
I am pro capitalism and I don't think that the creation of value by billionaires is immoral. The immoral part comes after that when they sit on their horde of money, far too much for anyone to spend in 10 lifetimes, while they should be giving it to people and causes that need it. The only one of the "mainstream", household name billionaires that gets it seems to be MacKenzie Scott.
- dougSF70 4y ago
  He hasn't not given it away yet...and since most of it is tied up in illiquid stock (space x, twitter) and liquid stock (tesla) he probably can't do so easily. When you and me are billionaires we might have a different perspective.
  - wilsonnb3 4y ago
    This is true, it is not liquid, but some basic googling shows me that he donated $6 billion in stock and sold $10-12 billion so far in 2022. I commend him for donating $6 billion, that is an objectively good thing, but what the hell is he going to do with $10 billion in cash? He can live a life of lavish luxury with 1% of that.
- dougSF70 4y ago
  He used $10bn of tesla stock to buy twitter (probably).
- systemvoltage 4y ago
  Their wealth is not sitting in cash and they are not "hording it". They built the company through free enterprise and their wealth is in the very thing that they built from scratch. This is just elementary misunderstanding of "billionaires".

wilsonnb3 4y ago

I am pro capitalism and I don't think that the creation of value by billionaires is immoral. The immoral part comes after that when they sit on their horde of money, far too much for anyone to spend in 10 lifetimes, while they should be giving it to people and causes that need it. The only one of the "mainstream", household name billionaires that gets it seems to be MacKenzie Scott.

dougSF70 4y ago
He hasn't not given it away yet...and since most of it is tied up in illiquid stock (space x, twitter) and liquid stock (tesla) he probably can't do so easily. When you and me are billionaires we might have a different perspective.
- wilsonnb3 4y ago
  This is true, it is not liquid, but some basic googling shows me that he donated $6 billion in stock and sold $10-12 billion so far in 2022. I commend him for donating $6 billion, that is an objectively good thing, but what the hell is he going to do with $10 billion in cash? He can live a life of lavish luxury with 1% of that.
dougSF70 4y ago
He used $10bn of tesla stock to buy twitter (probably).
systemvoltage 4y ago
Their wealth is not sitting in cash and they are not "hording it". They built the company through free enterprise and their wealth is in the very thing that they built from scratch. This is just elementary misunderstanding of "billionaires".