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My cynical take is that modern billionaires are billionaires on paper only; not even paper, just rows in some bank database. Utilizing even a fraction of the we
by joeframbach 3y ago
My cynical take is that modern billionaires are billionaires on paper only; not even paper, just rows in some bank database. Utilizing even a fraction of the wealth would lay bare that the wealth doesn't exist in real terms.
- HumblyTossed 3y agobuy, borrow, die They don't have to use it except as collateral for loans.
- thaumasiotes 3y ago> My cynical take is that modern billionaires are billionaires on paper only; not even paper, just rows in some bank database. I was disturbed back when Donald Trump was elected that one of the strains of opposition was "he can't function as president because he owns businesses. He should just own stock like a real politician." The supposed concern is that, if you have an actual business going, you may experience conflicts of interest between your business and your political decisions. But (1) categorically excluding anyone who does productive work from holding office is a really terrible (if historically common) idea; and (2) it's not like we never hear complaints about politicians getting into conflicts of interest between their political decisions and their stockholdings.