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What does being rich even mean? For us it might be the total sum of shares, realestate, cash, minus debts. If you're hiding your wealth then what does it mean t

by jmpeax 2y ago

What does being rich even mean? For us it might be the total sum of shares, realestate, cash, minus debts. If you're hiding your wealth then what does it mean to "have" that wealth if no one knows it belongs to you? I guess it comes down to the wealth you can control in your favour, but then how is that different to being in congress?

dools 2y ago
> but then how is that different to being in congress? Less work, less risk, the ability to corruptly influence multiple people in congress by proxy rather than scrounging around for funds from corrupt private individuals out to influence policy in their favour.
ChainOfFools 2y ago
Wealth is a proxy for having options, even if you do not exercise them. There are thus many forms of wealth, and some do not translate directly across domain boundaries. Arnold Schwarzenegger famously explained that he remains committed to a demanding bodybuilding regimen even long after becoming fabulously wealthy precisely because his physique is a form of wealth that cannot be bought at any price, and is available to almost anyone who wants it badly enough. A billionaire facing an acute and aggressive terminal cancer diagnosis has all the options anyone could want, but one.
xpe 2y ago
Yes, there are many forms of power. Different forms are sometimes fungible to various degrees (varying across time and space). I would expect that financial wealth is the most fungible form of any of them under usual circumstances.
TacticalCoder 2y ago
> What does being rich even mean? To me it means living in a country where the government's debt ain't more than 30% of the country's GDP. So I moved to such a country.
- MobiusHorizons 2y ago
  Obviously moving countries will change lots of things about your life. Do you attribute any of those changes to low government debt? I have personally always thought about it as more of a long term problem rather than a present day issue. Would be curious to hear your reflections.
chubot 2y ago
I don’t really understand the question, because based on the details in the article, SOME people knew he was wealthy, but he wasn’t a public figure Most people aren’t public figures, wealthy or not He had a job, a bunch of kids, multiple wives, and a 250 M divorce, among other things. Obviously some people knew this. It just wasn’t in the public interest, like 99.99999% of things that have ever happened :-)

by jmpeax 2y ago

dools 2y ago

> but then how is that different to being in congress? Less work, less risk, the ability to corruptly influence multiple people in congress by proxy rather than scrounging around for funds from corrupt private individuals out to influence policy in their favour.

ChainOfFools 2y ago

Wealth is a proxy for having options, even if you do not exercise them. There are thus many forms of wealth, and some do not translate directly across domain boundaries. Arnold Schwarzenegger famously explained that he remains committed to a demanding bodybuilding regimen even long after becoming fabulously wealthy precisely because his physique is a form of wealth that cannot be bought at any price, and is available to almost anyone who wants it badly enough. A billionaire facing an acute and aggressive terminal cancer diagnosis has all the options anyone could want, but one.

xpe 2y ago

Yes, there are many forms of power. Different forms are sometimes fungible to various degrees (varying across time and space). I would expect that financial wealth is the most fungible form of any of them under usual circumstances.

TacticalCoder 2y ago

> What does being rich even mean? To me it means living in a country where the government's debt ain't more than 30% of the country's GDP. So I moved to such a country.

MobiusHorizons 2y ago
Obviously moving countries will change lots of things about your life. Do you attribute any of those changes to low government debt? I have personally always thought about it as more of a long term problem rather than a present day issue. Would be curious to hear your reflections.

chubot 2y ago

I don’t really understand the question, because based on the details in the article, SOME people knew he was wealthy, but he wasn’t a public figure Most people aren’t public figures, wealthy or not He had a job, a bunch of kids, multiple wives, and a 250 M divorce, among other things. Obviously some people knew this. It just wasn’t in the public interest, like 99.99999% of things that have ever happened :-)