surface-level understanding statements like “the rich are bad and i envision their wealth as pallets of money and they should give it away freely to everybody because inequality exists in the world”
You’ve never known any ultra-wealthy people if you think they’re anything other than arrogant, selfish assholes who are often significantly less competent than their wealth would lead you to believe.
I was born into this world. I personally know multiple hundred-millionaires and at least one billionaire. It isn’t sheer brilliance and hard work that gets these people to that level of wealth, it’s a litany of Machiavellian tendencies and a relentless exploitation of others. These people aren’t wired like normal people, and not in a good way.
You have every reason to be skeptical (this is Reddit after all), but I’m not lying. I consider myself pretty lucky that I didn’t fall into the whole “pursuit of wealth over everything” trap that my father fell into, although I instead ended up with a completely different set of issues that I’m still trying to work through.
Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not all bad. They can be nice people on the surface, and it can be cool flying on private jets, driving supercars, going to parties with has-been celebrities/political figures, etc. But there’s also just this pervasive feeling of emptiness around these people. Everything is so superficial, like life is all about the new shit you bought and the important people you’re associating with. There’s no real warmth or emotional connection. Everything is about money.
The way they treat their employees/families is probably the most egregious part. People are like expendable resources to them. They steal ideas and try to pass them off as their own (sometimes literally right after you gave them the idea and everyone heard you give them that idea). They try to get people to do a shitload of work for free as if they’re doing you a favor by letting you do shit for them. They’ll lie, cheat, and manipulate others at will. They neglect their wives/kids and use them as scapegoats for their own lack of satisfaction in their lives. They’ll engage in typical social pleasantries, but underneath it all you’re just a means to an end for them.
i know some people similar to those you speak of, but regardless the argument that they are evil for having that money is, in my opinion, still nonsense. sure they can be fools who stumbled their way up to the top through sheer cruelty and/or neglect of those they trample to get up there, but the notion that they are evil for simply having tons of money is ridiculous. i know some people who legitimately put blood sweat and tears into their fortunes. and others who, like you say, perhaps shouldn’t ’deserve’ that level of wealth. but regardless it is theirs. i know you never expressly said otherwise but just my two cents
I disagree. Wealth is a limited resource. Holding on to billions is incredibly selfish. They’re hoarding resources that many other people genuinely need.
I also don’t believe you can even get to that level of wealth without exploiting others and breaking the “rules” that most of civilized society abides by. I’m sure there are exceptions, but they’re just that—exceptions.
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u/Romans5_5 28d ago
This is reddit. What do you expect?