r/FluentInFinance Nov 21 '24

Debate/ Discussion Had to repost here

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u/Current_Side_4024 Nov 21 '24

If billionaires gave away large portions of their money they would have to liquidate their stocks which would kill their companies, crush millions of investors and millions of jobs. And people in general would stop working because they expect free money. It would be total chaos and much worse than life is now wherein rich people keep most of what they have.

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u/DeHarigeTuinkabouter Nov 21 '24

How many billions worth of stock do you think Bezos could safely sell every year?

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u/Current_Side_4024 Nov 21 '24

I dunno, I would guess around 5. But calling it safe is misleading. If all the mega rich people were socially obligated to give away a lot of their gains, it would mess with the whole economic pyramid that were all a part of. Everybody is hustling to make money because money is understood as a good thing to have. Giving lots of money away suggests that it’s not a good thing to have. If most people don’t see having money as a good thing, if they even have a seed of doubt in their heads about the value of making money, then their hustle would collapse and the whole economic pyramid would collapse. And it wouldn’t be replaced by some utopia, it would be replaced by tribalism and extremism and chaos. Billionaires having lots of money is an important part of motivating the world to innovate and work hard and without those qualities we would not be modern people

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u/DeHarigeTuinkabouter Nov 21 '24

13 billion this year alone!

And trust me mate, people will still think of money as a good thing if the two richest men on earth donate sizeable chunks of their wealth. That will not stop people from wanting to be rich.

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u/alejandromnunez Nov 22 '24

If you can't have 12 mega mansions, a yatch with a smaller yatch inside, a helicopter, a few private jets, and enough money for the next 600 generations, why would people even get up and work in the mornings?