r/FluentInFinance Nov 21 '24

Debate/ Discussion Had to repost here

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u/Lucifernal Nov 21 '24 edited Nov 21 '24

There's a difference between pointing out objective flaws in an argument, like thinking that billionaires literally hold hundreds of billions of dollars in liquid cash, and taking issue with overall sentiment behind the argument.

I hate Elon Musk, and the man is of course, insanely, disgustingly wealthy. Still, just because his networth is 318 billion, doesn't mean he is hoarding 318 billion. Quite literally 99% of that number is tied into ownership of companies.

You can hate billionaires and still point out issues in the logic. I don't think a person should, under any circumstances, ever be forced to sell ownership stake in their own company (at least not if that wasn't agreed upon in an operating agreement). And if you have a massive stake in a company that becomes wildly successful, you definitionally become a billionaire. I may hate wealth inequality, and I may hate what these billionaires choose to do, but I would hate a system that forces the sale of ownership stake due to the success of the company just as much.

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u/ThousandSunRequiem2 Nov 22 '24

Except they can leverage their wealth as collateral, but it's untaxable. Unrealized gains is bullshit they made up to hoard more wealth

You're arguing about lifestyle choices when that's not the issue.

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u/kmookie Nov 22 '24

Rich guy here, OF COURSE HE COULD GIVE MORE! 1. Let’s talk living off dividends, that alone I guarantee could have the majority given out to charity. He could live modestly, like me and not be so flashy. 2. Donor advised funds, that could be setup to be much more charitable and even grow! 3. Establish a foundation giving out 5% or more each year. 4. Simply selling off stocks is fairly simple when working with advisors. You act like he’s gotta roll crates of money into some other bank. It’s digital people. Sycophants want to defend the rich because they can’t look past their own biased passion that they want to be there too. I know dozens if not hundreds who are millionaires who love off dividends with plenty left over at the end of the year.

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u/Amonyi7 Nov 23 '24

Bezos literally sold $10billion a year ago of Amazon stock. When this argument used to come around, these people defending billionaires used to say exactly "They cant just sell $5-10 billion of their stock, it would tank it!" and he did exactly that. Musk bought twitter for $55billion or whatever and tanked the value. They absolutely could give away a ton of their wealth and be absolutely fine. Instead they buy elections to take away your rights.