To me the fundamental question has to be: what benefit to society does it provide for an individual to have that much wealth? I have not yet found an answer that convinces me there is any.
@tim I don’t know where she falls on the money scale but I believe that Dolly Parton has used a lot of her money for the good of others.
I wish more rich people would do more to contribute to society.
Too many people get their wealth by mooching from society.
@drscriptt ultimately that's kind of my point, though - in some way giving away that money proves she didn't need it.
I think we're in overall alignment on this point, though - if I personally somehow crossed the $1Bn marker (like winning a mega lottery jackpot), my first goal would be to get below it through philanthropy. And to figure out how low I could go to be comfortable, and get there as quickly and aggressively as possible.
"But billionaires take risks and start businesses!"
This is one of the top arguments I see people around me in tech making. But guess what - people who aren't rich also take risks and start businesses. And some of those become the biggest businesses out there!
Larry and Sergey weren't rich when they started Google. Far from it. What value does their obscene wealth now provide to society? I argue: none. They could have 1/100th of their personal wealth and still live exactly the same.
I started a business and took risks, when I was 16 (well, the risks came more at 19/20 when I went out on my own with that as my career). I didn't get rich, though I am objectively wealthy / well-off in the grand scheme of the world (not even close to billions, though!).
