How wealthy are the wealthy?
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wrote on 14 Feb 2025, 15:53 last edited by
This website is bananas. If you're on a normal computer, you can hold SHIFT and scroll down on your mouse wheel. Take a few minutes to at least get to the end of Jeff Bezos' wealth.
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wrote on 14 Feb 2025, 15:59 last edited by
Bah. Commie propaganda. As far as I can see there are a whole lot more relatively affluent Americans, and the poor do not look nearly as poor as they were when I was growing up.
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wrote on 14 Feb 2025, 16:07 last edited by
The wealth of Bezos or Musk doesn't track with the profits they have "extracted" from the economy. It tracks with the forecasted value of the companies they built, and the quality of the investment over the long term that those companies represent. This unimaginable wealth is truly shared by anybody with skin in the game in the stock market.
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wrote on 14 Feb 2025, 16:16 last edited by
Yes good points. Also wealth isn't zero sum, as far as I understand. We should all aim (if we want) to build as much wealth as possible. For me, I don't need a billion dollars, just enough to make my family's life comfortable, that's the goal.
That being said, if I did have $100 billion, and could convert it into liquid cash, I'd like to think I would do a few very large charitable efforts, such as housing all homeless vets, or paying for all cancer treatments.
Ugh to further connect these dots... $100 billion is just 3 months the US Treasury pays out towards interest on our debt. It'd be so easy for the government to pay for so many more things (and very very easily too) if they didn't have the looming debt choking the treasury.
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wrote on 14 Feb 2025, 17:14 last edited by
@89th crazy graph. The graph is correct in that "nobody needs a billion dollars." But I do not hold it against Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, etc. I dont think that any parent told their kids, "I want you to strive to be poor when you grow up."
Somewhat related. I had a dream a short while ago where I had bought 1000 bitcoins when they cost a dollar each. LOL. That would be USD$100MM now.
@Mik said in How wealthy are the wealthy?:
the poor do not look nearly as poor as they were when I was growing up.
Agree. I do think that everybody in the US who cries about being poor be given a passport and a month long trip to the poor sections of India/Somalia/Thailand, etc. They will then understand what "poor" really means.
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wrote on 14 Feb 2025, 17:38 last edited by
Yes. There are no obese poor in those places.
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Bah. Commie propaganda. As far as I can see there are a whole lot more relatively affluent Americans, and the poor do not look nearly as poor as they were when I was growing up.
wrote on 15 Feb 2025, 07:50 last edited by@Mik said in How wealthy are the wealthy?:
Bah. Commie propaganda. As far as I can see there are a whole lot more relatively affluent Americans, and the poor do not look nearly as poor as they were when I was growing up.
Depends on the metric. Amenities like TVs and such have plummeted in price when adjusted for inflation, but necessities have blown up. So while you can furnish your apartment with extras your parents could never afford just starting out, you ain't getting a house anytime soon—and going without a wifi-enabled Roomba and foregoing Starbucks isn't going to get you there.
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wrote on 15 Feb 2025, 18:40 last edited by
Part of that speaks to a larger problem... A young husband and wife can raise two children quite well in a well-designed 1500sqft 3/2. A house that size, built with decent materials should not be much more than $150k + lot cost.
The young couple should be able to afford one new car...Something economical, practical and built to last 200,000 miles. And that car should cost no more than $20k, before tax, tag and title fees.
Our theoretical young couple should be able to afford one "date night" per week. Nothing extravagant, just maybe pizza and a movie
While they're trying to pay their mortgage, car note and general living expenses, there needs to be a bit of money invested for retirement and a few dollars left over for church or their favorite charities.
And our couple needs to be able to do this with Dad working as a cop and mom working a job in retail (or vice-versa).
I'm not sure it's do-able...
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Part of that speaks to a larger problem... A young husband and wife can raise two children quite well in a well-designed 1500sqft 3/2. A house that size, built with decent materials should not be much more than $150k + lot cost.
The young couple should be able to afford one new car...Something economical, practical and built to last 200,000 miles. And that car should cost no more than $20k, before tax, tag and title fees.
Our theoretical young couple should be able to afford one "date night" per week. Nothing extravagant, just maybe pizza and a movie
While they're trying to pay their mortgage, car note and general living expenses, there needs to be a bit of money invested for retirement and a few dollars left over for church or their favorite charities.
And our couple needs to be able to do this with Dad working as a cop and mom working a job in retail (or vice-versa).
I'm not sure it's do-able...
wrote on 15 Feb 2025, 21:54 last edited by@Jolly said in How wealthy are the wealthy?:
I'm not sure it's do-able...
It absolutely is when
you pull yourself up by your bootstrapslive in your parents' basement until you're about 30.People are finding weird workarounds. In my neck of the woods, there are a couple of families, entirely unrelated, who are living together to share expenses. I don't know any details beyond that, but it's an interesting solve.
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wrote on 16 Feb 2025, 00:33 last edited by
a couple of families, entirely unrelated, who are living together to share expenses.
"It takes a village."
Philosophically I am quite OK with that concept. Roommates or flatmates should be more common when housing affordability is an issue. Unfortunately, too many local ordinances prevent too many unrelated individuals from renting/living together.