On 11/09/2019 04:58 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 4:27:28 AM UTC-5, Roscoe wrote:
Bernie or Liz I think asked that and it got me thinking. A billion
is a thousand thousands. Does anyone really need to be a billionaire?

Does anybody need anything but food, clothing and shelter?

Although I'm not as fond of billionaires as T, I recognize that they
provide a lot of economic benefit. I suspect they still would provide
a good deal of economic benefit if their tax rate was a wee bit higher.

People don't become billionaires because they like money. They become
billionaires because they like doing the stuff that makes them money.
If it was about the money, there are lots easier ways to do it than
starting Microsoft, Innovative Market Systems, or Apple.

If the Walton family weren't related to Sam Walton, where would they be?
If Soros wasn't a speculator who almost brought down the Bank of England
for his profit would he be sweeping out bathrooms in Hungary?

How about the Kochs? Old Fred was a colorful guy. While being sued for
patent infringement he set up refineries in the Soviet Union that didn't
recognize US IP rights. His disillusionment with Uncle Joe resulted in
his rabid anti-communism that he passed on along with the money. His
next stop was the Third Reich where he built a refinery to produce the
high octane fuel needed to keep the Messerscmitts in the air.

When the heat dies down he came back to the US. After he died, all was
not well in Koch land and the four brothers litigated against each other.

Sure, some billionaires made it through hard work and produced valuable
products. Some worked hard manipulating the markets with a flair that
would make a vulture gag. Some just won the silver spoon.