Mark Zuckerberg was just getting started in Silicon Valley, the tech capital of the world. ‘He lived this completely Spartan lifestyle.’ Mark Zuckerberg: The Billionaires Who Made Our World
Zuckerberg denied stealing the idea, but settled the case in 2008, paying out $65 million. ibid.
We consistently give massive audiences to ‘self-made’ billionaires. The Myth of the Self-Made Billionaire, Youtube 12.59, Second Thought 2021
They can convince you to act against you own self interests. ibid.
Billionaires never get there alone … family, wealth and privilege. ibid.
No billionaire has ever got to their status by ethical means.
Everyone loves philanthropy … Philanthropy takes people well known for being unredeemable and turns them into saints. How Billionaire Philanthropy Won’t Solve Anything, Youtube 17.10, Second Thought 2022
There are at least three problems with high-profile philanthropy: It costs the rest of us money, it might not be happening at all, it actively breaks democracy. ibid.
If you earned $1 per second, then to make $1 million would take you about 11 and a half days. Levels of Wealth: Inside the Secret Lives of the Ultra-Rich, short Youtube 15.13, 2021
There are arguably five different levels of rich, and at each level, things change very drastically. ibid.
Now around 2,755 known billionaires. ibid.
Plutocrats: A perfect description of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Plutocrats: The Rise of the Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else, 2022
The world’s 86 richest individuals now own as much wealth as the poorest half of humanity. And much of that is dark money, spent to control the political process. ibid.
Over five million families were evicted from their homes. ibid.
In the last century American plutocracy has been built at the expense of working people. ibid.
A deep distrust of the financial system takes root. ibid.
35 years ago an economic experiment in the US & UK was supposed to provide a better life for all. Today in both countries, inequality is at its highest level since 1928. Growing Economy, Miserable Citizens: Why are Rich Countries So Unhappy? aka The Divide, 2022
The true ultra-rich operate behind the scenes away from the public. The Most Depraved Crimes of the Ultra-Rich, short Youtube 26.42 2023
The Rothchilds’ crimes … With this wealth came the need for more power … Murdoch family … George Soros … Saudi Royal Family … ibid.
Attacking the rich is not envy. It is self-defense. The hoarding of wealth is the cause of poverty. The rich just aren’t indifferent to poverty; they create and maintain it. Jodie Foster
The rich individuals are increasingly hoarding everything. If the billionaires want to go to space, they could at least leave their money on Earth to solve the critical Earthbound problems. We now have an estimated 2,775 billionaires with a combined net worth of around $13.1 trillion. I have it on good authority that you don’t need more than $1 billion to live comfortably. Even if every billionaire kept $1 billion, that would leave around $10 trillion for ending hunger, poverty, and environmental destruction. We should be taxing the vast and rapidly growing billionaire wealth to help finance a civilized world. Jeffrey Sachs, speech UN Food Systems Pre-Summit 27th July 2021
Men of unlimited means live lives of unbridled lust, and then, in their old age, they are hapless victims of their own impulses. Upton Sinclair, The Book of Life, 1921