Defending the super rich

The problem is these people are only rich because everybody believes the system. Most of their wealth is calculated on stock prices, and if you try and sell all their stock there wouldn't be enough people to buy it and the stock prices will plummet. Then they won't be as rich anymore. Sure they have plenty in bank accounts and so on, but the majority is stocks.

After the recession in 2008, there were plenty of stories of the super rich who lost 70% of their fortune because of a drop in stock prices.
 
Chris.Geerdts said:
I don't see a problem with rich folk *having* wealth per se

The problems come when they use their wealth to leverage business deals, markets and politics to go their way, thereby skewing the rules of the game to their advantage
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Indeed. In a well-regulated economy the state earns enough from taxes to give opportunity to develop to the whole society. The wealthy, in turn, do not mind paying those taxes, because an affluent middle class is the main source of income. Important to note is that "well-regulated" does not mean "over-regulated."

furpile said:
The problem is these people are only rich because everybody believes the system. Most of their wealth is calculated on stock prices, and if you try and sell all their stock there wouldn't be enough people to buy it and the stock prices will plummet. Then they won't be as rich anymore. Sure they have plenty in bank accounts and so on, but the majority is stocks....
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Anton Rupert explained it well: Wealthy and rich are not the same. Rich people have a lot of cash available. The wealthy own a lot of high value assets. (My paraphrasing)
In this case they article should refer to "super wealthy." They do control a lot of value but it is also at work employing people and generating more wealth for the company, the employees, the owners and the country.

Frankly, I would rather live in a country where there is a fair opportunity for all to become super wealthy than where poverty is shared equally by all.
 
You could divide the worlds weath betrween everyone and within a month there would be poor and rich people. That is life.

For those you have become wealthy by working hard, I salute you.

However, I do not salute our ANC cadres who in 1994 had nothing but through association, BEE, AA etc have become wealthy at the expense of their trodden brothers. Parasites and disgrace to our society.
 
Keeper said:
A person who is super rich, like the ones mentioned in the article, wouldn't even waste time to pick up a $100 bill if he dropped it.
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Only we would, because we didn't get super rich by pissing away money needlessly.

*Let it be know that I earned roughly $243.76 typing this post*
 
This is quite an interesting analysis and if the analysis were further broadened we could make the following assumption about labour pay.

The lowest wage in South Africa is for a domestic worker in a non-urban area at R 1285 per month equals R 15420 per annum. Assuming that the richest people in the world took 5 years to generate the wealth that they currently have which is very conservative as some of the richest people in the world took many decades to get to where they are!

$500 x 11.68 = R5840 divided by 5 years = R 1168 per year.

This could potentially mean that the lowest paid employee in South Africa is earning 7% below what they should be earning.

The reason I am doing this calculation is that wealth creation is the application of labour at a margin within a market. Rich people are very good at applying labour at a margin and consistently applying that method to get richer over time. This is why education is key because if you are educated you will have a better chance of brokering your sale of your labour.

Very short analysis and probably has a few holes :)
 
TehStranger said:
Pfft, that's just passive income from investments, do keep up son.
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And that is exactly it.

I make quite a bit of money by simply having money. That money of mine adds very little value to anything other than adding to my existing money.
I inherited a fair whack of money, and most certainly didn't earn any of it, other than being born.

Yet the middle class always rises to the defense of those of us that are privileged in this way. Same thing happens in the USA.

Why is this? Are you trying to prevent your future imaginary lotto winning money being taken away?? (Paraphrasing John Oliver here)
 
Skerminkel said:
Aah, so your opportunity cost is actually much higher?
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Opportunity costs is a economics concept, not a finance concept.
Otherwise there is an opportunity cost in anything and everything you do
 
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JStrike said:
And that is exactly it.

I make quite a bit of money by simply having money. That money of mine adds very little value to anything other than adding to my existing money.
I inherited a fair whack of money, and most certainly didn't earn any of it, other than being born.

Yet the middle class always rises to the defense of those of us that are privileged in this way. Same thing happens in the USA.

Why is this? Are you trying to prevent your future imaginary lotto winning money being taken away?? (Paraphrasing John Oliver here)
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Money makes money. Inherited money is a different sotry, but what about the Gates, Bransons, Notchs et al of the world that made the money through hard work?

Skerminkel said:
Aah, so your opportunity cost is actually much higher?
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Indeed, I'd say it's about tree fiddy.
 
TehStranger said:
Money makes money. Inherited money is a different sotry, but what about the Gates, Bransons, Notchs et al of the world that made the money through hard work?



Indeed, I'd say it's about tree fiddy.
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The people that made their own money are but a small percentage vs inherited wealth
 
JStrike said:
Why is this? Are you trying to prevent your future imaginary lotto winning money being taken away?? (Paraphrasing John Oliver here)
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Most people aspire to be rich and that aspiration is why.
 
JStrike said:
The people that made their own money are but a small percentage vs inherited wealth
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I'd be interested to see some stats if you've got? Would make an interesting study on wealth handover and the barrier to entry if you're not already part of the elite.
 
and

JStrike said:
The people that made their own money are but a small percentage vs inherited wealth
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And as everyone knows these days, capital outperforms income over the long term, meaning the inequality will only tend to grow.
 
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