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As mentioned in the other responses that I scanned, many wealthy people do inherit their wealth. However, many do not. I have seen Bill Gates' name mentioned several times so obviously this point has been brought up. Warren Buffet is another billionaire who did not benefit from an inheritance.
While it is more difficult in other countries to start from zero and attain great wealth, it is certainly possible. Even in third world countries like India, China, Mexico and others, there are people who have managed to do this. Certainly, in America it is even more possible.
But you cannot do it watching Honey Boo Boo or Duck Dynasty. It takes an incredible amount of motivation, dedication and focus. Something which a very small percentage of the population is willing or able to commit to.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by burgler09
The only narcissistic entitlement here are the people who believe that others owe them something.
Poor people are poor because of bad decisions.
Spoken like someone who obviously has no experience with actually acquiring any real wealth themselves!
Although it still doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that even folks born into middle class families already have way more advantages just in education, healthcare, resources and influential contacts, than anyone born into a poor family.
And even so-called "self-made" Bill Gates, didn't exactly start from "scratch". Besides enjoying the luxury of dropping out of Harvard, he comes from a very prominent & successful NW family that owns one of the most famous law firms in Seattle. And when it came time to pitch DOS, the OS he developed with Paul Allen, it didn't hurt that Gates already personally knew IBM representative Jack Sams.
So by your logic, it's kinda like saying a Volkswagen has the same chance at racing as a Porsche… if it only pulls itself up by its little bootstraps and says "I think I can, I think I can" (…lol)!
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
So, what are you going to do to force rich people to share their wealth? Steal their money?
Hmm...
A lot of their wealth is ill-gotten. I'd say stamping out corruption is a good start. Just dismantling structures which allow for the exploitation of the poor. In many of these countries (or in the States) it's hardly a level playing field to begin with.
Spoken like someone who obviously has no experience with actually acquiring any real wealth themselves!
Although it still doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that even folks born into middle class families already have way more advantages just in education, healthcare, resources and influential contacts, than anyone born into a poor family.
And even so-called "self-made" Bill Gates, didn't exactly start from "scratch". Besides enjoying the luxury of dropping out of Harvard, he comes from a very prominent & successful NW family that owns one of the most famous law firms in Seattle. And when it came time to pitch DOS, the OS he developed with Paul Allen, it didn't hurt that Gates already personally knew IBM representative Jack Sams.
So by your logic, it's kinda like saying a Volkswagen has the same chance at racing as a Porsche… if it only pulls itself up by its little bootstraps and says "I think I can, I think I can" (…lol)!
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
You're right, I'm just out of college.. I don't have any real wealth yet. However, I have a better chance at being wealthy with my thought process than someone who thinks that they can do whatever they want, waste their money and then blame it all on luck or hope the government will support them.
You're free to make excuses, but those poor people could be a lot better off if they made better decisions.
No offense but most of these people are probably give more to charity in one year than you'll make in a lifetime.
These billionaires got to where they did today because of hard work and their sacrifices. They sacrificed a lot for what they have, and they deserve it. If it was given to them, they have every right to it because their forefathers sacrificed what they had to get there for their family.
Sharing wealth, or forcing someone to give money to someone else is unfair. It is not unfair that this poor person decided to have a kid at a young age, start smoking pot or doing crack when they were in their 20s. It's not anyone's fault that this old retired couple didn't save enough money because they wanted an RV.
I don't find this article sickening, I find it inspiring.
plenty of billionaires attained their wealth through nefarious means and practices or if they themselves didn't , their ancestors did , their are plenty of decent " self made " super wealthy people but its naïve to think all of them are , that statistic ( richest 85 wealthier than half the planet ) is strikingly obscene
As I get older I realize how much luck goes into being truly wealthy. To go from little to obscenely wealthy you need to take real risks, whether educated or not. Those risks either pay off or not...and that is really luck. Lots of people work their butts off, but their risk didn't work out or their timing was just slightly off. Also, I find that many of the super rich have a different attitude towards others than than non-super rich. Empathy is a missing quality in many of the truly rich (not low end millionaires, but high million to billionaires).
These are all generalizations, though.
" luck " is the single most important factor in peoples lives , beit from meeting your partner to career breaks to which country you were born in , you cannot plan everything to perfection
The only narcissistic entitlement here are the people who believe that others owe them something.
Poor people are poor because of bad decisions.
some are , many are not , only a simplistic obtuse idiot would think otherwise
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