1/ Someone recently told me that they think it's impossible for somebody to become a billionaire without doing evil things/being inherently bad.
Let's dig into this...
I'd argue that like any pool of people, there are good billionaires and bad billionaires...
Let's dig into this...
I'd argue that like any pool of people, there are good billionaires and bad billionaires...
2/ There are three primary ways people become billionaires:
1. They start a business that gets huge
2. They inherit a lot of money
3. They get lucky (early employee at a huge company, a wild speculative investment, etc)
1. They start a business that gets huge
2. They inherit a lot of money
3. They get lucky (early employee at a huge company, a wild speculative investment, etc)
3/ There can be wonderful people and jerks in any of those three buckets, and there is nothing inherently evil about any of them...
4/ Let's take @KylieJenner, for example.
1. She wasn't a billionaire, but she had a huge social following.
2. She started selling makeup.
3. It turned out people liked it and bought a lot of it.
4. Her biz got valued at over $1 billion.
5. Therefore she is a billionaire...
1. She wasn't a billionaire, but she had a huge social following.
2. She started selling makeup.
3. It turned out people liked it and bought a lot of it.
4. Her biz got valued at over $1 billion.
5. Therefore she is a billionaire...
5/ Another one: Sara Blakely from @SPANX.
1. She came up with a better design for pantyhose.
2. She got it into department stores.
3. Her product blew up and did a lot of revenue.
4. It got valued at over $1 billion.
5. Now she's a billionaire...
1. She came up with a better design for pantyhose.
2. She got it into department stores.
3. Her product blew up and did a lot of revenue.
4. It got valued at over $1 billion.
5. Now she's a billionaire...
6/ Is there anything inherently evil about starting a business to meet a demand? Of course not.
Now, I can't validate that they good people, I only use them as examples of how somebody can become a billionaire without doing anything "evil"...
Now, I can't validate that they good people, I only use them as examples of how somebody can become a billionaire without doing anything "evil"...
7/ Are there people who have become billionaires by taking advantage of people?
Of course. Fuck those ones. They are probably psychopaths...
Of course. Fuck those ones. They are probably psychopaths...
8/ Just like CEO's, there is a higher likelihood that billionaires are psychopaths (lack empathy for others).
Psychologists estimate 5% of the general population are psychopaths, so let's assume 20% of billionaires (1 in 5):
cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the…
Psychologists estimate 5% of the general population are psychopaths, so let's assume 20% of billionaires (1 in 5):
cnbc.com/2019/04/08/the…
9/ But clearly, there must be good people who become billionaires.
Can you argue it's insane for one person to control that much money? Absolutely.
Should they be taxed higher? Absolutely.
Should monopolies be broken up? Potentially.
Can you argue it's insane for one person to control that much money? Absolutely.
Should they be taxed higher? Absolutely.
Should monopolies be broken up? Potentially.
10/ But the idea that they are all universally bad people/made ill-gotten gains is silly.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
