Have you ever thought about being rich? Here we are, most of us, just trying to ‘get by,’ and there are always those who seem to make us feel, well, comparatively worthless.
We, the ordinary folk, the 99 per cent, may be happy with our ‘lot,’ which is conversely not a lot, but we do have 50 per cent of the world’s wealth. The more sobering thought, or knowledge, however, is that the other 1 per cent possess the other half, so they do have a lot. There are 62 million millionaires, 2,838 billionaires, and of them all, Elon Musk reigns with a personal wealth of around $300 billion. But, as Christina Stead tellingly wrote, “If the rich divided up all their money, there wouldn’t be enough to go round.” Ironically, given their communist backgrounds, DataPulse Analytics advises that of 143 Russian and 539 Chinese billionaires, 97 per cent are self-made, reflecting how commercialism is now the political theme. North America boasts 1,071 billionaires, Europe 714, Asia 519, South and Central America 92, the Middle East 77, and the African continent a surprisingly miserable 11. We despise without even knowing them. We can rarely feel at ease with the wealthy, but maybe if we do know a little more about them, we will be less intimidated by them.
Forbes Magazine, the ‘bible of the rich,’ tells us that of the 2,838 current billionaires, surprisingly only a third, or 33 per cent, have dynastic wealth, having inherited, or been born into wealth and are considered as ‘old money,’ while the other 67 per cent are those who have worked for, or grasped opportunities, in accumulating ‘new’ wealth. Traditional familial wealth has emerged as contemptuous of the new generations of prosperity, who they see as “vulgar, with their gaudy mansions, loud Porsches, and Gucci bags, just vulgar!” according to one long-established, old money matriarch.
The affluent display Machiavellian tendencies, in which you see power through wealth, and corruptibility through power, and if we understand that, according to Faisal Baluch (2018), we can understand a little more of the erratic behaviour of the Trump’s of this world. It is the same entitlement to corruptibility that saw Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme siphon $50 million, ‘Big Tobacco’ conceal research on the harmful effects of smoking, Enron manipulate their share price, and Goldman Sachs sell worthless assets long after the 2008 financial crash.
Those who have little or nothing are challenged by their circumstances, but what of the wealthy? Well, it is no surprise that according to research by Catherine Ettman et al (2002), “modifies the relationship between wealth and depression,” so having money makes you feel better. Davidson, Kitzinger and Hunt (2006) confirmed that “rich people are healthier,” and finally, adding insult to injury, Hamermesh and Leigh (2022) found that the wealthy are better looking! Well, no surprises there, huh? If it makes you feel any better, a current major investment platform has revealed that immensely rich people are apprehensive that they fear loss, but fear losing all their wealth, but that’s just nuts, as Berkshire Hathaway’s wealth fund manager, Warren Buffet says, “put 90 per cent in low-cost stocks and 10 per cent in short-term government bonds,” as the variety applies greater opportunity for long-term growth potential thanks to its broad stock market exposure, while having significantly more volatility than most investors favour, of a more conservative 60/40 split.
Andrew Carnegie erred on the side of conservatism when he famously said, “Ninety per cent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.” Carnegie was to sell his business, including large swaths of urban New York, to the J P Morgan Banking Group in 1901, and, turning to philanthropy, his legacy was found in public libraries and parks, bearing his name, before his passing in 1919. Today, thirteen surviving members of his family are believed to live modestly but well, on Carnegie’s legacy fund.
From an unwealthy perspective, let’s be charitable, and have the perspective of the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus that, “Wealth is not about possessions, but having few wants,” or not, because around every corner there will be a millionaire stepping over us, without a shred of care, concern, or indeed, character.
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