You must log in or register to comment.
I mean those who have a crap ton of money have it because they don’t mind exploiting others in terrible ways to get it. So maybe the cream would rise back up to the top psychopaths.
Don’t forget, Nepotism and “net working” aka groups of sociopaths working together to shear the sheep…
If you take their money, they still have their connections, as long as the other wolves don’t turn on them.
Edit: as another poster said “social capital” is a thing.
Naw, I’m down with exploiting others for personal gain but I simply lack the capital to do so in the same way as the ultra rich.
I’m not going to pretend every low income person is some ethical ideal, because I sure as fuck aren’t.
And that’s why like laws and shit are needed to prevent that exploitation or whatever.
True they’d need to keep at least a few million to rise back to the top
Don’t underestimate the power of social capital.
100% It will work.
They would. It’s an interesting mindset to have. There’s people who get into debt over stupid chit… like cars and jewelry. And there’s people who get into debt by pulling loans and investing with said loans to then multiple their investments and intentionally stay in perpetual debt for their financial benefit. They don’t feel the stress of owing money back to the banks, they’re a godless (it is a sin within Abrahamic religions to not pay back your debts, essentially, you’re stealing someone else’s money) and immoral people.
Usury is still considered a sin, I believe. But then they figured out a way to make “charging interest on loans” ≠ “usury” so that lenders can now make money on their loans with impunity.
Interest in general is a sin, yes.
You can thank a certain people for that… can’t name names, don’t want to be labeled a bigot or racist.
No one single group of people invented the idea of charging interest for loaned money. What makes you a bigot is that you think there is.
The oldest recorded history of usury was during ancient Mesopotamia.
It’s the first and third Abrahamic religions. Christ never said anything about usery, and Baha’u’llah said that it was allowed within certain guidelines. It was only the Jewish and Muslim faiths that weren’t supposed to charge other Jews, or other Peoples of The Book, (that would be Jews, Christians, and Muslims,) respectively. They could charge the hethans interest though
lol… Muslims can’t charge interest. Interest is a form of oppression.
In Islam, usury (known as “riba” in Arabic) is strictly prohibited. Riba refers to any guaranteed interest on loaned money, which is seen as exploitative and unjust. The prohibition of riba is based on several Quranic verses and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him).
Quranic Verses on Riba Condemnation of Riba: The Quran clearly condemns riba and warns of severe consequences for those who engage in it. For example:
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:275-279):
Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, “Trade is [just] like interest.” But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns [to dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
Allah destroys interest and gives increase for charities. And Allah does not like every sinning disbeliever.
Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish prayer and give zakah will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.
O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers.
And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
Surah An-Nisa (4:161):
And [for] their taking of usury while they had been forbidden from it, and their consuming of the people’s wealth unjustly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.
In conclusion, in Islam, usury or interest (riba) is unequivocally prohibited due to its exploitative nature and potential to cause social and economic injustice. The Quran and Hadith provide clear guidance on avoiding riba and encourage ethical alternatives that promote fairness, mutual benefit, and social welfare. Islamic banking and finance have developed various instruments to adhere to these principles while providing viable financial services.
There’s no correlation between being rich and being intelligent.
Also, no they wouldn’t. 90% of them are rich because they had money before they gained consciousness. You have to have money to make money.
And isn’t greed a sin? isn’t having billions being greedy? You just hate poor people, don’t you?
You have to have money to make money.
Not true… You need good credit to have money and make that money make you money. Or ask for a loan from a person instead of a bank.
And isn’t greed a sin? isn’t having billions being greedy? You just hate poor people, don’t you?
Greed is a sin. It is subjective, having billions doesn’t automatically make you a greedy person. If you have billions, are you giving to charities?
I’m Muslim so here’s this:
The Quran encourages believers to be generous and spend in the way of Allah. Surah Al-Baqarah (2:177) emphasizes the importance of giving: Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, and the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.
No, I don’t hate poor people. I was born into a lower middle class family and if the world was perfect, all humans would be wealthy and live financially stress free, accessible to any and all resources needed to prosper.
I really needed to puke, thank you for helping me achieving said need.
If you think having more money than 99% of the people that have ever existed on earth is not greed… not even god could save you.
You could give out 99% of that money and live a lavish life.
If greed is subjective then sins are subjective. Therefore not paying back your debts is subjective. There’s no objective meaning to anything, it seems.
So you’re saying that if you’re wealthy to an extreme, that not even giving to charity, helping the needy, will save you from the definition/title of being greedy?
Okay.
There’s thousands of people who need to have their salaries increased. Aren’t they the needy?
Pay the workers, ffs. Else, you’re greedy, yes.
This is not the argument you think it is.
Those who run charities are not the holiest humans either. A fraction of what is sent to charities goes to those they claim to help.
Hey, I agree. If I was a business man and I was making a cool $1M per year, whatever other profits I make beyond that would easily go to the company and its employees. $1M per year is a very healthy income to live on. However, I would not ever violate another person’s right to own whatever they own just because they have an excess of it. Because that too could happen to me. If they gained that excess by means of crime (breaking actual laws), that’s a different story.
And I also agree regarding charities… for example, I don’t give my money to the red cross. I’m at work so I don’t have access to my bookmarks, but there’s a site that lists all charities and what percentages of donations goes to the organization itself vs the people who need it.
The problem with having this much money is the power that it brings. A life of modesty brings you way closer to god than anything else. Billionaires are sometimes praised but poor who dare use tricks to gain wealth are called sinners and immoral people. We’re stuck playing a game with rules that are different for everyone.
Because that too could happen to me.
Temporarily embarrassed millionaire :/
The Baha’i Faith was told explicitly that the first step towards True World Peace is universal education for all. The second step is the abolition of extremes of poverty and wealth.
Greed will kill us all, if we don’t stop it.
That’s The Hidden Imam that said that.
Yes- especially people like Bill Gates, who gives to charities he controls, so basically he’s still benefiting from the power his insane wealth brings, but gets to pretend he’s helping the world.
All billionaires come from privileged positions that afforded the needed social structures, and funding, to do it. Most people who become billionaires do so via inheritance. When you look into those who did not you see a pattern of born into a position with the resources to do so, and/or a string of random luck allowing for the needed connections.
Bill Gates’ parents had enough money to send him to one of the few high schools that had a computer to learn coding on, had an investment banker uncle that put millions into microsoft when it was still operating in a motel room, and his mother was on the board of a charity with one of the board members of IBM, and asked him to consider her son’s software.
Warren Buffett happened to meet a man who owned a large commercial property, that liked him, and ended up giving him the property, after mentoring him on how to invest, something he had developed an interest in after meeting someone in that industry while in the military. He sold the property for a lot of money and used it to apply what he had been mentored on.
Steve Jobs was adopted by well to do parents who raised him in silicon valley. This not only allowed him to be in silicon valley as it set off to be the most important place in the tech industry, he also had other benefits. His father had a full blown mechanic’s set up in their garage because it was his hobby. He taught Steve to use tools, and work on machines. Their neighbor was also an eccentric engineer in the very early silicon valley computer tech industry. This neighbor went out of his way to befriend the local kids and teach them about computers, software, electronics, and engineering. He also happened to become close friends with the brilliant Steve Wozniak.
I can go on. All billionaire’s lives are a string of exceptional fortunate events.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, was not born into a particularly wealthy family. His parents, Jacklyn and Ted Jorgensen, were teenagers when Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bezos’s biological father, Ted Jorgensen, was a bike shop owner and later worked as a circus performer. Jacklyn and Ted divorced when Bezos was still an infant, and Jacklyn remarried Miguel Bezos, a Cuban immigrant who legally adopted Jeff and gave him his last name.
Miguel Bezos worked as an engineer for Exxon, and the family moved frequently due to his job. While Bezos grew up in a relatively stable and middle-class environment, his parents emphasized hard work, education, and resourcefulness. Bezos often credited his stepfather, Miguel, for instilling in him important values and a strong work ethic.
While Bezos did not inherit significant wealth, his upbringing provided him with a supportive family environment and access to educational opportunities. Bezos attended Princeton University, where he studied electrical engineering and computer science, laying the groundwork for his future entrepreneurial endeavors. It was during his time at Princeton that Bezos developed the idea for an online bookstore, which eventually grew into the e-commerce giant Amazon.com.
Oprah Winfrey: Born into poverty in rural Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey overcame significant challenges, including a difficult childhood marked by poverty and abuse. Through perseverance and talent, she became one of the most successful media personalities in the world, building a media empire that includes television, film, publishing, and philanthropy.
Howard Schultz: Growing up in a Brooklyn housing project, Howard Schultz faced financial hardship and struggled academically. Despite these challenges, he became the CEO of Starbucks, transforming it from a small coffee retailer into one of the world’s most recognizable brands.
Jan Koum: Jan Koum immigrated to the United States from Ukraine as a teenager with his mother, facing poverty and relying on government assistance. He later co-founded WhatsApp, a messaging platform that was acquired by Facebook for billions of dollars, making Koum a billionaire.
Larry Ellison: Larry Ellison grew up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Chicago, raised by his aunt and uncle after his father died when he was nine months old. He co-founded Oracle Corporation, one of the world’s leading enterprise software companies, and became one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
John Paul DeJoria: John Paul DeJoria experienced homelessness and financial struggles early in his life. He went on to co-found Paul Mitchell Systems, a hair care company, and later founded the Patron Spirits Company, becoming a self-made billionaire.
Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren grew up in the Bronx, New York, in a working-class family. He started his career in fashion by selling ties, eventually launching his own brand, Polo Ralph Lauren, which became synonymous with luxury and style.
Not gonna lie, had me in the first half
Not me, but only because I’ve watched his videos on YouTube. The man is a brilliant comedian IMO.
Billionaires hold a tiny percentage of their wealth in money, so taking all their money away wouldn’t even make them stop being a billionaire.
Let’s remove their control of all that wealth, then. If they’re so good, they’ll soon be in control of more.
What you’re describing would amount to either eminent domain or civil asset forfeiture, both things that you really shouldn’t be resorting to for money unless you’ve run out of all other options to cover a budget and have a spectacular plan to get the country back onto regular revenue with that money already in place, because that window can only be broken into once.
The purpose is wealth redistribution, not financing the State. Ideally, that money would go to a one time expenditure like a tax rebate for lower earners or a stimulus or something. Revenue neutral for the State.
I feel like that almost makes it worse
Even assuming we could just get all the money with no complications, every billion seized this way would redistribute something like 3 dollars to the average american, because there’s a fokkin’ lot of us.
What’d be better would be to turn that money into a sovereign wealth fund that can be tapped for crisis moments or unexpected budget deficits. Basically as a “fuck you we don’t need austerity” piggy bank whenever economic downturn prompts the right wing nutcases to start complaining how things like a functioning government are a waste of money.
Why piggy bank it when there are things right now that could, and would, use the money?
Crumbling road infrastructure, social programs, implementation of better public transit, EV rebates, homelessness programs, library attorney’s fees, replacing lead pipes for water delivery systems, forest fire management, employment insurance, boosting food and cash aid for the needy, etc.
This is a silly thought experiment to point out that billionaires do not earn their own wealth, and you treat it like it’s proposed as an actual economic plan for the whole country?
… rofl
Why not? What about it being a silly thought experiment invalidates wanting to look closer at it?
Billionaires do not earn their wealth. That’s the through line.
Because it is specifically NOT an economic plan. At all. It’s a basic concept that would have to be fleshed out in order to even have an actual mechanism to test. Eminent domain is silly, because very, very few people want billionaires’ wealth going to the government.
That would be fascinating to find out. It would be such a badass move, too, if one of them were to give everything away to show they could do it again. I think it actually would be fine for quite a few of them. Their reputation would get them in so many doors and get them so many investors for whatever they get into after the big giveaway. To really do this experiment well, they would need to get plastic surgery and change their identity so they can really have a fresh start.
It would also be interesting to see the effect it would have on whatever they were doing before their exit. I guess it really depends on who gets their shares/power. If it goes to the government, then in most cases, things would probably get worse, I’d imagine. If it somehow gets evenly distributed amongst the world’s population, that could be interesting. How would amazon fair if we all got 1/8B of Bezos shares? That would be quite interesting.
You’re a little biased against public sector, and seem to be in favor or privatization. I assume your incorrect understanding of public versus private sector efficiency is based on the cliche that public workers are so lazy or whatever.
But here’s an interesting article discussing the issue. I myself am biased against private sector in favor of the benefits of public sector efficiencies (no profit motive for example). But it’s an interesting article.
What did I say that made you think I have an “incorrect understanding of public versus private sector”?
Do you mean that because I think the government wouldn’t be good at running a business that I misunderstood something? The us government is famously bad about spending outrageous amounts for simple things. Cups that cost over $1,000, toilet seats for over $10,000… there’s tons of things like this. That may be fine when you don’t have to worry about being profitable, but it won’t fly when trying to run a business.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/opinion/pentagon-budget-military-spending-waste.html
IIRC the reason military spending is so extreme is because the US military is required by law to have the paperwork to prove their entire supply chain is domestic, as part of a worst case readiness thing. Could be wrong though, not like I’ve really looked into it all that much.
The US military gets so much stuff from other countries. There was a “Buy American Act” about 100 years ago, which still stands, but it allows for so many exceptions that get used very often. There have been a few other similar acts since then, but they all include well-used exceptions.
What does this have to do with comparing the public us military to a similar private organization?
When the service provided is influencing world politics and securing our country, I don’t think efficiency means the same thing. I also don’t think there are any other private sector businesses that could compare to us military. And even if there are, I would assume that all of their workers were trained by the us military.
I’m not sure the United States military is the example you think it is
You’re so cryptic. I don’t know if it is intentional or not, but you really don’t answer clearly or explain your reasoning.
I mean, I guess the us military is the largest military in the world apparently even if you added up all the other militaries together.
So by your logic there is no other private or public military that is better than the United States, but their goal is being the best, so but, and
If you are suggesting that the military of a government can be better run by a private organization, such as a corporation…. I mean, I guess you are saying that oligarchy and corporate rule is better than democracy?
To start with such a large organization won’t benefit your argument in any way
, and I suppose the service of the military is being the best?
I’ll take some Amazon shares from Bezos.
I would honestly hold them and demand more ethics from the company that I now “own a part of”.
If enough people do this…
Take their assets.
Give them to who?
The people who built them.
Who do I vote for to make this happen?
Or is that French shortening device the only way at this point?Vote in favor of the union at your workplace
If that were to happen, my cream would rise to the top.
It’s also not one of two billion, it’s multiple hundreds of billion owned by one person. I don’t think you can overstress the difference in scale between millions, hundred millions, billions, and hundred billions.
There used to be taxes assessed by total asset valuation that focused more on wealthy individuals because they don’t earn as much from income it’s mostly assets increasing in value like property or ownership shares, that was stopped when they introduced the income tax that mostly targets low and middle class people who almost exclusively earn by income.
Loopholes like offshore accounts used to dodge income taxes by higher earners should be illegal, but the whole system is backwards forcing the least prosperous to shoulder the largest tax burden instead of the wealthiest who benefit from society the most.
What’s stopping the wealthy from just up and leaving? They could liquidate their assets and invest in somewhere with tax laws more favourable to them.
Liquidate to who? Are those assets things they can take with them, or are they things like buildings that stay right where they are?
Anyone who would buy. Unless you’re sentimentally attached to something then I doubt you’d have a difficult time selling it. Billionaires own property as investment, not for use. Just sell it to another billionaire and buy property in a country more favourable to you. As for things like cars, collections, yachts, and other such mobile assets, just stick them on a container ship and unpack at your destination.
But then there has to be at least one billionaire who is staying right there, and can be taxed.
Yeah that sounds awesome let’s divide those 200 billions into 333 million people and let’s get a whooping one time only 600 USD extra for the month. Then let’s repeat it again.
It sure will last foreverrrrrrrrr
First of all 200 billion is chump change compared to how much the wealthy have. Second, spreading money would do far more to stimulate the economy than wealthy people buying yachts, flying into space, and visiting the Titanic.
I am sure if you removed your mouth from the wealthy’s cocks for a moment you would realize how fucked up the situation is. But I know you will just suck it foreverrrrrrrrrrr hoping they will gild you into their club.
Stimulate the economy LMAO 🤣
Bro just admit you don’t know shit about how money works and leave it at that haha
The money itself is not the only reason. Eliminating their undue influence is.
Foreverrrrrrrrr
The fact that you already confiscated them. Since we’re talking hypotheticals though, you could confiscate those assets at the border. Or set up international treaties with a look-back provision.
See, what I don’t like about this is that if you have the power to confiscate a billionaire’s possessions for no other reason that they’re a billionaire, then there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from turning that power against anyone you don’t like. And I’m not talking “you” as in you specifically, or anyone with a sense of morality and ethics, but “you” as in the inevitable exploitative scum that would at some point hold that power.
Now, if the confiscation is contingent on a billionaire commiting a crime then that’s another thing, but then the billionaire would actually have to commit a crime. And if you made tax law ironclad then sure, if they break the law then they should have their things confiscated in recompense. But that’s assuming that the trial wouldn’t be bogged down in court by a billionaire being able to throw money at the problem.
You seem to be under the assumptions that hoarding vast wealth to the point of extreme inequality is benign and not damaging to society & individuals living in that type of civilization, and that limiting extreme wealth inequality for billionaires means they’re coming for everyone next with no limits. These are some of the main ingredients in cooking an oligarchy soup.
you have the power to confiscate a billionaire’s possessions for no other reason that they’re a billionaire, then there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from turning that power against anyone you don’t like.
This is already how it is for poor people…
contingent on a billionaire commiting a crime
Weird how so many crimes are the things poor people do out of desperation rather than the things rich people do to coerce poor people to do the things poor people don’t want to do…
Every billionaire has committed wage theft. Wage theft is a crime.
Eat the rich.
Alternatively just take their shit because billionaires shouldn’t exist.
Wasn’t there some guy who set themselves a challenge where they were going to make a living without using any of their money?
I believe he had to stop after 3 months because of health concerns.
They see being poor as entertainment.
imagine the privilege to just quit being homeless for health concerns while a lot of people go homeless because of health complications. so he ended where homeless people frequently start. fuck that guy.
He wasn’t homeless. He had free shelter by staying with a friend. Nothing luxurious, but he wasn’t living on and from the streets. He also only made the money because he called in a “favor” from a business partner that let him sell some niche shit for more money lol
All in all it was a total failure, he realized how much of a failure it was and then backed out feigning “health concerns” to save face.
*chose to stop
*because of high health care prices
And as far as I know they have not used any of their privilege to do anything to change that situation for others who don’t have that choice.
Omg you’re so right!
If the experiment was a success, shouldn’t he help others with that path?
Or maybe that path was overinflated as much as possible…
It’s because the problem was being poor.
So…stop being poor.
It’s easy. He just proved it!
(Massive /s but sadly, for the privileged guy, not sarcasm)
It didn’t end that quick, but he stopped after 9 months due to health concerns. The goal was to earn $1 million in a year, he had earned $62k.
Ah, so despite having tons of advantages, they were able to find themselves right smack dab at an average income. Nice.
0-62k in a year aint bad tbf
In the middle of a pandemic, no less.
Using a free car that “magically” fell into his lap, whats more.
You’d be surprised at the things you can get for free simply for not being an onerous person.
Sure, the a pick-up magically landing in his lap for free, at the exact moment he needed one, because he wasn’t difficult to deal with is way more believable than “he lied and it wasn’t even a good lie.”
Well, with that attitude I’m not surprised this hasn’t happened to you because you’d probably end up blaming the person who gave it to you if anything goes wrong with it.
Sure, without any debt plus free housing and donations from folks you already know.
And IIRC, he only did so through siphoning off the value of free facebook/craigslist furniture.
Yea, he flipped free furniture off of Facebook. Only a rich asshole would come up with an idea like that
“If I can be a parasite, you can too*”
* just ignore that I didn’t again become a millionaire like I said I would. And just ignore all the experience and schooling I started with that others don’t.
Don’t forget he accepted charity in the form of free housing and donations that were likely only available to him through existing connections.
He had knowledge and connections to the upper echelons and he couldn’t make it, and when health concerns arose he went back to his money because it sucks to be working poor and in need of medical assistance.
He also didn’t have the stress that would come from actual failure with no money.
Bankruptcy, homelessness and real poverty fuck up your ability to succeed in a vastly underrated way.
For most people, it’s easier to become homeless than it is for the homeless to extricate themselves from it.
This is all political horseshit. It’s not that hard to get out of homelessness, I was homeless a lot in my late teens and early twenties. Of course freezing to death in a Canadian winter is a strong motivator. Fucking taking a shower and doing work that you’d rather not is all it takes if you’re not mentally fucked or strung out
His father got cancer during the experiment. He considered ending it then, but he continued with the experiment.
Imagine having that sort of choice. He didn’t have to skip work to take his dad to appointments. He didn’t have to eat ramen to afford chemo. It was only when his own health was at risk that he pulled the plug.
Imagine a world where everybody had that sort of safety net. Just like, “Nope, shit’s too hard.”
Exactly. The calculus for taking risks is vastly different when there’s a safety net. You can treat it as a game and go all in.
On the other hand if there’s even a small chance of losing housing or getting in legal trouble or your family being destitute you take no risks - if you are a person with a sense of responsibility that is.
Yup, or you take maybe a couple risks in a lifetime, but if they don’t pan out you suffer from them for years as you go back to stability and try to regain what little of a toehold on a good life you might have had.
The very real lesson for the poor is “don’t try,” especially if you have dependents. You’ll be knocked back harder than you can imagine.
These mfs don’t know what it’s like to see loved ones start losing teeth because you made a failed push and now you’re paying it back with interest.
Even the stress of worrying about money. Yeah you can take out a loan for your risky business venture when you know you won’t have to worry about paying it back. Yeah, you can couch surf for a while when you aren’t staring down the next few decades of your life.
Right, those 62k he did earn would have been gone and him probably homeless as soon as his health issues got worse. It’s a reality for a lot of Americans. Also those 62k he earned were thanks to all the education and experience he was able to get thanks to his privilege. Most people aren’t fortunate enough to have his level of education and experience to help them even get to 62k. I make 25 percent less than that and still feel fortunate of where I got to since I came from absolutely nothing.
This video was such absolute bull crap lol. He randomly found some dude on like his SECOND night homeless that let him stay in a spare room for free.
Then he flipped free stuff on Craigslist and Facebook for cash which is… fine I guess. A little sleazy but whatever. Magically found transportation and the ability to store and haul this stuff all over town but never explained any of that.
Then he majestically found someone to cosign and provide initial payments to rent like a four bedroom house that he sublet to 3 other tenants… So he found some random guy to COSIGN for him which is crazy knowing how much liability that puts on you while ALSO finding a landlord that is allowing a guy with no job, no income, no credit, no prior residences, and no money to not only rent from him with a random co signer but also allowing him to sublet to three other random ass people the landlord will never even meet. This is possible… But EXTREMELY unlikely. Also, the fact that this dude tries to do a homeless challenge by immediately becoming a landlord is pretty funny ngl. Also it’s worth noting that his final number ($64k or whatever) was revenue not profit. He said himself he was making about 50% profit so he made closer to around $30k on the year.
And on top of all that, the fact that he cites health issues as this unforeseen unfortunate issue that got in the way of his inevitable success is kinda rich. That’s… kinda the deal with poverty. You fall on hard times. Health often falls apart. Unexpected expenses destroy you. It can and often does completely tear your world apart. Thems the breaks man lol. Dude just experienced life a little and quit.
Nitpicking, but that’s also not like a sustainable way to conduct oneself in a society. Like his only “service” was inserting himself as an unnecessary middleman.
If everyone did that you’d have nothing but grifters making money moves on eachother, and nothing would ever get actually made. Basically, it’s not the kind of work which produces new value through labour.
Which maybe if the point idk, I’m not a total parasite
It sounds like he wasn’t using his money directly but might have used his ability to access his money to build “credit” with others.
Or scammed someone really hard which is worse.
I mean, it’s possible but unless he specifically said that he wouldn’t use his identity during the experiment, just proving who he was would be enough to trivialize the risk of even a significant loan for most people. A lender would know that whatever happens, either they’ll get paid back by him from within the experiment or he’ll pay them back as the billionaire after the experiment, maybe even rounding up to the next significant digit or something crazy like that (but still trivial for him).
Also, “I was doing an experiment” isn’t a defense against fraud. Though him being a billionaire probably means that the only penalty would be paying back the victim with maybe a little extra plus legal fees or hush money.
Used his existing social credit too. All his random business successes during those 9 months were from “I know a guy that might want in on this” kind of crap.
I could be wrong but isn’t that more than most people make in 12 months?
So it might not be possible to make millions, but for someone who has the loose ethics of millionaires it’s still possible to make significant money starting from scratch. The issue being the unethical/exploitative behavior needed to get there.
He didn’t really start from scratch, though. He used connections and training he had from before he embarked on this “experiment”.
Anybody can get training at a community college or do networking. This isn’t exclusive to millionaires.
One of his connections provided him with free housing
That, and getting free stuff online and selling it for profit is kind of shitty.
But the kind of thing rich people do. Also, why does lemmy say that you answered @Zorque@lemmy.world before they even wrote their comment?
That’s what I mean by loose ethics and exploitation.
Eh, that’s a common hustle among people who need money.
Not really something to be held up as an example of success. Not everyone can do that, or it wouldn’t work. Plus there are people who could use that free stuff that he’s essentially stealing from. Just goes to show that this guy has no ethics.
Honestly, I would argue at least a portion of those items would get thrown away if he hadn’t gotten them. When someone wants something gone, and when a different person wants to acquire that particular thing don’t always align. It’s tweaker arbitrage, but it’s not that big a deal IMHO.
The real moral failing from my perspective is not recognizing how much help he got, and how ‘lucky’ he was.
There’s that guy, but there’s also the whole trustafarian “subculture”.
He made $62k and called that a success. Why not then use said $62k to fix his health issues? Wouldn’t that be much more realistic in terms of unplanned medical costs setting back the a lot of Americans?
That’s revenue not profit. He said he only made about 50% profit, so he made about 30k for the year.
Healthcare doesn’t count , it’s too rng based.
Same goes for a wealthy grifter. Take all his money away and he will steal more. Scum always rises to the top. No need to test that.
What’s fun is everytime something like this is tried, it fails spectacularly… and they know that.
When in history did anybody take away billionaires’ money?
There was a recent case of a young billionaire who basically signed over everything to a family member to live on the street to prove he could “Make millions from nothing!” and that the poors “Were just being lazy”
It didn’t end well for him and he begged mommy to give him his wealth back because going too long without his gold-plated jaquzzi was hard
The French revolution and other related uprisings. See: Romanov family vs Bolsheviks.
They killed left and right, we’re talking about like taxing unusable wealth from peop’e who don’t need it (and didn’t earn it in any kind of morally okay way).
You can’t tax wealth.
Not with that attitude.
They took away power and status, not primarily the money.
Eh, those kids had a lot of diamonds on them.
This was tested…sort of. He didn’t give away his money he just supposedly didn’t make use of it essentially hitting the road as a fake homeless and making money by selling stuff he bought on facebook market.
The fellow was a millionaire not a billionaire and I think he went from nothing to ~50k in nearly a year. He called it off early because he was basically destroying his health.
So you have a link? That sounds interesting as.
Yeah, with friends housing him and hiring him 🤡
Not to mention that actually poor people don’t have a cheat code to get them out when their health suffers. Which then makes them less able to keep working at maximum mental and physical capacity.
So this was nothing but a demonstration that nepotism and money is what one really needs.
He could also take higher risks, since he knew that there was a security net to catch him. Much easier to make high risk/reward decisions, if the risk (e.g. going broke) isn’t actually real. He presumably also had an above average education and many other benefits. This is also why many rich people might end up building successful businesses. The average person might get one shot and either makes it or goes broke. The rich person can roll the dice multiple times (and might have learned something from the last try).
Also disregarding everything even, if he had succeded: That would still only have been a sample size of one. I doubt anyone is saying that you can’t under any circumstances pull yourself out of poverty, but on average the cards are just stacked against you in many ways.
Also i doubt that reselling second hand stuff is a viable business model for a larger group. Like sure in a large city a few people might be able to carve out a niche for themself, but the more people do it or the smaller the market, the less it works.
I guess it only works for billionaires. Millionaires can’t do it: https://www.snopes.com/news/2024/04/29/millionaire-made-himself-homeless/
Ha. Millionaires are like 1000x lamer than billionaires though!
Well damn. I mean going to $5k a month from nothing isn’t bad (especially in the middle of a pandemic) but those health issues are sure to put a damper on your spirits.
Instead of laughing we should give him props for putting his money where is mouth was and hope that he at least managed to get his health back.
It was pretty scammy. He got free food, free housing, and free product, which he then sold. Yeah anyone can be successful if they aren’t paying for shit.
Yeah anyone can be successful if they aren’t paying for shit.
Yeah no, that’s not true.
Well sure there’s always the idiots of the world.
Yeah anyone can be successful if they aren’t paying for shit.
You sure about that? Because there’s plenty of people living on welfare who never make it anywhere.
Tell me you know nothing about welfare without saying you know nothing about welfare.
I’ve met and worked with enough people on welfare to know they’re not innocent angels for the most part.
I never said they were, but if you really did work with people on welfare then you’d know they aren’t getting anything for free. After you qualify for welfare most forms are aggressively measured against the exact amount they think you need to stay housed and fed. And that amount is almost always less than what’s really required. So there’s no overage to take advantage of, no house you can rent and sublet, and selling furniture on Craigslist doesn’t count as being employed for the work requirement. Further you’re not getting a break for your medical problems. You can’t just pull the ripcord and go back to being a millionaire. You have to tough it out on your job after the hospital stabilized you and turfed you like they do to all Medicaid patients.
But no go on about their “character” and how they have to act like angels in the system currently crushing them beneath it’s bootheels.
Okay, look. Attacking their character was uncalled for and I apologize for that. I’ve met some fairly awful people who were on welfare but also some really good ones.
But the point is, you said “anyone can be successful if they aren’t paying for shit” and I gave you an example of people where that’s largely not the case. Doesn’t matter if that’s because of illness, disability, or character flaws, “anyone” means “anyone”. So shut up and just admit you were wrong.
Once you’ve been rich, you get certain privileges that are difficult to remove from the equation entirely, like education, connections, and (at least generally speaking) health. You also get a lot of leeway by having a safety net to fall back on.
But honestly, all that aside, big props to him for at least giving it a shot.
I Haven’t read about him…
Did he admit defeat?
Did he admit that being born into poverty vs wealth and wellbeing provide vastly different opportunity?
Did he admit any use of said prior opportunity?
Did he admit his weak will when he couldn’t go another measly 3 months to accomplish this one simple trick to stop being poor?
Did he admit he couldn’t suffer through what millions do, what millions have to, what millions are forced to do, because of people with attitudes like him?
Did he admit he’s a clown?
There’s a bunch of videos in that article, so if you have the time to watch them, you’ll probably be able to answer most of these questions yourself.
If he did give away all of his money then by definition he did not have a safety net to fall back on, no?
Unless you mean being able to call on friends when in a bind. I must admit to not taking the time to watch all the videos, so I don’t know what rules he set himself for that, but I suppose it could also count, if it was allowed.
But I mean, proving that theory was entirely the point, wasn’t it? He didn’t try making his first million from nothing, he already made it once and tried to repeat it. Of course he’d have some sort of relevant experience to fall back on, and generally, almost everything you’ve done once is easier the second time around (unless you get thrown an unexpected curveball like he did).
I’m the furthest thing from an expert on this whole situation, but the fact that he was able to “give up” being poor once he had a health problem implies to me that there definitely was a safety net.
Fair point I guess, although like everyone else ITT I haven’t watched the videos so we’re all just speculating here, aren’t we.
Also, earning five grand a month is not exactly what I’d consider “poor”.
almost everything you’ve done once is easier the second time around
And yet he still failed. He quit after 9 months, that’s 3/4 of the way to his deadline. 62k is not even 1/10th of the goal. I get close to that just going to work every day.
Easier != success is guaranteed
