I have, like many of us, lately been contemplating deleting Facebook but have concluded that it would be a waste of effort. I don't really want to lose the contacts I have, nor all the photo albums and let's face it, FB is great for all that. Nor do I really, truly think any data of mine is of interest to anyone. I'm probably wrong, but seriously, don't need corrected. I find I don't actually care and suggested alternatives don't really interest me. So I will hang on, for now, and reserve the right to change my mind in the future when I follow the rest of the world like the sheep I probably am.
What does interest me, and has actually been buzzing around my head since realising I was bloody well dreaming about it... is our young Mr. Z's 'net worth'. By all accounts, give or take a million, this is USD 64 Billion. With a capital B.
That's insane. It's obscene!
There are approximately 7.5 billion people on the planet, yet one man can have so much money? I know it's not all cash in a pile somewhere. I'm also sure, even if he has 50 accountants wangling all sorts of tax dodges, (apparently 'de rigueur' the more money you have) a lot of tax will have been raised to have left him with that. But 64 Billion?
In some ways, the man can't be blamed if a product of his generates so much income. What can you do eh? And Google tells me there are around 1,500 other billionaires across the world. But he is number one. Nobody ever talks about the guy that won silver or bronze so, it makes sense that he's the one in the spotlight right now (apart from all the other little snafus he is involved in). My comments here are therefore directed at him but do actually take in those other rich bassas.
My main bone of contention is... why does he not DO something with all that money? It's not like he can spend it all. It's not like his childrens' childrens' children will ever be able to either. I was never good at maths but even I can do the arithmetic for this. He could easily make 63 million people, millionaires, and he'd still have 1 billion left! Tell me he couldn't work with that! He could make 20 million folks multimillionaires and still have too much. I don't know about you but even half a million would set me up nicely, and I wouldn't sniff at 100K either if I'm honest, not that I even 'do' the lottery. But why would you keep all that capital and not share it around?
Of course this starts other conversations like 'What is the limit you can keep before sharing?' and 'Who decides'. I'd say entirely the millionaire/billionaire's own prerogative, but what are the chances of them actually doing anything to 'spread the lurve' off their own back? I could envision a lot of 'why should I do it if he's not?' I also have no idea (I could probably find out if I researched it) if Z perhaps contributes to many charities, or funds loads of great initiatives, but that's not what I'm saying here. I'm saying, where the hell does it stop? The more money you have, the more you get (interest upon interest, fawning lackeys letting you live free on expensive premises and your mere presence getting you free fine dining (I've seen Brewster's Millions!). I think someone among them needs to take a stand.
And another thing: what happens to all those tax dollars (pounds, etc.) and why is it not obvious? Governments must surely be able to pinpoint exactly what has been collected and where it has now gone? Bottom line: why is there any poverty anywhere in the world? Why potholes? Two extremes yes but just as an illustration.
This club of Richie Riches needs to take a long, hard inward look and finally recognise that this obscenity (it really is nothing less) must be halted. I have no real suggestions as to how how it can be achieved but even an acknowledgement of the craziness of it all would be a start. We could take it from there: discuss (more) projects; arrange proper largesse; sort out real bequests. Even I can see the difficulties: the hangers on; the begging letters; the downright crooks lining up to get involved. But with full disclosure and complete openness, surely... for goodness sake even 'only' HALF would be more than 30 Billion getting put to good use and not just into real estate and offshore accounts!
Not applying for the job. Just mouthing off as usual.
