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Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

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Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#11

Post by senjindarashiva »

isabelc wrote: post #3

Some of the tools we use everyday were created by people after they made their first billion dollars. iPhone and Microsoft Office, for example. People will always create things, but if you have more money than you know what to do with, and your mind is not worried about working to put a roof over your head, then your mind is free to imagine and build the next world-changing thing. Capping the income would then also p…

Putting a cap high enough to allow people to reach financial independence would be something totally different, and I do agree that such measures would probably stem "innovation" or at least focus it on only solving immediate issues.

However putting the cap at a billion would probably have limited effect in this sense, it would probably stop quite a lot of billionaire vanity projects though.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#13

Post by muzani »

A lot of the billionaires do spend it on worthwhile things. Elon works on transportation and energy. Bill Gates tackles climate change, wiping out polio, sanitation, revolutionizing nuclear energy. These guys take huge risks on multi-million dollar projects that no other people would do.

Then you have Warren Buffett, who buys stocks that plummet from hype, probably preventing or dampening recessions.

On the other end you do have the monopolists who use their wealth to choke competitors, and Trump, who got lucky a couple times, but otherwise make the world a worse place.

For the most part, billionaires rarely do nothing with their money. They get there by being willing to take big risks, being good at taking risks, and they do things that no billion-dollar CEO would be willing to do. I'd say a huge reason USA is so rich is because of the spirit of taking risks. If you get rid of billionaires, you lose that.

From a practical angle, how would you outlaw that? It's not like a billion dollars in gold or cash lying around somewhere. Much of it is in stocks that go up and down.

What if they put $100 million into a failcoin, which drives up the value of that failcoin? What if they put half a billion into buying ancient Roman busts? What if they invest $1 million into a startup, and then "donate" $100 million into it?

I doubt a FAANG founder would just sell his shares if there was such a legal reason, because it's still a cash cow. It's easier for them to just milk it to hit a quota then throw away the milk.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#14

Post by muzani »

meiraleal wrote: post #9

No need to prevent, just tax more. Then what would happen is that the government would have more money to offer life quality to the people that worked for that billionaire get that rich.

A wealth tax would be nice, instead of income or expenses taxation. Tax those who hoard. If a billionaire is spending $800m on things, he's doing a lot of good for the economy, probably more than taxing him $10m would.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#15

Post by fiftyacorn »

I've a bigger issue with the inheritance of this money. You look at the news globally and so much is driven by those who have inherited it yet seen to think it's been achieved thru their own hard work

This is where the Carnegie's, Buffetts and Gates are right about being custodian of wealth. It also adds a generational reset on great fortunes

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#16

Post by Bodhisattya »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #6

Excepting a few philanthropists, they would leave whichever nation that passed such a law, bringing their influence and power to a nation that doesn't, and / or funnel all the excess wealth into overturning or subverting it, of course. I mean, wouldn't you? Even if the ban were universal, money at that scale is power. Alternative social or economic constructs would form to allow the ex-billionaire to continue to wiel…

This. However, it should reduce power being wielded by people with money alone and incentivize wealth being spread more evenly. If some one has to spread their moolah to the their twice or thrice removed cousins, I would still consider an erosion of power and a better distribution of wealth than before.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#17

Post by Bodhisattya »

isabelc wrote: post #3

Some of the tools we use everyday were created by people after they made their first billion dollars. iPhone and Microsoft Office, for example. People will always create things, but if you have more money than you know what to do with, and your mind is not worried about working to put a roof over your head, then your mind is free to imagine and build the next world-changing thing. Capping the income would then also p…

I wonder whether the innovation will really be capped in a real sense. Lets say if Apple does not introduce the iPhone, would some one not eventually still come up with a similar product? I (personally) consider that opportunity is a rarer commodity than innovativeness, and that most innovations will come about, albeit a little later.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#18

Post by Bodhisattya »

meiraleal wrote: post #9

No need to prevent, just tax more. Then what would happen is that the government would have more money to offer life quality to the people that worked for that billionaire get that rich.

Would taxing be more efficient from a wealth redistribution standpoint than a hard cap? Not a rhetorical question.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#19

Post by whb07 »

Ask yourself why most of the world is poor and bad at creating things, and what that correlation is to where the billionaires live.

What’s with the anti-capitalism and socialist mentality of techy people? In theory this board is generally “smarter” and yet they lack original thinking and common sense.

Re: Ask HN: What would happen if we prevented the creation of billionaires?

#20

Post by isabelc »

Bodhisattya wrote: post #17
isabelc wrote: post #3

Some of the tools we use everyday were created by people after they made their first billion dollars. iPhone and Microsoft Office, for example. People will always create things, but if you have more money than you know what to do with, and your mind is not worried about working to put a roof over your head, then your mind is free to imagine and build the next world-changing thing. Capping the income would then also p…

I wonder whether the innovation will really be capped in a real sense. Lets say if Apple does not introduce the iPhone, would some one not eventually still come up with a similar product? I (personally) consider that opportunity is a rarer commodity than innovativeness, and that most innovations will come about, albeit a little later.

>I (personally) consider that opportunity is a rarer commodity than innovativeness

I agree. I think to create world-changing things, 3 things are needed:

1. Innovativeness or creativity.

2. Lack of neccessity to work to put a roof over your head, which frees the imagination.

3. Enough money to make it actually happen. This is the opportunity.

Many of us have #1, some also have #2. But 1 or 2 are not enough. You need all 3. Billionaires can have all 3.

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