Rich and famous? I don't care. I'd settle for a wife and 2.1 kids right now.
‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
31–40 of 110 posts
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#32The flying private example in the first section misses the entire point (or 99% of the point) of flying private. Flying on a set schedule, arranged long in advance, with 30 strangers, from one major airport to another major airport, is not the point of flying private. Flying on your own schedule, to/from more conveniently located airports, bringing family pets along, having private conversations among the pax, having…
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Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#33I guess it depends on the definition of rich and famous. How rich? How famous? These two doesn't come alone. They come with their own baggage as well. Being rich will make you, and your family targeted, either by criminals, by "friends and families", or by the government. Being famous is tiring. You constantly need to pander with people that you don't know, with papparazis, with friends of friends of friends, people…
I remember meeting a very famous actor once. I was curious about his life and so I went to check out his Twitter account.
It turned out that every day, in response to everything he tweeted about any topic, he got zero-context Twitter replies including marriage proposals, sexual propositions, requests for him to visit random people in random cities, and requests for money. That's just what strangers were willing to send him in public.
This made me think that maybe being famous isn't very enjoyable.
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#34The flying private example in the first section misses the entire point (or 99% of the point) of flying private. Flying on a set schedule, arranged long in advance, with 30 strangers, from one major airport to another major airport, is not the point of flying private. Flying on your own schedule, to/from more conveniently located airports, bringing family pets along, having private conversations among the pax, having…
If you're getting chauffeured around on a set schedule with 99 strangers, you're in a bus.
The experience is pretty different though, you save 30+ minutes at either end, you're not nickel and dimed, the crew and clientele tends to be nicer.
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that what the author was saying though? These "affordable" private jets were really not providing the perks of a private jet; they were essentially just chartering a standard plane.
He’s saying that because he thinks they want to brag. But there’s a completely 100% rational reason for doing it that he completely ignores. Given the choice of going to a destination for the same price (or at least “affordable”), would you A) fly commercial B) fly private?
Bit what is the difference? Just a hundred fewer people, and the knowledge that you're just polluting for a few extra minutes of boarding time? I don't see any positives, even at the same price per ticket. Also, smaller planes are less stable than larger planes, so there's the smoother ride factor too, right?
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that what the author was saying though? These "affordable" private jets were really not providing the perks of a private jet; they were essentially just chartering a standard plane.
He’s saying that because he thinks they want to brag. But there’s a completely 100% rational reason for doing it that he completely ignores. Given the choice of going to a destination for the same price (or at least “affordable”), would you A) fly commercial B) fly private?
If the choice is between flying on a regular airplane and a regular route vs sharing a small "private" jet with a bunch of randos, the apparent situation described in the article, I'll definitely take A. The major airlines are well-known quantities who are well regulated. Dealing with a small, novel company adds risk, as does the small plane. And I would have strong concerns that the people who are pulled in by a "private jet" fantasy would be the most pain-in-the-ass sort of air traveler.
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that what the author was saying though? These "affordable" private jets were really not providing the perks of a private jet; they were essentially just chartering a standard plane.
He’s saying that because he thinks they want to brag. But there’s a completely 100% rational reason for doing it that he completely ignores. Given the choice of going to a destination for the same price (or at least “affordable”), would you A) fly commercial B) fly private?
Not sure. It depends on a bunch of other factors. As the parent notes, flying in a small charter is not flying "private" and if I'm flying commercial, especially international, and money isn't really an object within the general parameters of commercial flight, I have access to the premium airline lounges, very comfortable seating, pretty decent food and service, etc. Not clear that a small not really private plane is an improvement unless it's people I know.
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#38Getting rich isn't that hard. Just be born in America or Europe, most careers will afford a comfortable lifestyle. If you want to be richer than that, study engineering or business. Your average businessman does math at the 8th grade level. Getting famous also isn't that hard. Do something funny or creative and post it on TikTok, it's not that hard to get a video with 1e5 or 1e6 views. Hell, you can post cute videos…
You may be rich compared to someone in the poorest of nations but you can still be struggling to get by while working 3 jobs. Getting an engineering degree is also not that easy and for example in the US you will be jailed by huge dept for the rest of your life.
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 97.8 billion dollars, 97.5 billion or so of that was earned after he was 50 years old. To think he started off with a paltry $300 million. How much avocado toast do I need to not eat to get there?
If you can expel negative avacado toasts from your body and sell them for $17, ignoring sales labor costs, about -18M.
My man is expelling tons of negativity, shouldn't be a problem
Re: ‘Why Am I Not Rich and Famous?’ The Delusion of Our Times
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop. Within months, they owned several machines in three different barber shops across Omaha. They sold the business later in the year for $1,200 That's ~$20k in today's dollars in a few months while still in high school. >> At 15, Warren made more than $175 monthly deliver…
A 15 year old today cannot make ~$3k a month delivering Washington Post newspapers. I think the point still stands what much of wealth gain is lucky opportunity windows, such as being alive during a time where a job like newspaper delivery pays 3k a month.
Yup. When I had a newspaper route in the 1980s, I was getting paid the same per paper delivered as my grandfather was 50 years prior: 2 cents.
It reminds me of how people shit on today's college students without realizing how much college costs have risen. I get the initial "kids these days" reaction, but holy moly, fellow olds, please use Google to update your priors a bit.