Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

ft.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

281–290 of 356 posts

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#281

Post by gumby »

jhp123 wrote: post #254
kasey_junk wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a stat that is never sourced and is mostly cited by the wealth planning industry that have an ulterior motive for making people believe it. I’d love to see a rigorous backing of this stat.

A study of British surnames found that those families descended from Norman nobility (e.g. D'Urberville) from the 11th century Domesday Book are wealthier than those with common names (e.g. Darbyfield) today , almost 1000 years later. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/apr/03/social-mobil...

Also true in Italy: Today's rich families in Florence, Italy, were rich 700 years ago: https://www.vox.com/2016/5/18/11691818/barone-mocetti-floren...

Personally I'm leaving nothing to my kids. They benefited (or not!) enough from growing up with me.

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#282

Post by lotsofpulp »

carlosjobim wrote: post #275
lotsofpulp wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That reads like something out of a tabloid in the checkout aisle of a grocery store. It links to a website called “celebritynetworth”, which just based on the URL, has no credibility.

> which just based on the URL, has no credibility. It seems like you're proudly flaunting your own ignorance? The site has been around for more than a decade. What about a web site such as "Hacker News"? Sounds like I might get a virus if I visit that page!

What does the length of time the site is around have to do anything? The subject of the website, unverifiable information that they certainly do not have access to, is what makes it uncredible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CelebrityNetWorth

If it was a .gov URL where the government is using tax returns and property data to estimate net worth, then it might be credible.

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#283

Post by carlosjobim »

rabuse wrote: post #137
lifestyleguru wrote: post #91

Why should one even try anything at all?

There's still money to be made everywhere. It's just hard to compete in the markets against the entrenched giants that have been around since the 1800's. I feel there's more a shift towards making money "entertaining" than there is to made through the standard business model.

Since the money is literally created out of thin air by your rulers, you will never be able to beat them at their own game, or even have half a chance of a fair fight.

Everybody around you worships until death this money that is created by the rulers, even though they can see with their own eyes that it's made of worthless paper. So strong is the spell.

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#284

Post by wewtyflakes »

beaeglebeach wrote: post #236
wewtyflakes wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are minimum wage security guard, nobody is taking your shit.

[flagged]

Better to be robbed by the rich than by the poor? If you're convinced the world is out to get you, what difference does it make?

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#285

Post by Epa095 »

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #273
abeppu wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of the criticisms to Piketty, not having done the math isn't really one of them. I don't have Capital and Ideology close at hand, so I can't check how he worked it out, but consulting some other sources: - the top 1% in the US apparently have around $45.7T in wealth [1] - there are around 22M people in the 20-24 age bracket and 23 in the 25-29 age bracket [2] So suppose there are 5.5M people turning 21 every year. Gi…

The top 1% of households in the US starts around $10M. That sounds like a lot, but consider it includes retirement accounts, value of a home etc. For a couple in that bracket at about retirement age (and who might own their home and be expecting to retire on their savings), those people might be looking at a household income of $300-400K per year. I don't know, but it seems pretty unreasonable to start hitting them w…

$10M sounds like a lot, because it is a lot.

It's so much that if you make the median US income, you have to make it for ~300 years -tax free- to save up $10M.

It's 50 years, tax free, on a good developer salary.

It's so much that with 5% interest rate you can pay those $120k in tax and still get $380k a year, placing you among the top 5% wage earners in the US, while doing nothing more than own.

Is so much, that when I dream about becoming independently wealthy, the amount I dream of is half of it.

For people in retirement age it's even more obvious that it's a lof of money. Like, how do you even spend that much money before you die?

As you probably understand by now, I definitely don't think it's unreasonable to hit them with an extra $120K bill a year, because $10M is a lot of money for any individual, or couple, to own.

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#286

Post by carlosjobim »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #282
carlosjobim wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which just based on the URL, has no credibility. It seems like you're proudly flaunting your own ignorance? The site has been around for more than a decade. What about a web site such as "Hacker News"? Sounds like I might get a virus if I visit that page!

What does the length of time the site is around have to do anything? The subject of the website, unverifiable information that they certainly do not have access to, is what makes it uncredible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CelebrityNetWorth If it was a .gov URL where the government is using tax returns and property data to estimate net worth, then it might be credible.

Discrediting a website just because of the name is not a valid argument against the content. Even though most hackers worship the government as a god, I can assure you that tax returns or property data won't even be close to accurate for getting the net worth of billionaires. They have funds and shell companies where the US government can't touch them.

The nature of this information is that it will always be unverifiable, but unless you have any sustainable criticism against the numbers on that website, you shouldn't disregard it completely.

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#287

Post by wewtyflakes »

dgfitz wrote: post #216
wewtyflakes wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are minimum wage security guard, nobody is taking your shit.

What incentive would this guard have to keep working?

So are you arguing we _should_ make rich people poor so they have motivation to work; that only poor people can be motivated to work?

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#289

Post by lotsofpulp »

carlosjobim wrote: post #286
lotsofpulp wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does the length of time the site is around have to do anything? The subject of the website, unverifiable information that they certainly do not have access to, is what makes it uncredible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CelebrityNetWorth If it was a .gov URL where the government is using tax returns and property data to estimate net worth, then it might be credible.

Discrediting a website just because of the name is not a valid argument against the content. Even though most hackers worship the government as a god, I can assure you that tax returns or property data won't even be close to accurate for getting the net worth of billionaires. They have funds and shell companies where the US government can't touch them. The nature of this information is that it will always be unverifi…

> Even though most hackers worship the government as a god, I can assure you that tax returns or property data won't even be close to accurate for getting the net worth of billionaires.

I know, that is why I wrote “might” be credible, but most celebrities are not at that level, so tax returns and property ownership information might work.

> The nature of this information is that it will always be unverifiable,

>you shouldn't disregard it completely.

How you are squaring the above 2 thoughts is beyond me. I am going to continue disregarding it completely, because as you wrote, it is unverifiable, therefore the website is pulling the numbers out of their ass.

Re: Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS

#290

Post by beaeglebeach »

somewhereoutth wrote: post #271
beaeglebeach wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck with that in USA. I'd rather die some billionaires minimum wage security squad protecting his gold plated yacht than let some violent freeloaders take my shit and install some cuban-tier communist hell-hole where there's no incentive to produce even basic grain stocks.

There won't be any incentive to produce even basic grain stocks if the large majority of the population can't afford to eat. See the Great Depression.

Life expectancy rose to a multi decade (all time at that time?) record peak during the great depression in US and starvation was exceedingly rare. Even at one of its worst the outcome was remarkably robust against starvation.
Post reply on HN