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A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

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Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#51

Post by MR4D »

Bloomberg should retitle this article "The Ugly Side of Greed". But then we never would have read it. ;)

The people portrayed here are on the extreme end of greed & materialism.

I once worked with an almost-billionaire family. If you ran into them in a restaurant, you would never know. They were out of the mold of Sam Walton. Ok, they drove Cadillacs, but Cadillacs with well over 100,000 miles on them. The rest of their vehicles were Chevy Tahoes or Ford pickups.

Further, there are tons of millionaires who saved their money over their life. They don't act like this, and they probably live right near you, but you wouldn't notice because they don't go overboard on their materialism.

On the poorer end of the spectrum, there are tons of "credit-card millionaires" - as I call people who make $100-300,000 per year but have no real savings and spend all their money on "glamorous" crap that fills up their homes. To me, the article is about people just like this, but who have secured more money - their behavior is identical.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#52

Post by cryptica »

jondubois wrote: post #26
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hoarding during scarcity is quite a sensible strategy, you want to get through the winter season or drought. What we don't seem able to do is turn that off in an environment of abundance. We can't seem to get past that evolutionary adaptation and it isn't doing us any good.

Some people are genetically greedier than others and greedier people are much more likely to get into positions of power. To make matters worse, people tend to like people who are like them. So greedy people help other greedy people. This means that power and money becomes concentrated in the hands of the greedy.

Well, we're made up of DNA. Scientists unanimously agree that DNA is responsible for all of our characteristics. If you search the internet, you should be able to find plenty of papers and evidence which document the effects of specific genes on personality. Recently, I watched a lecture about a specific gene nicknamed the "Warrior gene" - Scientists found that people who carried this gene were more likely to become serial killers.

I would argue that the presence of this "warrior gene" would be strongly correlated with greed. Police officers will tell you that the serial killer mindset is about low empathy combined with a desire for power over other people - That sounds like a pretty good recipe for greed too.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were other genes that played a part in this personality trait we call greed. Having a materialist view of the world, I think it's pretty safe to say that everything which differentiates us from non-living objects can be attributed to chemical reactions which trace back to DNA itself.

The cultural/environmental aspects of greed are merely feedback loops that are rooted in the genetics of the members of any given group/culture.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#54

Post by charlesdm »

justboxing wrote: post #13
self-diversity wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What in particular makes you feel ill about this? What is the strong emotion that affects you so upon reading of the wealth of a person you will never meet? Normally when people say this, their tone makes it evident they are envious, but that's missing here and I'm curious.

I'm not envious. I want to understand why such wealthy people wouldn't spend the money improving the lives of other human beings, and instead waste it on overprices sh*t like a $12,000 Hermes bag. I grew up in India and the wealth disparity couldn't be any starker. I feel that if I was ever that wealthy, I would spend a lot of it trying to improve the lives of poor people and homeless people, instead of buying 4000 s…

The same reason people just don't care about everyone in the world and everything that happens around them.

For example: as a European, I am aware that both poverty in Africa and the war in Syria is an issue, but frankly and like many other people, it's not something I lose much sleep over. That doesn't mean I wouldn't help if I could (e.g. by donating money), but given these things are happening not that close to home, I accept them as a fact of life. The west isn't in a position to solve many of the issues in developing nations.

Also, just because someone is wealthy doesn't necessarily make them happy. There are plenty of unhappy wealthy people. Wealth often makes you lose your way in life, and for some it can be more of a curse than a blessing. Wealth aside, some people just don't care much for others. But on the flipside there are also plenty of amazing wealthy (and less wealthy) people that will go out of their way to help others.

Wealth accumulation doesn't come with a social contract that you have to try and fix social issues in society. Some people will, others won't. I don't see any issues with that.

This all said, obviously stealing is never acceptable. But I could understand how someone would own 4000 pairs of shoes, if they're compensating for say a loveless marriage, or some sort of emptiness in life.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#55

Post by SyneRyder »

MR4D wrote: post #51

Bloomberg should retitle this article "The Ugly Side of Greed". But then we never would have read it. ;) The people portrayed here are on the extreme end of greed & materialism. I once worked with an almost-billionaire family. If you ran into them in a restaurant, you would never know. They were out of the mold of Sam Walton. Ok, they drove Cadillacs, but Cadillacs with well over 100,000 miles on them. The rest of th…

> I once worked with an almost-billionaire family. If you ran into them in a restaurant, you would never know.

One of my favorite books is The Billionaire Who Wasn't, about Chuck Feeney of DFS (Duty-Free Shoppers), and it keeps referencing his cheap Casio watch:

“Since my earliest days I have been frugal, but I am a frugal person in that I hate waste, at any level,” says Feeney, who always wears off-the-peg clothes, a cheap plastic watch, and reading glasses of the type sold in book-stores. “If I can get a watch for $15 that keeps perfect time, what am I doing messing around with a Rolex?”

https://www.amazon.com/Billionaire-Who-Wasnt-Secretly-Fortun...

[Incidentally, it means the $200 Pebble watch I wear & love is 13x more expensive/extravagant than that of a billionaire. Gives an interesting perspective.]

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#56

Post by charlesdm »

Mendenhall wrote: post #27

I think part of the problem is how often people idolize the rich just for being rich and not for what sort of person they are, it enables them. Money doesnt impress me, good people impress me.

And there are plenty of good people with money, and without.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#57

Post by jjeaff »

SyneRyder wrote: post #55
MR4D wrote: post #51

Bloomberg should retitle this article "The Ugly Side of Greed". But then we never would have read it. ;) The people portrayed here are on the extreme end of greed & materialism. I once worked with an almost-billionaire family. If you ran into them in a restaurant, you would never know. They were out of the mold of Sam Walton. Ok, they drove Cadillacs, but Cadillacs with well over 100,000 miles on them. The rest of th…

> I once worked with an almost-billionaire family. If you ran into them in a restaurant, you would never know. One of my favorite books is The Billionaire Who Wasn't, about Chuck Feeney of DFS (Duty-Free Shoppers), and it keeps referencing his cheap Casio watch: “Since my earliest days I have been frugal, but I am a frugal person in that I hate waste, at any level,” says Feeney, who always wears off-the-peg clothes,…

It actually makes more sense for the already successful and wealthy to not be interested in outward appearance. They have no one to impress and nothing to gain by showing off.

Your up and coming business man, however, may have some logical reasons to signal wealth. Either for networking purposes or convincing potential customers or partners that you are the type of successful person they might want to work with, conspicuous consumption can have its merits.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#58

Post by dickbasedregex »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #14
justboxing wrote: post #4

> In another, Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines accused of stealing billions from state coffers, sits in her Manila apartment beneath a gold-framed Picasso Everytime I read something like this, I feel ill. What drives human beings to this level of greed and excess? Is there some primitive or primate instinct in all of us? Meanwhile, the beggar children in India don't even have a shirt on their b…

Hoarding during scarcity is quite a sensible strategy, you want to get through the winter season or drought. What we don't seem able to do is turn that off in an environment of abundance. We can't seem to get past that evolutionary adaptation and it isn't doing us any good.

Yeah, replace "we" with "some." Some contingent of the population are greedy scumbags. It's not the human condition. Everyone always wants to sidestep responsibility because "it's in our nature." Complete cop-out.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#59

Post by fulafel »

homulilly wrote: post #17
pilom wrote: post #5

> Money doesn't make you happy. It makes you unhappy in a better part of town. Great quote!

It's something only the fabulously wealthy can say. For almost everyone else, even if money doesn't directly make you happier, it removes the vast majority of barriers to attaining happiness (though clearly not all of them). I know I'm much happier now that I make six figures and don't have to worry as much about medical bills, rent, food and so on and have disposable income to direct into new hobbies I couldn't have…

Most places in western countries provide citizens medical and food/shelter security without being wealthy.

Re: A Look at the Ugly Side of Getting Rich

#60

Post by ionised »

self-diversity wrote: post #6
justboxing wrote: post #4

> In another, Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines accused of stealing billions from state coffers, sits in her Manila apartment beneath a gold-framed Picasso Everytime I read something like this, I feel ill. What drives human beings to this level of greed and excess? Is there some primitive or primate instinct in all of us? Meanwhile, the beggar children in India don't even have a shirt on their b…

What in particular makes you feel ill about this? What is the strong emotion that affects you so upon reading of the wealth of a person you will never meet? Normally when people say this, their tone makes it evident they are envious, but that's missing here and I'm curious.

Did you miss the part about stealing billions from state coffers?

How would you not feel disgusted by that?

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