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Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

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Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#81

Post by LimaBearz »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #80
LimaBearz wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t speak for the artist but I find these places quite drab because of the material choice and color. Grey/white marble, satin paint, light flooring, etc all make it dull to me. The problem I see though is to sell a unit at that those asking prices it’s not Home Depot marble or $2/f flooring it’s the crap Davis was sculpted from or whatever. That’s cool and all but yawn…

> material choice and color If you’re buying a $70mm apartment and living in it, you’re renovating it before moving in.

You’d think right?! So why the hell is the same marble used to craft David already in the unit? Why spend so much on finishings if it’s just gonna be redone. That’s part of the 70 million. Feels like rentseeking and waste to me

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#82

Post by ThaiThrowAway »

juskrey wrote: post #48
peteretep wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So do? Plenty of companies hiring remote, and you will be far (far far far) from the first tech worker to move to South East Asia. Bangkok in particular has world class (and affordable) health care, food, and night life, and you’re only ever a couple of hours from the beach

Thailand is fine until you get into trouble which requires authorities of any kind. It is what "3rd world" is all about.

Thai police can be corrupt sometimes (not always - I've even been busted for pot twice, talked my way out of it both times even though they knew they could have gotten some western cash out of me), but Thai justice system is usually quite fair even for foreigners. There are exceptions of course, but usually you won't get into real trouble unless you are doing something that is obviously illegal (doing drugs, running prostitution ring, something something royal family). Even some my friends have sued and won against a big bank or people hustling money from them.

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#83

Post by natchy »

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #78

this is a huge argument for a real estate tax on non-primary residential property. Then, triple the tax its not rented during the year. do we want to allow wealthy princes to have a pied a terre on park ave ? OK. Let them pay in blood for the privilege. Of course, neither "progressives" or "conservatives" will be willing to threaten upper classes, real estate lobby, and political donors, with such a tax.. despite tha…

> this is a huge argument

What was the argument. I didn’t see an argument. That fact that expensive apartments exist?

> let them pay in blood for the privilege

Why? Follow this thread of envy and it ends at a guillotine for anyone with wealth.

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#84

Post by dorkwood »

knocte wrote: post #61
zadler wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> NFTs are insane With any luck, NFTs and crypto in general might reduce this kind of investment in property. They might turn out to be a better place to park excess cash.

I think NFTs are great because they move money from the hands of the stupid&rich to the hands of artists.

Most artists do not sell their NFTs, and are instead stuck with the fees they paid to mint them.

"These numbers do not show the democratization of wealth thanks to a technological revolution. They show an acutely minuscule number of artists making a vast amount of wealth off a small number of sales while the majority of artists are being sold a dream of immense profit that is horrifically exaggerated." [0]

[0]: https://thatkimparker.medium.com/most-artists-are-not-making...

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#85

Post by koonsolo »

alpha_squared wrote: post #72
theonething wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it. What business is it of ours if a wealthy person passes their wealth to their progeny?

Wealth is finite, despite how much some like to claim it's not zero-sum. Not everyone can be wealthy, so by definition there will be those who aren't. Inherited wealth allows the inheritors to start further along in wealth accumulation and widens the gap between the wealthy and those who aren't. That then locks up wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people.

I feel sad for you that you think people cannot create something from nothing.

So if you gain something, does that means somebody else needs to lose? Is that how people justify stealing or scamming? Or is that how they cope with their envy that rich people must be stealing or scamming.

I once knew a person that had this theory about happiness. If someone is happy, someone else needs to be sad.

I feel sad for anyone who has this mindset. It's way nicer on our side, where we do win-win deals, and know to be happy, the people around us need to be happy.

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#86

Post by chakhs »

cheriot wrote: post #27
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #8

> They’re investments, not really meant for living in. They cast these huge shadows and block views—really change the skyline—just so they can stand empty. That is definitely one of the saddest parts for me. These billionaires (many of whom got their wealth in shady circumstances) are just using these condos to park their money. I may think NFTs are insane but at least when people with too much money park their wealt…

Well, if you want to ruin their investment then issue building permits for more of them. > They cast these huge shadows and block views Talk about first world problems. Expecting a city skyline to never change is ridiculous. The only problem is that so few people use these buildings. The best kind of density regulation requires _more_ density.

Or tax empty apartments? Not sure if that's done in the US

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#87

Post by slowmotiony »

> But some said they always felt like they were privileged to see the city like this and felt like other people should be able to share in it.

I cannot understand this line of thinking. I wonder if I can get a set of keys to the author's flat, so I can "share in it".

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#88

Post by gelert »

test1235 wrote: post #62
cheriot wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if you want to ruin their investment then issue building permits for more of them. > They cast these huge shadows and block views Talk about first world problems. Expecting a city skyline to never change is ridiculous. The only problem is that so few people use these buildings. The best kind of density regulation requires _more_ density.

>Expecting a city skyline to never change is ridiculous "In Athens, buildings are not allowed to surpass 12 floors so as not to block the view toward the Parthenon." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_A... I'd say this isn't typical of most of the world, but it's not unprecedented.

This is also a thing in London where certain views towards St Pauls Cathedral are protected.

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#89

Post by tarsinge »

wolverine876 wrote: post #69
test1235 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Expecting a city skyline to never change is ridiculous "In Athens, buildings are not allowed to surpass 12 floors so as not to block the view toward the Parthenon." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_A... I'd say this isn't typical of most of the world, but it's not unprecedented.

It also constrains supply of real estate, driving up the value for property owners.

12 floors is huge. Nearly every building in Paris is 6 floors and it is already at near the maximum density humanly acceptable in my opinion. There will never be enough supply in some place, especially with speculation and foreign investors. The situation in NYC and these cities is nothing like SF.

Re: Artist faked being a billionaire to photograph New York City’s best views

#90

Post by cm2187 »

gelert wrote: post #88
test1235 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Expecting a city skyline to never change is ridiculous "In Athens, buildings are not allowed to surpass 12 floors so as not to block the view toward the Parthenon." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_A... I'd say this isn't typical of most of the world, but it's not unprecedented.

This is also a thing in London where certain views towards St Pauls Cathedral are protected.

London isn't exactly a model of urban planning. There is a massive shortage of housing. And you end up with all new developments concentrated in a handful of areas.
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