What drives rich people to make more money?

[ZombieNixon]

I mean, when you're so rich you can roll around naked in and wipe your ass with piles of dollar bills, what would be the point of getting even more? What could you possibly do with it? What's the point of being the richest person alive? In the grand scheme of things, does the fact that you're the wealthiest individual on a backwater planet out on the Orion Arm of a spiral galaxy near the edge of the universe mean a damn thing? Life, the universe and everything doesn't care how much bling you have...why should I?

I guess this is why I'm a Democrat. Living the life of Bill Gates, Sultan of Microsoftia, seems totally pointless. I'd like to live well, but I would hope I'll know when to quit. Truth be told, having 200 grand would satisfy my needs right now, and even when I have to buy a house and support a family, give me a cool million and I'll be set for far more than I really need.

I hate money and think materialism is pointless, I guess. What is the point of greed? What does having billions of dollars and tax shelters really accomplish?

Ah, well, I'm bored. Just a musing. :shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

1. 'He who dies with the most toys

wins."

Some people really believe that. :eyes:

[ZombieNixon]

2. What exactly does one win?

:shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. The honor of saying

one had the most toys.

[ZombieNixon]

7. Saying to whom?

You're dead. :shrug: And Jeebus doesn't care.

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. All the schumcks

who didn't have as many toys.

[ZombieNixon]

13. Bastids.

Gonna kick their asses, because their nukyoolar weppins ain't coming with them to meet me in hell! :grr:

[jpgray]

3. Typically a chauffeur

He also drives them to drink, and to their kids' soccer practice.

:P

[alarcojon]

17. JP, buddy

How's that math problem coming? B-)

[Dangerously Amused]

21. Yaaay!

AJ's in the house!


:woohoo:

[alarcojon]

24. Nice to see you too, DA

I'm still hanging tough.

[Dangerously Amused]

26. Good.

'Cuz I think you're the coolest.

[jpgray]

27. So far, not at all

:P

But give me some credit--I worked my way up from nothing to a state of extreme stupidity. :D

[JVS]

33. Let me see the math problem! It might be fun!

[Dangerously Amused]

4. Greed. And ego.

Oh, and the approval of Jesus, who blesses his truest followers with material things.

[ZombieNixon]

6. Oh, yeah, I forgot about the Jeebus factor.

:eyes:

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. 'Jesus loves me all he can

Check the size of my floor plan
Driveway's filled with SUVs
'Cause I got down on my knees

Yes, Jesus loves me
Big an-nu-i-ty
Yes, Jesus loves me
My accountant tells me so"

[ZombieNixon]

9. Oh, yes, the Book of Accountancy.

One wonders why they didn't write that into the Bible. :eyes:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. LOL...you wrote that? Good one

insofar as wealth goes, the rich can reach a certain point where they need do nothing to get richer...so it isn't always drive

[ZombieNixon]

12. It's moments like these that really make me loathe society.

Where people can just get away with that while the rest of us have to work for it. :grr:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

14. What's worse is when they scapegoat the poor via knocking entitlements

we live in an economic system wherein a certain number of people need to be unemployed and/ or paid less lest wage inflation occurs causing all inflation to go up...then what do the rich do? Bitch about it

[Dangerously Amused]

20. I love it!

Did you just make that up?

[Oeditpus Rex]

22. Well...

yeah. :blush:

[Dangerously Amused]

25. Dude, you make words dance! : )

And I loves me a funny, intelligent, creative guy.



:thumbsup:


:7

[Reciprocity]

15. That was the part of the Abramoff scandal I never got.

The man at one point was worth more than $100 million dollars. And instead of retiring and living off the proceeds of his ill gotten gains he just keep doing the same old shit he had been doing

[RandomKoolzip]

16. I once got into an argument with a libertarian...

A few years ago, some multi-millionaire played the lottery and won, making him a millionaire many times over.

I found this appalling - what the fuck is a multi-millionaire doing playing the fucking lottery in the first place?! - and unfair, and in some conversation, this libertarian asshole looked at me like I was the dumbest piece of shit to walk the planet for thinking that way. He then would bring it up every time we had any kind of conversation.

He didn't see anything wrong with someone who already had everything he ever needed playing the lottery, thus taking that money out of circulation for poor people who would need it more. Libertarians suck.


Of course, he was also the drummer for my band, so I couldn't just drop him as a "friend."

[Fenris]

18. Did he ever stop drumming midway through a song...

because he felt he had contributed his fair share to the piece? :D

[RandomKoolzip]

23. Yes, in fact.

"It's not MY song, so why should I play drums on it?"

[Wapsie B]

19. It can be greed, but just as likely it's connections.

Being wealthy doesn't put someone automatically in the moral shitpile. They can do great things with their fortune. For them being able to amass wealth on their own part of it is environment and upbringing, self-image, being raised in an environment of acheivement in their formative years.

[cassiepriam]

28. Greed, it is a sickness, and no amount of money will cure it.... nt

[Strong Atheist]

29. Insecurity. nt.

[greendog]

30. lack of imagination

You've finally made enough money to do ANYTHING you want to do.

What do you decide to do?

Make more money. :eyes:

Something's missing upstairs.

[jberryhill]

31. Of the people I am aware who have done well..

...it was typically because what they really enjoyed doing had the incidental benefit of making money. Since they were having fun, they just kept doing it.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

32. Reminds me of a scene from "Chinatown."

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER!!!!!!!
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Gittes: "I just wanna know what you're worth. $10 million?"

Cross: "Oh, my, yes."

Gittes: "Why are you doing this? How much better can you eat? What can you buy that you can't already afford?"

Cross: "The future, Mr. Gittes. The future."

[EstimatedProphet]

34. You're right, and I think it does lose its point

If you have millions upon millions, how much more does your life get better by adding another million? Even 10 million?

Here's a post I made about this earlier tonight:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=940176&mesg_id=941436

[NMMNG]

35. Greed

:shrug:

[madeline_con]

36. Fear of losing all the "stuff" one has accumulated. n/t

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

37. I got in an interesting conversation with my old officemate on this topic.

He had been investing in stocks for a long time, was a guy who always worked really hard, moonlighted a lot for extra dough, and saved and invested, never really had too much fun as far as I could tell.

In any case, for quite a while, he was a "paper millionaire" and would check his stock portfolio on our office computer about a brazilian times a day, to the exclusion of using the computer for any actual work. He wound up losing much of the value of his stock portfolio with the crash of the tech stocks, but he's still fine as he has owned his home in San Diego for many years now which must be worth about a million or more and he's got a lot of equity, and his job pays very well.

My question to him was: What amount of worth, if you'd accumulated it, would cause you not to risk ANY of it investing in equities, but instead just live handsomely off interest, or put it in T-bills or CD's?

I couldn't arrive at any number for him where he wouldn't risk a substantial portion of the money investing.

Let me explain. Let's say you had 10 million dollars. For me, this would EASILY represent a number (just to have a starting point) where, just from interest, you could live HANDSOMELY for the rest of your life, and still pass on an inheritance if you wished. If you had this much money, and didn't risk it, you would never have to worry about money for the rest of your life. If you risked it in the stock market, it might grow a lot more, but now you'd have to worry about money at least some of the time, because of the risk. My point I tried to make to my friend is: Since you probably will never HAVE 10 million dollars in your life after all your work, if you suddenly DID, why risk any of it?

To me, the whole point of money is to not have to worry about it, for it to represent security in your life.

If you thirst after high end material things like yachts, expensive cars, and especially luxury homes in high priced areas, there's no limit really to how much money you might "need".

For my friend, even if he had 100 million, then he could risk half of it and still have a ton. I understand the reasoning, but I still don't see the point. Most people would never expect to see 10 or 100 mil in their lifetime, so if you somehow had this in your hand, why would it not be enough? For some people like this, the "game" of making money or investing is rewarding in and of itself. For others, the POWER and INFLUENCE that owning huge sums of money represents is the thing.

If you had goals to fund research institutions or make huge charity bequests or buy politicians or media networks, sure, once again, no limit to the amount of money "needed". But that's not me. I'd be perfectly happy to read and write books, travel etc.