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Originally Posted by BMWFREAK In the US the rich are not getting that much richer, in my opinion. The era of the Rockefellers and families alike, has pretty much ended. |
I think, even in America, the rich get richer. The rich have access to capital, expertise and most of all, something the Chinese calls
guanxi (connections). Given those odds, I'd be surprised if the rich don't get richer. Look at the Forbes list of World Billionaires and Richest People in America. The minimum net worth to get on that list goes up every year.
If you had millions of investable money, you can invest in venture capital funds and have the smartest managers handle your money. The VC firm that backed Youtube for something like $10 million, in return for a reputed 30% stake, could get back $500 million for less than two year's work. Youtube was bought by Google for a bubble price, $1.6 billion US. Now how would a poor man have his money invested in one of those sweetheart deals? In fact, how would a poor man even have any discretionary money to invest?
Athletes get paid $20 million US for endorsements. Actors made that every movie. A celebrity can make mega millions, more in one year than an average man makes in a few lifetimes! The West is celebrity obsessed, oil obsessed and wealth obsessed. How can the rich not get more rich under such favourable circumstances? How can the poor not become more poor and/or more dead?