To wonder what it must be like being a billionaire?

[malificent7]

And what kind of personality these people have?
Just facinated by star link and Elon Musk's space ambitions, also by Bill Gates and all the hysteria around him at the moment.
I mean these characters have so much power and influence.
Just musing on how much easier it must be being in lockdown with all that cash but also wondering if any of them are true philanthropists.
Im a socialist at heart but wonder at how these people managed to hoard so much of the worlds resources. It seems vastly unfair.

I think a philanthropic billionaire is a paradox. No one needs that money. Why not give it away? 900 million is more than anyone ever needs.

You don't generally get to be a billionaire without exploiting people or resources along the way, either.

I find Bill Gates and Elon Musk fascinating. So much money, and so much drive to change the world. It must be an incredible feeling. I don't think they are your "average" billionaire, they have a vision.

I'm not sure I agree with the 'unfair' point wrt to those two though, the "world's resources" (particularly in terms of billionaire's wealth) are not a fixed quantity. The reason they have so much, is because they created lots of value (or in the case of Musk, because people expect that he is going to create lots of value).

I think it's fine to wonder - I've no idea why you would think this to be unreasonable though?!

Who wants to be a Billionaire? I do!!

I don’t think I could be trusted with the power that such a large amount of money brings, I would end up just doing completely stupid stuff.

I do know a few people who are very wealthy, think multi millionaires, most are in music. A few years ago I was in the States due to my then partners work, we were invited to go round someones house to watch a film. It turned out to be a mansion in beverly hills owned by a world famous musician and it was a private screening (in their own cinema!) of a film that hadn’t been released yet, there were six other people there, all very very famous. Bit embarrassing saying I was an actuary when they asked what I do! They had multiple members of staff, there was even a doorman to let us in. I spent the whole tome sat there just thinking “i’m going to get thrown out any minute”.

I actually can't really imagine it, it's just a completely different world.
I don't think anyone really needs to be a billionaire though. It's more money than you could ever possibly need.

Hmmmm I think I'd prefer to be anonymous ... being that high profile is stressful and bad for most people's mental health.

And i agree with bingo bill gates, elon, mark zuckerberg etc. have made a lot of their employees plenty rich

I really admire rich artists like musicuans...to make art that people love is a beautiful gift.

I don't think anyone really needs to be a billionaire though. It's more money than you could ever possibly need.

Someone living in sub Saharan Africa might say no one needs £1000. It's all relative to the world you live in. If you live in a world where you want a super yacht, a private jet, a fleet of luxury and classic cars and a couple of Picassos and Van Goughs, you probably do need a billion or so. Maybe 2 billion if you also need some printer ink.

My friend works for one, they are obsessed with security, CCTV, security manager etc. Many properties including London, no idea about charitable giving. My friend is treated well

Self made billionaires by definition have created a lot of value and employ a lot of people so I don’t see what’s wrong/unfair? They also have huge responsibilities and stress, and are often under the public eye, so I don’t necessarily envy them.

As for those who have inherited, it’s a different debate, but I don’t envy them either. I know quite a few and many of them have mental health problems/depression (as they feel useless or like they will never do as well as their ancestors who have created the wealth), not many friends (as they are too suspicious)...

Multi millionnaires have it much better I think!

If I were a billionaire, I would buy some popular clothes brand and changed labels on t-shirts from left to right

I know a PA for someone who paid themselves 400 million last year. She organises everything, getting their yachts to where they want them, ensuring the private jets are ready when they need them, sorting all the insurance for houses/jets/boats/houses. Security for the kids getting to school. All Dr's/ Dental appointments, clothes/makeup etc organised for events, there are many. This individual isn't particularly philanthropic though. I wouldn't want all the people involved in my life, nannies, housekeepers, PT's, hairdressers etc.

You should read Melinda Gates' book - it's really interesting and shows just how people with tons of money still have normal lives and worries about their children, but also how they can really intentionally make the world a better place, should they choose to learn and become passionate about something.

The ones I’ve spent most time around, a family I knew because of DH’s last job, struck me as bored and blasé. They had an extraordinarily beautiful old manor and estate in Berkshire that was unoccupied apart from by permanently-waiting staff for all but two weeks a year. They had a Knightsbridge flat that looked like a high-grade airport, and zipped boredly around the world in private jets. I was in a casino with the clan patriarch once, and he was gambling with chips worth £10,000 each and looking as bored as if he were watching two snails on a wall.

There was an intriguing sidelight on this during, of all things, the Fake News hearings of the DCMS select committee. I'd never really thought of it like that.

CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA CEO LOVES TWO THINGS: EXPENSIVE CHANDELIERS AND RUINING THE WORLD
theoutline.com/post/3950/cambridge-analytica-modern-colonialism-christopher-wylie?zi=kmgwnpgg&zd=2

Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix is so cartoonishly rich he allegedly once left a meeting to “pick up a £200,000 chandelier,” whistleblower Christopher Wylie told U.K. parliament during a Tuesday hearing. Nix and others in the company didn’t do it for the money, Wylie said.

In addition to working for the Trump and Leave campaigns in 2016, the firm also meddled in foreign elections, which Wylie said they treated as “projects” to pass the time — you know, like other rich people pastimes, like playing squash or betting on race horses. “These are people that don’t need to make a lot of money, but the thing I learned is that for certain wealthy people, they need something to keep them occupied,” Wylie said. “Going into the developing world and running a country is something that appeals to them.”

Are you being unreasonable about what?

Self made billionaires by definition have created a lot of value

Not necessarily for other people. They may simply have diverted existing value and labour-output to themselves.

Someone living in sub Saharan Africa might say no one needs £1000. It's all relative to the world you live in. If you live in a world where you want a super yacht, a private jet, a fleet of luxury and classic cars and a couple of Picassos and Van Goughs, you probably do need a billion or so. Maybe 2 billion if you also need some printer ink.

I think people often don't realise the huge gulf between a multi millionaire like say the Beckhams, and a billionaire like Jeff Bezos - this is quite a useful demo

That's really interesting @Navelwort. I suppose when you can have pretty much anything money can buy, you're bound to get bored. What's so special about a fancy car when you buying a Ferrari is like an average person doing a weekly shop?

Steve Jobs wrote a list of things that money can't buy before he died
One was good health

Michael Jackson had millions, but I guess he couldn't walk to his local shop to buy a pint of milk

Billionaires are probably just as evenly split between lovely, 'alright' or abject arseholes as the rest of the population, I reckon.

I dealt with some 'very famous people' in a past career and experienced a mix of all three. In many respects, I was never able to form an opinion, because I wasn't there in any capacity to find out much about their character or personality.

However, I can say, with absolute certainty that there are a few personal assistants that definitely need to realise that THEY are not as special as they think they are. Some of the rudeness and poor manners I witnessed from 'staff' made my head spin!

I really admire rich artists like musicuans...

Huh, what do you find more impressive, their talent or the their ability to monetise their talent.

I think the stress of life must just manifest in different ways.

I'd love to have the cash to never worry about bills or shopping or to be able to make sure none of my family and friends every need worry about those things every again.

Yet at the same time having to worry about security for the school run or wondering if your teenager was going to slip their bodyguard and put themselves at risk just sounds horrid. I would hate to live in fear for my children's safety. It's bad enough when they are 5 minutes late home as it is

I think hoarding wealth to that extent is truly obscene when you could use it to relieve so much suffering and make the world a better place.