To think that most rich people don’t actually care about those struggling?

[ZippyMintCat]

I keep seeing wealthy people make grand statements about philanthropy, “giving back”, and wanting to help but when it comes down to it, most of them don’t actually seem to care. They live in their own bubble, completely disconnected from the struggles of ordinary people.

They might donate to charity for tax breaks, post about “awareness” on social media or make vague comments about how “hard work pays off” but they rarely do anything that actually makes a difference. Meanwhile, the cost of living keeps rising, people are struggling to afford basics, and the ultra-rich just keep hoarding wealth.

Of course there are exceptions but in general, AIBU to think that rich people don’t really give a shit? Or am I just being cynical?

I mean tbh you have to be pretty much completely non empathic to sit on a billion pounds and not care about the rest of what is going on in the world in terms of disease/poverty.

I mean just think about how much a billion pounds is. 1000 million pounds.

No one personally has the need for that kind of money. Let alone 10s to 100s of billions.

If you aren't doing something useful with it, either benefiting society through investment or using it for charitable causes then there has to be something wrong with your outlook somewhere, as it is just accumulating money for the sake of accumulating money.

I think in general most people don’t really care about others. Wealth doesn’t really come into it. It’s human nature to just look after your own.

I have also seen a few people moan about rich people not caring, only to get rich themselves and turn into the same sort of people as the rich ones they previously moaned about. Again, it’s human nature.

I'm not sure I'd couch it in terms of "obligation", but for me, the reason I should give is luck. I am bloody lucky to have been born when and where I was (mainly), and with the attributes I have (also). By the standards of virtually any other time or place I might have been born, I've won the lottery. That's why I'm still alive into my middle age, literate, free, comfortable. The reason I'm rich (sorry to be crass, but for brevity and because it's the terms this thread was couched in) are down to my attributes and decisions and hard work, but again, that's largely genes and upbringing too when you strip everything back.

The same could be said for almost all (maybe literally all) rich people. That's why I think they/we should give.

I'm an equal-opportunity curmudgeon though. People at the other end of the scale in the UK are also bloody lucky. They haven't won the lottery at all. But in any other time in the UK, and most parts of the world still today, their life would be truly even more horrible, and probably short. I suppose that makes me a sort of old-school patrician type. We are are of equal moral worth and we all owe what we have (whether that is little, subsidised by others, or lots, thanks to things we didn't choose) to fate. I can't quite derive an "obligation" to give from that, but I also see very few moral grounds on which to hoard what we end up with.

I'm not sure why people automatically blame 'the rich' when most tax evasion is by small businesses.

In 2023-2024 small businesses were responsible for 60% of the tax gap (the gap between what people should pay and what they actually do) - that's over £28 billion of lost tax revenue.

'Wealthy individuals' (defined as those earning over £200K a year) evaded £2.34 billion of tax in comparison, whilst for criminals it was £4.2 billion.

It's the side hustle people and cash in hand workers who don't care about society.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps

I'm not rich, not by any definition, but I live in my own bubble .....

I think the majority of people do as well. rich or poor.

You sound very jealous tbh. How do you know what they think or feel?
most people live in bubble, rich or poor and finances are a private thing

Trusts and foundations give around £3.8 Billion to U.K. charities a year. Many of these trusts and foundations come from individual and family wealth or from big companies.

So while many don’t - many do.

OP, you’ll be massively rich compared to millions of people in the world. How much time an energy do you put into helping them out? How do you feel about buying cheap food and products made abroad? Do you agonise over the pay and conditions those workers have or do you get on with your life?

This sums it up nicely. As long as the dividends pay out and the government subsidise their business.

It’s not about jealousy, I’m not aspiring to that level of wealth. My point is about the influence extreme wealth gives you and how it’s often not used in proportion to the scale of problems it could address. I agree finances are private and yes, people of all incomes can live in bubbles but the impact of a wealthy person’s bubble is very different from someone who’s just getting by.

I’ve acknowledged in a previous comment that by global standards, I’m fortunate and I do try to be mindful of what I buy and to contribute where I can. But my point is about the scale of what’s possible when you have extreme wealth. I can make small choices and contributions but I can’t fund infrastructure, influence policy, or redistribute billions. It’s not about pretending I’m not privileged, it’s about questioning why those with vastly more capacity to make changes often aren’t doing it.

What you've seen and read doesn't make you an expert. Much more might be being done than you could possibly imagine.

I think the definition of ‘poor people’ is as important as the definition of ‘rich people’ here.

@ZippyMintCat , you are talking about me then.
My husband and I come from very working class backgrounds, we both left school at 16 and worked tirelessly until about 60 ( he’s a bit older than me). We didn’t inherit our wealth but made many sacrifices and took horrible risks along the way. We worked when we were ill, both with physical and mental illness, when recovering from operations, when grieving and in my case directly after giving birth, no maternity leave for me.
We are enjoying our retirement now but years of hard graft have left their physical mark.
I do care about others but I’m more about a hand up rather than a hand out, of course some people do need a hand out and I have no issue with that.
I despair of our education system which does not in my opinion seem to help young people to understand how to get on in life, this cannot entirely be left to parents who themselves may not have a clue. Don’t get me started on our once illustrious universities who seem more interested in indoctrination than education these days.
I feel extremely frustrated that increasingly what we are at liberty to safely say is being curtailed so that no one is discussing some things which really do need addressing.
I would like a society where everyone has a decent chance and where political correctness doesn’t get in the way of that. Where hard work and entrepreneurship is encouraged. I’d love to see taxation which encouraged businesses and therefore provided decent jobs. There are a whole host of issues I do care deeply about and I vote accordingly.
I will not apologise however for the ‘good fortune’ my husband and I sacrificed the best years of our lives to attain because we didn’t want in our old age to be a burden on either the state or our children.
Judge me as you will.

Why don't the government do something about it then ?

All they ever do is hit on PAYE because they can't escape.

You are right, OP. Those disagreeing with you are either bootlickers who aspire to being wealthy some day - so they think supporting people who exploit workers and the poor will help them - or they're people with some wealth themselves and an interest in keeping the status quo.

Complaining about how far removed most rich people are from the lives of ordinary, struggling people is not jealousy. It's reality.

If these absurdly wealthy people pay every penny of tax due I don’t think they have any obligation to worry about how someone on the minimum wage is getting by though, do they?

The OP on this thread is as meaningless a generalisation as “AIBU to think that most people claiming benefits are cheating the system?”

Sweeping generalisations are meaningless and have no basis in reality.

I think most people considered "rich" are feeling the pinch and sick to death of paying over half their income in tax, only to be lambasted over and over.

The truly wealthy - who knows. Some do, JK Rowling for example has poured millions into her charitable causes without looking for applause, and some don't.

I see paying tax as the legal minimum, not the ceiling for responsibility, especially when you have resources that could make a real difference. I’m not saying they should micromanage the lives of people on minimum wage but with that level of wealth and influence, they’re in a position to fund initiatives, create fairer opportunities or support systemic changes that improve things for everyone. It’s the gap between what they could do and what they actually do that I find hard to ignore.

I think the very rich jet round the world mixing with other wealthy people in the first class lounge. Have no clue about the rest. Never mix with them.
Politicians are a bit like this -zooming about to meetings, being busy, private car ….

I don’t need a billionaire to care whether I’m rich or not 🤷♀️ if they care they care if they don’t they don’t! I don’t need their understanding

I think you will find that many very wealthy people have their own funds or foundations that you will likely have never heard of which distribute money or make grants to causes of their interest.

You’re going to be very unhappy if you keep thinking like this. No one has any obligation to be responsible for strangers just because they’re rich. They’re entitled to live their life however they like, just the same as you, they don’t have to take on extra responsibility just because they’re rich have more money than you. I actually think it’s people like you that sound entitled.

I’m not convinced those struggling give much a shit about others who are struggling either.