To think rich people steal money all the time and that’s often why they’re rich?

[MyAmusedOpalCrab]

We hear so much about “hard work” and “smart investments” but let’s be honest, so many rich people didn’t get wealthy by being ethical. From dodgy business practices to exploiting workers, tax dodging, insider deals and straight-up corruption, wealth often comes at someone else’s expense.

Governments bail out billionaires while ordinary people struggle to afford rent. CEOs cut wages and benefits while pocketing massive bonuses. Huge corporations find loopholes to avoid taxes while the rest of us get squeezed.

Obviously not every rich person is a thief but AIBU to think that a lot of them are? That the system is rigged in their favour and they keep getting richer by bending or outright breaking the rules?

I’m dealing with the PP, thanks.

Agree, my son’s previous manager set up his own Marketing company, he took £40 million for
contracts and had furloughed staff work the entirety or they’d loose their jobs, he banked £10 million into his personal bank account, oh don’t even mention sexual assaults and he’s still free!

Except, those people on benefits might well work 40 hours a week in an Amazon warehouse getting paid poverty wages that they can't live on.
I once read that the price of Philip Greens third super yacht was roughly equivalent to the amount the taxpayer had forked out in tax credits to his staff one year.

If this is a genuine opinion, and not just another of the countless 'benefit cheats' bot posts saturating MN atm, then why? Why MORE upset?

Nope, try again.

Lots of non-DM readers think this way, despite what you want to think.

This hectoring rhetoric, doesn’t work any more.

The mega rich are taught about money in ways we are never ever shown. They rent. They have credit cards and loans. They borrow people’s money (banks/investors) to fund their projects. They fail a lot (and lose other people’s money). And when they win they are given credit. They never use their personal money for things.

They also invest their money wisely, and make it work for them.

Whether you agree or not is up to you, but I think more children should be taught proper financial literacy- of course that won’t happen as that would make for more competition.

What I think is crazy is the taxpayer has directly helped fund extreme wealth through quantitative easing. Literally printed money that has boosted asset prices. It is funded by debt and we all have to pick up that bill

This sounds like conspiracy rich evil stereotype storytelling to explain why some have very little and others have more: It’s because they rig the system and steal it! Mostly ridiculous
And
Probably a little bit true ….

But every day people are investing, inventing, opening a business, getting lucky with career, auditioning, graduating with advanced degrees in science & tech …

@August1980 Wealthy and rents? That’s ludicrous. They aren’t wealthy.

I find it obscene that there are billionaires while it’s necessary for people to be on benefits.
I find it obscene there are billionaires while there are homeless people.
I find it obscene that people are homeless in 2025.
I find it obscene that there are people who have more than enough money to spend in 5 lifetimes yet they watch all the suffering and do nothing but search out more money.
Their choice - but it would not be my choice.

It's the poverty wages the rich and super rich pay their employees that produce the owners' wealth. Without their employees work, paid at rates vastly lower than the products are sold for, they would have nothing.

It's the eternal question. Who needs who? In a capitalist economy we think the workers need the employers. In a socialist economy it's recognised that without the labour of the workers the employers would have nothing so the workers can organise themselves. And, therefore, become much richer.

We are no longer doffing our caps .
There will always be inequality in society but the divide is so extreme now that we need to deal with it .
The elites need to look squarely at themselves.
Matthew Syed has an interesting take on the idea of an exodus of the rich .

Be careful saying that. If people don’t claim them, it could be argued that benefits are too generous.

There isn’t any money ready to pay for unclaimed benefits. If everyone claimed them some thing else would have to be cut.

Benefits cheats cost tax payers very little. Tax fraud is a huge industry.

I know some rich people - extremely wealthy. They certainly aren’t the types to steal other peoples’ money. They are very humble, dont drive flashy cars and do a lot of good for the local community - probably a lot more than you. They have got where they are through hard work and because they are clever people. I find all this moaning about rich people really tiresome. You get different people in all walks of life; rich, poor. Try not to be so envious of others. It’s not a nice trait.

agreed

Unclaimed benefits aren’t because people don’t need them. Some are because people have heard so many horror stories about being over paid they would rather struggle and do without necessities than claim and end up in debt. Some aren’t claimed because the system is too complicated.

Totally agree
I have a relative who had parents and his in-laws both in council housing.
They were both able to buy their property,but didn't have the money
So the relative bought both houses , despite never having lived in either.
Years went by , parents and in-laws died , relative then owned two houses that had massively increased in value .
How was that legal,I have no idea

Any person who has the nous to be successful gets my vote. Good for them if they work hard at what they are good at and make money. Politics of envy showing here again!

Corporations are struggling with the high tax burden, businesses rates, national insurance, corporation tax.

We have wealth, so not sure what kind of wealth you are talking about but we have offshore bank accounts, multiple properties, multiple businesses, a holiday home, one more luxury car than is needed, private school education for our children.

We have been bankrupt before and have built ourselves up from there with hard work and a vow never to be there again. Our kids have been given an education and a car and our hard learned lessons to set them on their way. When we die they will get the balance not before. We pay taxes in the highest bracket and I don’t believe we do anything that is not permissible to avoid paying those taxes.

Not everyone is the same.

I agree with this sentiment as well. I’m more bothered about the amount of money our Government is wasting and giving handouts to people who are blatantly exploiting the system. I heard that the £22bn black hole they supposedly inherited has now grown to £50bn. That takes some doing in just over a year.

Might want to use your brains for once. Far more cheats in parliament than actually benefit fraud.

Sweeping generalisations are lacking in any useful insight. Are some rich people crooks? Yes. Are some poor people criminals? Also yes. As you were, folks…

There's benefit fraud,

There's fake sickness, (people who're miraculously well just before the six month ends).

There's tax dodging,

There's honest vs ddeceitfulin all walks.