Why do billionaires need so much money?

M0nica

They don't Need the money, but it comes to them from their business excess.

And many choose not to publicise their giving.

This sort of business excess, MOnica?

The Balanced Economy Project reported that the average profit mark-up by the world’s top 20 companies, whose market value is equivalent to the GDP of France, Germany, India, Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom combined, is 50% compared to 25% average for smaller firms. This gets multiplied several times in the supply chain. The tech industry is dominated by few companies and its mark-up is currently at around 75% or more, and has been as high as 1,000%, meaning they charged people for goods and services ten times as much as the cost of producing them.

The finance industry piles on the pressure on cost-of-living crisis through speculation on virtually everything whilst producing little or nothing. For example, hedge funds made £1.5bn profit by speculating on food prices by betting on the Ukraine-Russia war. In 2022, investment banks made $20bn by trading and financing commodities like oil, gas and metals. High commodity prices are a major reason for higher inflation and poverty.

^In the UK, unchecked corporate profiteering is the real reason for inflation and poverty. Shell, BP, British Gas, National Grid, coal and energy companies have excelled at profiteering. Gas producers and electricity generators are expected to make £170bn “excess” profits. Research by Unite reported that FTSE 350 companies hiked their profit margins by more than 89%. Between 2019 and 2021, agribusiness corporations increased profits by 255%. Pharmaceutical companies have raised prices of vital medicines by over 10,000%. Internet and mobile phone companies operate as a cartel and every year increase prices by inflation plus 3.9%, regardless of their cost. Water companies in England enjoy a monopoly and since privatisation in 1989 have hiked prices by 40% in real terms.

leftfootforward.org/2024/01/the-uk-needs-to-break-with-neoliberalism-to-deliver-economic-growth/

They don't Need the money, but it comes to them from their business excess.

And many choose not to publicise their giving.

I reckon they don't need so much money -- they have so much money. Giving and charitable giving is what matters, in my opinion.

George Michael's genrousity was only known after his death.

I think the number of the wealthy, let alone the stinking rich, who give significant sums of money to many charities far exceeds those who simply spend obscenely.

Most of the obscene big spenders are not British, although they may live here. Russian and Eastern European oligarchs, many very rich Chinese people, plus many from India. seem to dominate the big spender list.

The USA has a similar culture to us, except the big givers like to be thanked and acknowledged publicly, something that the British sense of privacy and not boasting does not like.

On the other hand private donating can come back and hit the donor. One of the biggest donors to cultural facilities in this country and in the USA have been the Sackler family. There is the Sackler wing added to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, they ahve also donated to the the Royal Ballet School, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute of Art, Kew Gardens, Tate Modern and the Natural History Museum.

The problem is the Sacklers got their money from owning Purdu Pharma, which produces OxyContin, a painkiller that has been at the heart of multiple lawsuits relating to the US opioid crisis.

James Dyson is another.

Whilst there are many greedy, rich people who stash their money away, there are still a lot of philanthropists. Bill Gates is the most famous one but there are a lot of businessmen who give away large amounts of money. The actor Keanu Reeves and author J K Rowling both give away a lot of money.

Germanshepherdsmum

Giving is best done quietly.

I couldnt agree more - both charitable acts and the giving of money.

Giving is best done quietly.

eddiecat78

There are some good guys. Sir Tom Hunter has given away many millions and has expressed his wish "not to die rich". He also appears to be a lot happier than those who elect to keep it all

I think there are plenty of philanthropists still around, they just choose to keep their anonymity, and I do not blame them in this day and age.

The world and its dog seem to want to know everything about everyone…

There are some good guys. Sir Tom Hunter has given away many millions and has expressed his wish "not to die rich". He also appears to be a lot happier than those who elect to keep it all

Most of the money is not cash in hand. Most of a billionaire's wealth is in the ompany they have built up and own. Obviously such assets generate an income, and so they buy the best of everything, houses, yachts, cars.

But you need to remember that it is the high spending high profile billionaires who hit the headlines. Many very wealthy people live quiet and private lifes and give most of their money to charities and good causes, mainly through charitable foundations,

Cabbie21 You ask why some philanthropist hasn't offered to support local services. the answer to that it is because most wealthy people channel their money to charity through foundations that operate at arms length form the donor and no local authority has made an application for funding.

But many will finance local charities. When I volunteered for Age Concern (as was) nearly all our funding came from charitable foundations of every kind, many of them local and based on the wealth of i dividuals. The funded work I did stopped when the government said it would do the work we did and our funder said their money was given to fund things governments did not pay for and now the government had said they would provide the service, they would donate the money to something else.

I think competition ends up being part of it.
I watched a yacht programme once.
If you have a yacht, you dont want yours to be the shabbiest in the harbour, type thing.
Or you see something on someone else's yacht, and you have not got that, well that would be nice to have, wouldn't it?

The kids are not in the very best private school...

I was just thinking yesterday when local TV was showing the effects of cuts by the cash strapped council, if only some philanthropists would rescue the leisure centre or lunch club or library. Where are the Rowntree, Cadbury of yesteryear. and others who have millions but are prepared to use their wealth for the common good?

I do think many of these billionaires are property rich and cash poor. They give to charity for tax purposes. You can see how many of them get married and divorced multi times, they are not happy people, even living a life of luxury, not knowing who your real friends are or who you can trust must be boring at times. How many of them are seeking help from Psychiatrists as they cannot cope with life.

I have my state pension and a small private pension from my late husband and a lovely mortgage free home. I am happy in my own way and the only thing I would ever wish for is for my husband to be still here with me.

I watched a documentary yesterday ( I wish I hadn’t 😡) about hidden money.
One fact is imprinted on my brain.
It is estimated that there is 40 trillion dollars in off shore accounts
To get some sort of handle of how obscene this is here’s a little equation.

I million seconds = 11 days.
1 billion seconds = 31 years
That’s how huge this is.
And who set it up: the uk.

I think it stems from wanting to be a success at whatever you do.

They have a successful business, employ people, who make more money and business for them, so they have to employ even more people.

A bit like a snowball that rolls along getting bigger.

I would never judge anyone for making money and providing jobs for many, likewise I wouldn’t and do not judge those who have inherited from their parents.

It is not a crime to be rich as long as any monies made has been made/gained lawfully and all taxes paid.

It's quite complex though isnt it. I cant imagine that level of wealth. However as a middle class person in a wealthy country I am richer than certainly the majority of people. And if you compared it to people throughout history the comparison between the living conditions most of us on this thread experience and most in the 1800s, well it would be obscene. I have many many things I dont need.

I think that's true maddyone. Why does one person want to buy all the properties on the Monopoly board and have loads of cash too?!
It's an extra strong desire to own.

I too think success and power

After they acquire so much they don’t need any more but they tend to be highly motivated people who who crave success and power. That’s what motivates them I think.

It’s a real sin to have so much money , unless it is used wisely for the good of all but I’ll never in a million years know that

Nobody needs that level of wealth.

They may want it but do not need it.

Greed,just simple greed.The Thatcher era started the greed is good mantra along with the divisive policies that backed up the rich getting richer and the poor being left further behind year on year.It will only get worse if we do nothing to stop it,its the tory way

Well I suppose the answer is that they don’t.
I find that we tend to make friends and socialise with people in our own wealth bracket. I am making a general observation here.
It makes us comfortable that we know we can all afford it if we go to Weatherspoons, or Le Manoir together.
Perhaps they are frightened of being ‘left out’?