Quote:
Originally Posted by RedThunderBird
Every thing is relative , and this is another myth ---- take for example Michael Jackson by the time of his passing , he left a debt of over $400,000,000.00 which is beyond my imagination
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Although Michael Jackson did have a staggering amount of debt, AP just reported today that he likely died $237 million in the black, which is still rich by most people standards. He was definitely cash poor though.
AP Exclusive: Jackson said net worth $236M in 2007 - Yahoo! News
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken Arrow
It's an easy generalization to make, but often times, it is said without any discernible proof as to one way or another. Personally though, I believe the rich have also gotten poorer.
For example, let's take a look at wikipedia's list of billionaires. I realize that wiki as a source should be taken with a grain of salt, but if there any truth to the listing, you'll see that most of the billionaires have lost much of their capital in 2008. And that makes sense. After all, most own companies or at least stock, and the stock market tanked in 2008.
Of course, it is indeed possible for the rich to get richer. They have more capital, better networks, more options.... But the reality is, the rich doesn't always get richer. |
Additionally, last Thursday Merrill Lynch and Capgemini released the annual wealth report showing how the rich actually got 19% poorer in 2008, erasing the past two years of economic growth.
I incidentally wrote about this today. The number of the world's millionaires also decreased by 19% as well.
Nonetheless, I think this statement is typically true and is a function of how they get their money compared to the non-rich as alluded to earlier. Most of us are not rich and earn the bulk of our incomes as employees (even if we work for ourselves). Thus, our wages are subject to what someone is willing to give us for our time and skill, which apparently hasn't changed substantially in the last decade. However, most rich people earn their income from businesses they own and their investments. Although the risks are higher for them, so are the rewards. If they are successful they get richer. In fact, if we are successful working for them, they still get richer.