35 of the 80 richest are American

[DGUtley]

Most of the super rich made their money off the sweat of workers everywhere and mostly china.Some connived swindled and cheated and lied and made more money. Id bet NONE did it with sweat and tears. The super rich are raping everyone else out of greed, they milk every dime they can for themselves without any regard for anyone else.

A lot have made their wealth off of taking risk that other were unwilling to take. Failed, got up and tried again. Sweat and tears also means STRESS AND WORRY.

[Docthehun]

A lot have made their wealth off of taking risk that other were unwilling to take. Failed, got up and tried again. Sweat and tears also means STRESS AND WORRY.

Amen to that!

[gamewell45]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dey all rubbin' shoulders with the Donald...

Census Bureau: 5 Richest Counties Are D.C. Suburbs
December 7, 2017 | The five richest counties in the United States when measured by median household income are all suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to the American Community Survey data released today by the Census Bureau.

Wow, can't believe that little ol' Putnam County, NY made the list; not much there, mostly farms and some houses. Probably loaded with NYC elites!

[Chris]

Most of the super rich made their money off the sweat of workers everywhere and mostly china.Some connived swindled and cheated and lied and made more money. Id bet NONE did it with sweat and tears.

The super rich are raping everyone else out of greed, they milk every dime they can for themselves without any regard for anyone else.

Inasmuch as they haven't colluded with the government for protection and subsidies, but competed in the market, then they got rich by providing people what they wanted.

And let's not make the mistake that rich and poor are static, it's very dynamic with people rising and falling all the time.

[Dr. Who]

A lot have made their wealth off of taking risk that other were unwilling to take. Failed, got up and tried again. Sweat and tears also means STRESS AND WORRY.

Not as many as you might think:


http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net...pdf?1448056427

[Chris]

Not as many as you might think:


http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net...pdf?1448056427

Be nice if you could summarize instead of just tossing out a link to a 24-page report.

I find "Sixty-nine of the Forbes 400 inherited a family fortune sufficient to land them on the list" in it. Not that many. A lot have made their wealth as Dave said.

So tell us why a fathers wealth shouldn't pass to his sons and daughters.

THey still have to maintain it, invest it, use it wisely, or lose it.

[Dr. Who]

Be nice if you could summarize instead of just tossing out a link to a 24-page report.

I find "Sixty-nine of the Forbes 400 inherited a family fortune sufficient to land them on the list" in it. Not that many. A lot have made their wealth as Dave said.

So tell us why a fathers wealth shouldn't pass to his sons and daughters.

THey still have to maintain it, invest it, use it wisely, or lose it.

OK - from the report (I've paraphrased some of it):

35% Born in the Batter’s Box - Individuals who came from a lower- or middle-class background, example Larry Ellison, who became a computer programmer and then founded Oracle Corporation.

22% Born on First Base - Individuals who had opportunities that gave them an advantage, such as an upper-class background, inherited less than $1 million, or received some start-up capital from a family member. For example, many of these people went to boarding schools with tuition that cost tens of thousands of dollars per year - example Mark Zuckerberg who attended prep school and then Harvard.

11.5% Born on Second Base - Inherited a medium-sized business or wealth of more than $1 million or received substantial start-up capital for a business from a family member - example Donald Trump - financed by his father and inherited millions.

7% Born on Third Base - Inherited wealth in excess of $50 million or a large and prosperous company - example Charles Koch - inherited an oil company

21.25% Born on Home Plate - Inherited sufficient wealth to make the Forbes 400 list - example Forrest Mars Jr. - inherited a large successful candy company.

3.25% Undetermined


Old Money:
Sixty-nine of the Forbes 400 inherited a family fortune sufficient to land them on the list. Fifty-seven of those were born on home plate.
• Together, these family members hold $346.3 billion in combined wealth.
• 17 percent of the Forbes 400 have family members on the list (from two to six family members).

You might not want to look too closely at the provenance of that old money.

For those fortunate enough to inherit vast sums of money, the only thing that is really necessary to get even more wealthy is to have a little common sense and a good investment manager. Nearly 25% of the Forbes list earned their fortune from financial speculation. The tax rate on investment income is lower than on earned income, so it’s easier to build huge fortunes through finance and investment, than by actually working.

Every individual or family on the list has a net worth of at least $1.05 billion. In 1982, a Forbes 400 member needed just $75 million to make the list.

• The combined wealth of the entire Forbes 400 list is $1.53 trillion—more than a 245 percent increase in wealth since 1997. That’s nearly equivalent to the GDP of Canada.

[MisterVeritis]

35 of the 80 richest are American

The bottom half needs to step up.

[MisterVeritis]

I'm sure there are people out there covering their ears and screaming La La La La, because it defies certain economic theory. Those same people will not admit that their favorite economic theorists are totally out of touch with humanity, even if they end up living in a Mad Max world. They will never recognize that there is an artificial pie created by artificial scarcity and that some people can and will take most of it because they can.

You poor folk need to step up your game.

[Chris]

OK - from the report (I've paraphrased some of it):

35% Born in the Batter’s Box - Individuals who came from a lower- or middle-class background, example Larry Ellison, who became a computer programmer and then founded Oracle Corporation.

22% Born on First Base - Individuals who had opportunities that gave them an advantage, such as an upper-class background, inherited less than $1 million, or received some start-up capital from a family member. For example, many of these people went to boarding schools with tuition that cost tens of thousands of dollars per year - example Mark Zuckerberg who attended prep school and then Harvard.

11.5% Born on Second Base - Inherited a medium-sized business or wealth of more than $1 million or received substantial start-up capital for a business from a family member - example Donald Trump - financed by his father and inherited millions.

7% Born on Third Base - Inherited wealth in excess of $50 million or a large and prosperous company - example Charles Koch - inherited an oil company

21.25% Born on Home Plate - Inherited sufficient wealth to make the Forbes 400 list - example Forrest Mars Jr. - inherited a large successful candy company.

3.25% Undetermined


Old Money:
Sixty-nine of the Forbes 400 inherited a family fortune sufficient to land them on the list. Fifty-seven of those were born on home plate.
• Together, these family members hold $346.3 billion in combined wealth.
• 17 percent of the Forbes 400 have family members on the list (from two to six family members).

You might not want to look too closely at the provenance of that old money.

For those fortunate enough to inherit vast sums of money, the only thing that is really necessary to get even more wealthy is to have a little common sense and a good investment manager. Nearly 25% of the Forbes list earned their fortune from financial speculation. The tax rate on investment income is lower than on earned income, so it’s easier to build huge fortunes through finance and investment, than by actually working.

Every individual or family on the list has a net worth of at least $1.05 billion. In 1982, a Forbes 400 member needed just $75 million to make the list.

• The combined wealth of the entire Forbes 400 list is $1.53 trillion—more than a 245 percent increase in wealth since 1997. That’s nearly equivalent to the GDP of Canada.

I already summarized your point: "Sixty-nine of the Forbes 400 inherited a family fortune sufficient to land them on the list". That's it. That's not that significant.

And you still don't have an argument against inheritance.