# 62 people own half the world's wealth



## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

This article really startled me. I knew the divide between the uber rich and the rest of us was large, but I had no idea how large. Mind boggling. 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ju...s-half-the-worlds-population-oxfam-2016-01-18



> Last year, just 62 individuals held wealth equivalent to the amount owned by 3.6 billion people, about half the worldâs population....
> 
> The wealth of those 62 one-percenters has risen by more than half-a-trillion dollars in the last five years, the report said. At the same time, the total owned by the poorest half has fallen by a trillion dollars.
> In monetary terms, that club of 62 has seen its riches climb by $542 billion, or 44%, to $1.76 trillion since 2010. Thatâs as the less-fortunate half has seen its wealth slide by 41%....
> ...


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## DaveNay (Nov 25, 2012)

Keep supporting the GOP!


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

Would be nice if they named them and where they are from.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

DaveNay said:


> Keep supporting the GOP!


 You bet I never got a job form a poor person. It is the rich that start and employ the rest. Good for them.~1


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## RichNC (Aug 22, 2014)

arabian knight said:


> You bet I never got a job form a poor person. It is the rich that start and employ the rest. Good for them.~1


I have known a lot, a LOT of people in my life who employed other people and weren't' rich!! Small business owners around here don't make much, but they still employ people.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

What am I missing is this some sort of political piece?


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

no really said:


> What am I missing is this some sort of political piece?


And also seems like some like to forget just who has been in the WH these last 7 YEARS. And even the last Two Years of the Bush administration. Oh My lets get the truth out here, who has been in charge now for How Many Years? 9 LOL
Hmmmmm It sure isn't the GOP in charge of things now is it. LOL


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

no really said:


> Would be nice if they named them and where they are from.


Forbes offers a fairly comprehensive list: 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewi...e-in-the-world-2015/#2715e4857a0b461cd22d16e3


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

Does anyone here have an income of over, lets say $50,000?
I imagine that there are entire villages in the third world that does not possess that amount of wealth. Don't you think these miserable fat cat homesteaders should pay their fair share too?

You know, you can sell it anyway you want. But putting frosting on a turd does not make it a donut. And what do the people reporting this say we should do? and how does it fit their agenda? And more importantly, how do they profit?

These are important questions.

Personally I like rich people. Rich people made it possible for me to have a big house in the country and put my kids through college. Poor people never did much for me at all.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

wr said:


> Forbes offers a fairly comprehensive list:
> 
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewi...e-in-the-world-2015/#2715e4857a0b461cd22d16e3


Thanks, very interesting list.


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## OffGridCooker (Jan 29, 2010)

Belfrybat said:


> This article really startled me. I knew the divide between the uber rich and the rest of us was large, but I had no idea how large. Mind boggling.
> 
> http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ju...s-half-the-worlds-population-oxfam-2016-01-18


I thought the total assets of the USA was over 100 trillion, so these 62 people would need to be trillionairs just to own the USA? This does not count the rest of the planet.
Something does not add up.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Ya Forbes prints that list every year~!
Number 49 on richest Forbes list is John Menard, owner of Menards, which is now around 200 stores. He is worth just over 9 Billion.
But many of these rich folks are Rich ON PAPER~! They add up what the stores are worth, what their assets are, how many shares they own in the company etc. and bingo that adds up to a Net Worth. 
And it is THIS NET WORTH that gets printed on that Forbes List~!


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## Declan (Jan 18, 2015)

Their wealth is dependent upon the willingness of someone else to pay them for what they have. In other words, if the Walton heirs flooded the market with their stocks, Walmart stocks would hit the floor, they would be significantly less wealthy, and there would be exactly the same amount of money in the world as there would be if they hadn't done this. Much of their wealth is smoke and mirrors in relation to every day folks.


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

no really said:


> What am I missing is this some sort of political piece?


Yes, that is exactly what it is. Most of us have a net worth much higher than we think even though we may have little or no money. Most of that top 1% are not sitting on a huge pile of cash. Their net worth is tied up in business and investments and those can go up and down. How many billions did the top one percent lose in the current stock downturn? That was part of their paper net worth they lost. IOW, they never really had it.


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## OffGridCooker (Jan 29, 2010)

Belfrybat said:


> This article really startled me. I knew the divide between the uber rich and the rest of us was large, but I had no idea how large. Mind boggling.
> 
> http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ju...s-half-the-worlds-population-oxfam-2016-01-18


I have to call PPP (poisonheart, progressive, propaganda) on this one.
I did a little quick math, 
and if you plundered the total wealth from these 62 people it would not even fund the total USA federal government spending for one year.
Check my math!! using Bill Gates who is worth 53 billion and the USA total spending is 3.5 trillion. It would take the total wealth of 66 Bill Gates to equal 3.5 trillion.
Or the richest man on the planet Carols Slim at 53.5 billion could not fund the USA government spending for a week which spends 67 billion a week.
What are these progressives up to?


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

People tend to believe wealth is finite, that there is only so many dollars to go around.
The are told the rich are hording all the money and there's none left for everybody else which is absolutely baloney.
If you want to be one of the uber rich, there is nothing stopping you but you own desire, imagination and willingness to put in the time and effort.
You don't get a piece of the pie, you make the pie bigger


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

no really said:


> What am I missing is this some sort of political piece?


It's more of a "whiner" piece.
I don't care how much someone else has

There are billions of people on the planet, so I just worry about the ones I know


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

*You know, you can sell it anyway you want. But putting frosting on a turd does not make it a donut. 

Personally I like rich people. Rich people made it possible for me to have a big house in the country and put my kids through college. Poor people never did much for me at all.*

Laughed when I saw these comments and agree 100%.
Who wants to work for a poor guy, raise your hand?


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

This style of article plays on the emotions of people. Us little people think of a billion dollars as astronomical. In the global scheme of things, it's not so big at all. 

Secondly, if someone has a billion dollars in the stock market and it goes from 16,000 to 4,000, well, I guess they don't have a billion dollars anymore, do they? So much of what people think of as wealth is only the perception of wealth with nothing of any value to back it up. 

Are things in the financial world all just happy, happy? No. But these kinds of articles don't really serve much of a purpose for the good of those reading. Entertainment, maybe. Sensational entertainment, more likely. Something that sounds good to stir people up but little of any real substance.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

There was a time when probably even fewer people would have topped that list and held over half of the word's wealth. Think of the "empire building" days when the Henry Fords, John Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegies, etc. were in their prime. 

It is especially interesting how much "new money" has risen to the top end of the Forbes list. Microsoft, Google, Facebook all shot up within a generation, from zero to the top of the heap. Also noticed if you put the Walton heirs together, they would be number one.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

I wonder how much Microsoft, Google or Facebook would be worth after a couple of major EMP blasts?


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## cast iron (Oct 4, 2004)

I think far too much press is spent on the âRichâ and the âPoorâ (if it bleeds it leads) and not enough time spent on the Middle Class. There will always be rich and poor people, but it is the middle class that made/makes this country great. 

So, how about some press on how the middle class is doing? Is the middle class growing or shrinking? And more importantly are the opportunities available to the middle class expanding or contracting? What can the government be doing to promote more middle class efforts rather than stymie them â business starts, lower taxes, less regulations, more financial and other incentives, etc.?

A healthy middle class IS the avenue of opportunity for poor folks to elevate themselves out of their particular situation. Shouldnât there be more focus on our middle class? Where is the compassion?


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

A rather pointless, article, since a large part of he earth's population, is dirt poor to begin with. Many have always lived that way.

Probably most of us live like kings, also, compared to many others, anyway.

Plus, a lot of these fat cats wealth, is _on paper_, buoyed by a stock market, that has climbed into the stratosphere, in recent years.

Besides, when the world ends and most everything of value becomes worthless, sooner or later Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, will be fighting for food scraps, along with the rest of us.

Me, I do just fine. I'm not a millionaire, but it's by my own doing, no one else's. I keep myself "down".


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

Lets get philosophical. what is wealth? I think its subjective. In my eyes I am very wealthy. I just don't have a bunch of money. Got everything else though. Mostly stuff you can't buy no matter how much you got. As I've said before in other threads, it's only money.

"Rosebud"


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## tamarackreg (Mar 13, 2006)

Fishindude said:


> *You know, you can sell it anyway you want. But putting frosting on a turd does not make it a donut.
> 
> Personally I like rich people. Rich people made it possible for me to have a big house in the country and put my kids through college. Poor people never did much for me at all.*
> 
> ...


I work for a poor guy, just ask him!!! :hysterical:


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

JJ Grandits said:


> Does anyone here have an income of over, lets say $50,000?
> I imagine that there are entire villages in the third world that does not possess that amount of wealth. Don't you think these miserable fat cat homesteaders should pay their fair share too?
> 
> You know, you can sell it anyway you want. But putting frosting on a turd does not make it a donut. And what do the people reporting this say we should do? and how does it fit their agenda? And more importantly, how do they profit?
> ...


 It is fodder for communist sentiment. They throw article out like this to fan the flames of descent.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

arabian knight said:


> Ya Forbes prints that list every year~!
> Number 49 on richest Forbes list is John Menard, owner of Menards, which is now around 200 stores. He is worth just over 9 Billion.
> But many of these rich folks are Rich ON PAPER~! They add up what the stores are worth, what their assets are, how many shares they own in the company etc. and bingo that adds up to a Net Worth.
> And it is THIS NET WORTH that gets printed on that Forbes List~!


I wonder if they exclude "assets" that are still not paid off. I do not think you consider a house, store, or merchandise that is unpaid for as wealth. 
It is not wealth it is debt.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

It is the Value of THAT merchandise is figured in just like the resale value of the Building, And ALL inventory is also considered a asset as a value for resale.
Unpaid for merchandise? Anything that has been Ordered is Paid for in 15 to 30 days of receiving. And ALL that Merchandise then has a value in the store if you want to sell that store and its inventory.
They have a $ value 
It is not just sales they are counting they must also count what those stores are worth with its inventory.

*Menard opened his first hardware store in 1972. As of 2014, his company owned 287 Menards stores. As of 2005 Menards grossed an estimated $5.5 billion in sales. Menard had a net worth of $8.6 billion in 2013, according to the Forbes 400, and is the richest person in Wisconsin 
*


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

arabian knight said:


> It is the Value of THAT merchandise is figured in just like the resale value of the Building, And ALL inventory is also considered a asset as a value for resale.
> Unpaid for merchandise? Anything that has been Ordered is Paid for in 15 to 30 days of receiving. And ALL that Merchandise then has a value in the store if you want to sell that store and its inventory.
> They have a $ value
> It is not just sales they are counting they must also count what those stores are worth with its inventory.
> ...


I get that part but I was wondering if they take debt into account. Like, if you buy a house with a mortgage it really is not yours until you pay it in full. So, if you have a two million dollar house but it is not paid for then I can not consider it honest to consider the person two million dollars richer if in truth the house is not paid for and does not belong to them. Same for stock in a store. If I take a loan out to buy a ten grand in stock then I do not own that stock because it is not paid for. Sure I own it technically, but I also own the debt. If I recall correct trump has a lot of debt. Trump may own casinos and buildings but he took on debt to buy them so the wealth is not really his wealth. 

If I borrow I borrow fie dollars from someone it does not mean I am five dollars richer, it means I am five dollars poorer.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

City Bound said:


> I wonder if they exclude "assets" that are still not paid off. I do not think you consider a house, store, or merchandise that is unpaid for as wealth.
> It is not wealth it is debt.


Net worth is net, after liabilities. Even though a big chunk of their worth is the stock in the various companies, they have to retain that stock to maintain control over the company. I'm sure they own a lot of hard assets too and plenty of other wealth to where if the stock went *poof* they aren't going to be hungry and homeless.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Strange all these folks that never got a job from a poor man. 
Never flipped burgers, bagged groceries, bucked bales ,babysat, fixed a car or drove a truck. 
Must be nice


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I read an article the other day that said 42% of Americans do not feel secure with their job, lifestyle and financial assets and income and all the article really left me feeling was that I felt good being a part of the 58% happy with my situation and I really don't care how wealthy the upper 5% are especially considering that being offered a career at a division of a corporation owned by a multi millionaire / eventually a billionaire during my career due in part to the returns of my labors in his employ was the foundation of my modest yet successful achievement of being a part of that 58%who keep their eye on the prize of their choice and grab the brass ring it takes for them to get it instead of complaining about how much the top 1% to 10% have because they had more determination and drive than those doing the complaining instead of running in the rat race after their own chunk of the cheese regardless what size chunk they eventually have to try to grab to ensure their comfort in their lifestyle.

I am happy that the fortune 500 multimillionaire eventual became a fortune 200 billionaire at the same time I was able to secure and pay off my house and land and switch my career to managing my investments and company pension to pay me for not punching the clock after my contract was bought out and I was retired to make room for two entry level employees who I hope will be smart enough to pack their own lunch and keep their eye on a realistic yet comfortable prize.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

DaveNay said:


> Keep supporting the GOP!


True! Under nearly 8 yrs of this Idioitincharge the gap has really widened. The 2 yrs of D control that didn't help either.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

JJ Grandits said:


> Does anyone here have an income of over, lets say $50,000?
> I imagine that there are entire villages in the third world that does not possess that amount of wealth. Don't you think these miserable fat cat homesteaders should pay their fair share too?
> 
> You know, you can sell it anyway you want. But putting frosting on a turd does not make it a donut. And what do the people reporting this say we should do? and how does it fit their agenda? And more importantly, how do they profit?
> ...


You're on the right track...Ds would LOVE to have everyone "equal" thru the world, its a goal. Of course not the 'fat cats'. They'd retain their $$$.
Ya'll know that Ds have more money than Rs, don't ya?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Tricky Grama said:


> True! Under nearly 8 yrs of this Idioitincharge the gap has really widened. The 2 yrs of D control that didn't help either.


it is funny how they blab about poor this and poor that when most of them are rich or wealthy. They get richer and the people who vote them in get obamma phones.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

OffGridCooker said:


> I have to call PPP (poisonheart, progressive, propaganda) on this one.
> I did a little quick math,
> and if you plundered the total wealth from these 62 people it would not even fund the total USA federal government spending for one year.
> Check my math!! using Bill Gates who is worth 53 billion and the USA total spending is 3.5 trillion. It would take the total wealth of 66 Bill Gates to equal 3.5 trillion.
> ...


Ah, doesn't matter, OffGrid. Those on the left want to demonize the rich at every turn. They need to look at their own failed policies for the reasons, tho.

Yup, Cast Iron, the middle class is shrinking-more so under this inept administration than any other time in modern history.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

some of these rich people are honest people who work hard for their money and they deserve every penny they made. even if their money makes money for them, so what, at least they have brains enough to set that goal. If their family gave them the money or passed on the knowledge of how to manage and make money then good for them. If I had kids I would want them to improve on the family tree and build a legacy for us.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Tricky Grama said:


> They need to look at their own failed policies for the reasons, tho.
> 
> Yup, Cast Iron, the middle class is shrinking-more so under this inept administration than any other time in modern history.



This. 
I don't hate the wealthy. 
Or even think they are more naturally evil than anyone else. 
But I think it's a failure of the system to keep concentrating so much money in so few hands. 
And it works both ways. When poor people in a poor land have to many kids to educate and the nations resources to support it naturally leads to lots of poor people.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

City Bound said:


> some of these rich people are honest people who work hard for their money and they deserve every penny they made. even if their money makes money for them, so what, at least they have brains enough to set that goal. If their family gave them the money or passed on the knowledge of how to manage and make money then good for them. If I had kids I would want them to improve on the family tree and build a legacy for us.



How can you use the word "deserve" when so much of it depends on luck ? 
Even your own post describes the luck of being born to the right family.
There is a difference between working for your honestly gained money and deserving it.


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## Jim Bunton (Mar 16, 2004)

arabian knight said:


> You bet I never got a job form a poor person. It is the rich that start and employ the rest. Good for them.~1



As a residential house painter I spend very little time working for the rich. My clientele are mostly working class. I would guess most make between $30,000 to $80,000 per year. I usually have 2 or 3 employees during the summer months and work alone during the winter months. Most of the jobs in this country rely on the same group as I do to keep working. 

It isn't the rich that are buying most of the goods and services in this country.

Jim


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## MattB4 (Jan 3, 2016)

Jim Bunton said:


> As a residential house painter I spend very little time working for the rich. My clientele are mostly working class. ...


When I did contracting work it was mostly for average people. The few more well to do people I encountered was generally terrible to work for. They were quick to demand discounts and slow to pay bills. They expected to get more and pay less. After all they were rich and I was not. I should be happy they were willing to hire me. 

This list of the top 62 is a clever slight of hand. The really wealthy rarely show up on lists. Their wealth is hid carefully. Bill Gates is a noveau rich to them. The real wealthy command power and own leaders of countries.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

MattB4 said:


> When I did contracting work it was mostly for average people. The few more well to do people I encountered was generally terrible to work for. They were quick to demand discounts and slow to pay bills. They expected to get more and pay less. After all they were rich and I was not. I should be happy they were willing to hire me.
> 
> This list of the top 62 is a clever slight of hand. The really wealthy rarely show up on lists. Their wealth is hid carefully. Bill Gates is a noveau rich to them. The real wealthy command power and own leaders of countries.


Yeah, there is one that I didn't see, Soros, I assume he is very good at hiding his worth.


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## DaveNay (Nov 25, 2012)

MattB4 said:


> The real wealthy command power and own leaders of countries.


The Illuminati?


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## MattB4 (Jan 3, 2016)

DaveNay said:


> The Illuminati?


No, they are not a secret organization with some evil goal. They simply are the amassed wealth of many generations.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Study the seven deadly sins if you want to understand the Democrats policy platform.


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## kuriakos (Oct 7, 2005)

The title of the thread does not accurately represent the content of the article. The article says those 62 people own as much as the bottom half of the world's population, but not half of the world's wealth. The 62 people are collectively worth 1.76 trillion dollars while half the world's wealth would be well over 100 trillion dollars.


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

kuriakos said:


> The title of the thread does not accurately represent the content of the article. The article says those 62 people own as much as the bottom half of the world's population, but not half of the world's wealth. The 62 people are collectively worth 1.76 trillion dollars while half the world's wealth would be well over 100 trillion dollars.


Ah, there's those pesky facts again. Why spoil the liberal fun?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

AmericanStand said:


> How can you use the word "deserve" when so much of it depends on luck ?
> Even your own post describes the luck of being born to the right family.
> There is a difference between working for your honestly gained money and deserving it.


Because most successful people are not successful because of luck. They are successful because of skills and personal investment in their goals. 

I was not born into a wealthy family. I am not wealthy. 

I have learned from observing and reading about successful people that if most of us want to be successful then we need an attitude adjustment. 
A common self defeating belief that many of us have is that we deserve an easy life. We feel we deserve the same happiness and success of other people even though we are unwilling to do the foot work it takes to get those things. 

Bill gates earned his success and he deserves it. The only tragic thing about bill gates is that his success was impeded by government when they started to attack his business as a monopoly. He was earning money honestly and if the gov did not interfere then he would have been even more successful and richer.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

MO_cows said:


> Net worth is net, after liabilities. Even though a big chunk of their worth is the stock in the various companies, they have to retain that stock to maintain control over the company. I'm sure they own a lot of hard assets too and plenty of other wealth to where if the stock went *poof* they aren't going to be hungry and homeless.


 And in John Menards case, HE OWNS the stores, all 300+ of them in 14 states.
The stores are privately Owned by him.
Menards is not publicly traded


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## Farmerga (May 6, 2010)

This article seems to confuse "wealth" with "money" They are not the same. Even if they were, they are paupers compared to the U.S. government.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

I know a few people who I consider wealthy, and they all have one thing in common....work.
Without exception, the millionaires I know work all the time.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I don't deny that most of the new wealthy are hard workers. 
But it also takes luck. 
For instance do you really think Bill gates is the hardest working person in the USA ?


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

AmericanStand said:


> I don't deny that most of the new wealthy are hard workers.
> But it also takes luck.
> For instance do you really think Bill gates is the hardest working person in the USA ?


I'm betting he puts in plenty of hours.
He's also smart.
Point is, it didn't just fall in his lap, he got up off the couch and did something.
Nobody ever got rich watching TV


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## coolrunnin (Aug 28, 2010)

Cornhusker said:


> I'm betting he puts in plenty of hours.
> He's also smart.
> Point is, it didn't just fall in his lap, he got up off the couch and did something.
> Nobody ever got rich watching TV


Or working for someone else.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

coolrunnin said:


> Or working for someone else.



I guess that depends on how you define rich. 
There is some pretty substantial CEO compensation.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Cornhusker said:


> I'm betting he puts in plenty of hours.
> 
> He's also smart.
> 
> ...



So you agree with me ! He worked hard and got lucky.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

AmericanStand said:


> So you agree with me ! He worked hard and got lucky.


Hard work is luck?


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Well the ability to work hard is but I was referring to the luck of being born smart.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Would you like to see where your income stacks up globally ?

http://www.leastof.org/worldwealthcalculator


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

AmericanStand said:


> Would you like to see where your income stacks up globally ?
> 
> http://www.leastof.org/worldwealthcalculator


Nice, looks like I am pretty lucky :clap: and I work hard.


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

AmericanStand said:


> Would you like to see where your income stacks up globally ?
> 
> http://www.leastof.org/worldwealthcalculator


They are again equating income to wealth but they are only loosely connected. Some very wealthy people have no earned income at all and some very high earners have little to no wealth. Wealth is everything you own of value and is decided largely by how you handle what income you have. Some people earn good money but blow it all on things which acquires them no wealth. Earning $70K a year but living in a rental house and spending all your income on booze, lottery tickets, clothes, restaurants, tattoos, and such is not accumulating you a dime's worth of wealth.


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## coolrunnin (Aug 28, 2010)

AmericanStand said:


> I guess that depends on how you define rich.
> There is some pretty substantial CEO compensation.


None of them are the 62 richest. &#128518;


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## kuriakos (Oct 7, 2005)

"Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."

-Often attributed to Seneca, but probably in reality it originated with someone else.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

kuriakos said:


> "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."
> 
> -Often attributed to Seneca, but probably in reality it originated with someone else.


And success is where Luck meets hard work


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

no really said:


> Nice, looks like I am pretty lucky :clap: and I work hard.


Me too


> You are in the wealthiest 1.5% of people in the world. There are 6,503,739,885 (more than 6.5 billion) people less wealthy than you.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

AmericanStand said:


> Would you like to see where your income stacks up globally ?
> 
> http://www.leastof.org/worldwealthcalculator


Next question, why does it matter?


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## MattB4 (Jan 3, 2016)

no really said:


> Next question, why does it matter?


For the vast majority it does not. It is those that have power as well as wealth that it matters. The French revolution was not against a prosperous merchant. It was against the nobility. Historically concentration of wealth/power is a sign of despotic leadership. 

The danger of allowing too much wealth/power to end up in the hands of too few is the seeds of revolt are sown. Large middle classes make for more stable democratic societies.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

MattB4 said:


> For the vast majority it does not. It is those that have power as well as wealth that it matters. The French revolution was not against a prosperous merchant. It was against the nobility. Historically concentration of wealth/power is a sign of despotic leadership.
> 
> The danger of allowing too much wealth/power to end up in the hands of too few is the seeds of revolt are sown. Large middle classes make for more stable democratic societies.


That I see but comparing a normal middle class person to a worker in India or Africa is a bit of a stretch.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Lol really makes ya feel better doesent it !


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

AmericanStand said:


> Lol really makes ya feel better doesent it !


Why shouldn't it? The truth is always a good thing. One needs to look at why so many are poor overseas. Is it the fault of someone who got very wealthy in business or is it the fault of the people living for decades under extremely corrupt rulers? Look at Venezuela. Plenty of oil and completely able to foster a free market to boost the lives of its citizens. Why is it a shambles today? Did someone like Bill Gates cause it? No, the people keep electing thieves and dictators. How will making successful rich people give them part of their own money correct that problem? It won't. It would just give the thieves and dictators more to steal.


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## Farmerga (May 6, 2010)

Generally, with the exception of the ruling elite, the more free a nation, the richer the citizens.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

AmericanStand said:


> Lol really makes ya feel better doesent it !


Well yeah it does, I don't think I want the alternative. And I don't think poor wages in other countries are my fault or my responsibility to rectify.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

no really said:


> Well yeah it does, I don't think I want the alternative. And I don't think poor wages in other countries are my fault or my responsibility to rectify.


Where's your White Guilt?


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

Cornhusker said:


> Where's your White Guilt?


Hah, I ain't white, kinda one of those brown people. Guess I missed that gene..:shocked:


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

kuriakos said:


> "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."
> 
> -Often attributed to Seneca, but probably in reality it originated with someone else.


 "Be prepared" The scout motto



Cornhusker said:


> And success is where Luck meets hard work


 "Invention, is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration." Edison. 

"he who digs no well, drinks no water" Chinese proverb.

"time, waits for no man"


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

no really said:


> Hah, I ain't white, kinda one of those brown people. Guess I missed that gene..:shocked:


Conservative guilt?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

It is all sort of relative. 

My friend in china makes $4 an hour but she has more buying power in her country then someone making $15 an hour in my city. She goes to expensive restaurants and lives better then I do on less money.

I met a guy from Norway and he told me Minimum wage is almost $30 an hour there. Sounds great, but then a pair of levi pants are almost $200 and for women a decent lipstick is $100.

In Poland the minimum wage is about $2 but that $2 has good buying power in that market. 

What a dollar can buy here is not what it can buy in other countries. So, that whole liberal guilt trip about people living on five dollars a day is rubbish because five dollars a day in some countries is a fortune.


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## JoePa (Mar 14, 2013)

The secret is being happy not rich - and happiness is relative - you can have a guy sitting in a wooden row boat out on some lake fishing with his son and be very happy - with his happy meter registering 9 - then you can have some billionaire sitting on his yacht with a happy meter only registering 4 - the secret is to be happy with the simple things in life - 

One other thought - you can have all the money in the world but if you ain't healthy - you got nothing - 

Man - if I got to say it myself - these are real words of wisdom - good job JoePa


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

There is a support group for depressed multimillionaires. I saw a news show on it. One guy won the lottery and lost all his friends and family because they were jealous of his good fortune, and that was even after he bought them all cars, dirt bikes, and other goodies. One woman, the one the most depressed, inherited a fortune from her industrialist grandfather.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Freedom = prosperity. They go hand in hand.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

City Bound said:


> It is all sort of relative.
> 
> What a dollar can buy here is not what it can buy in other countries. So, that whole liberal guilt trip about people living on five dollars a day is rubbish because five dollars a day in some countries is a fortune.



While the first part is true I've never been anywhere that $5 US was a fortune.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

AmericanStand said:


> While the first part is true I've never been anywhere that $5 US was a fortune.


 I have not ether, but they exist. Think of Africa. A friend went to india a while back and he lived on a few dollars a day.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

no really said:


> That I see but comparing a normal middle class person to a worker in India or Africa is a bit of a stretch.


 Comparing a middle class American to a working class American is a bit of a stretch also. Worlds apart financially. I dated some middle class and upper middle class women and we were worlds apart.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

City Bound said:


> I have not ether, but they exist. Think of Africa. A friend went to india a while back and he lived on a few dollars a day.



I bet he didn't live well on 5 bucks a day.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

AmericanStand said:


> I bet he didn't live well on 5 bucks a day.


 He did. 

A dollar is worth 68 rupees.
You can feed yourself for the day for $2. 
Less if you are not eating fancy, because these 
are city prices.

My friend stayed in rural india and the cost of living
was even less expensive there.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

AmericanStand said:


> I bet he didn't live well on 5 bucks a day.


Doesn't Obama have a brother living in a cardboard box on a few bucks a year?


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

plowjockey said:


> A rather pointless, article, since a large part of he earth's population, is dirt poor to begin with. Many have always lived that way.
> 
> Probably most of us live like kings, also, compared to many others, anyway.


Yep. Exactly.

If one has assets of $68,000, you're in the top 10% of the world.

If one has assets of $760,000, you're in the top 1%.

If you throw in real estate like farm land, or a house you bought for $35,000 in the 60's in Orange county, CA, and is now 'worth' 600k, along with some savings and a pension, YOU ARE A 1%'er !


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## Knight9 (Dec 29, 2012)

I love the implication that these uber rich people are bathing in money and swimming in their cash. Ridiculous. As it is stated several times here, this is all on paper. Yes, of course they are rich....but if you own stocks or shares or businesses or goods, you only have the CASH in hand if you sell it all. Good luck doing that!


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Knight9 said:


> I love the implication that these uber rich people are bathing in money and swimming in their cash. Ridiculous. As it is stated several times here, this is all on paper. Yes, of course they are rich....but if you own stocks or shares or businesses or goods, you only have the CASH in hand if you sell it all. Good luck doing that!


 That is true. I use to collect comics and one guy I knew sold his collection to a comic store and they gave him less then a quarter of their value. 

I had a comic worth $25 on paper but if I sold it I would have gotten $3 to $10 at street level. That did not matter anyway because five years later the same comic was worth $1.50 on paper and basically $0 at street level.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Cornhusker said:


> Doesn't Obama have a brother living in a cardboard box on a few bucks a year?



Not my idea of living well.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

TnAndy said:


> Yep. Exactly.
> 
> If one has assets of $68,000, you're in the top 10% of the world.
> 
> ...


 Ain't that COOL !
Gives ya another perspective for sure.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

City Bound said:


> He did.
> 
> A dollar is worth 68 rupees.
> You can feed yourself for the day for $2.
> ...



I guess we have to talk about what living well is. 
While passing thru , just hiking I can eat well in the rural USA on $2 a day. 
I can even live in NYC on that money if I stay with friends or camp. 
But I don't see either as long term living well.


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## Kiamichi Kid (Apr 9, 2009)

Belfrybat said:


> This article really startled me. I knew the divide between the uber rich and the rest of us was large, but I had no idea how large. Mind boggling.
> 
> Just 62 people own as much wealth as half the world’s population: Oxfam


I couldn’t care less if I tried.


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