The Billionaire’s Club
Forbes has announced the “Forbes 400 Richest Americans” which they call “The Billionaires’ Club”. Everyone listed in this years Forbes 400 is a billionaire. That’s $1,000,000,000.
Here’s a snippet from the Forbes article at Yahoo:
This year, for the first time, everyone on The Forbes 400 has at least $1 billion. The collective net worth of the nation’s wealthiest climbed $120 billion, to $1.25 trillion.
Once again the biggest gainer is casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, with a net worth up $9 billion. Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands stock is up 125 percent since its public offering in December 2004. He has made almost $1 million an hour since the 2004 Forbes 400 was published.
Another big gainer is Warren Buffett, who added $6 billion. That wealth, and the rest of what he has accumulated as a value investor, will be given away, mostly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
(from yahoo)
A Billion Served?
A trader I know posted this on a forum: “That’s just wrong, $1 million an hour. Half the world is starving, living on less than $3 a day, and some unknown fool is making a million US dollars an hour.”
The trader quickly added: “Adelson, if you’re reading this, give me an hour!”
I do not think we should simply take away some of this money these billionaires’ have worked hard to earn. But I do think there should be an additional tax on the super rich, such as these Forbes 400 billionaires. Any percentage tax on billions of dollars would mean tens of millions available to feed the hungry half of the world. I would be happy with this “special tax”, but I am biased since I do not have a billion dollars.
Related Links
- Forbes 400 Richest Americans: The Billionaires’ Club at Yahoo!
- Sheldon Adelson profile at Forbes. Mr. Adelson makes nearly $1 million dollars per hour from his casinos.
So…you’re saying since you’re not motivated enough to go out and try to make a super rich living the super rich should be taxed more heavily? What if they said the middleclass exist in higher numbers so they should be taxed higher to give an overall bigger $ to the poor & hungry?
What you’re really saying with tax the super rich more is you’re for a communistic society – not free reign capitalism like we have now where people are rewarded for their increased ‘intelligent’ efforts. (Working harder at a $7 hr job, while respectable, is not going to make you rich – you’d be better off getting a business degree and a career while investing your extra cash – that’s what I mean by intelligent…)
I’m not a millionaire, but I’m determined to be one – I don’t go out partying like all of my friends every night squandering my free cash & time because I’m educating myself on how to be financially secure and eventually…rich. Should I be taxed more than my partying friends???
The truly poor & starving are not in this country…you’re talking about 3rd world economies where their governments are not taking care of their citizens & people are knowingly having more babies than they can support in these terrible conditions.
If you want to help with things like this it should be voluntary like what Bill Gates & Angelina Jolie are doing with their money.
Feeding our government more in taxes with these penalty taxes for success most likely will not help that starving child in Ethiopia we have in our minds – Donations to country & cause specific organizations are what help.
And if you have a problem with people not donating enough – look at yourself. How much have you given lately?
Hello ……do you have articles that can enable me also to be financially secure and eventually rich.
Please email back..
I doubt that the government would spend it on the starving. Data shows that they are more likely to spend it on the military. Billionaires actually feed more of the starving than the government does.
Hello sir;
i will like to know how can someone be able to recognize opportunity that surround us,or what can someone do in order to be financially bouyant.