I have heard versions of this very reasonable question many times, but it misunderstands what money is to the hyper-wealthy (aside from just how they keep score of who’s got the worst daddy issues) — it’s a *flow*, not a fixed supply. How much water is enough for a firefighter? No such thing! …
I have a sincere question. When is enough enough?
Especially for rich people who have more money than they could easily spend in several lifetimes. Like is it really money that motivates them?
For the hyper-wealthy, money is a flow they point at the things they want to exert their power upon. Past a certain point, because of leverage, their amount of wealth is essentially endless. Worrying about “having money” is like a firefighter having to calculate how many gallons of water they need.
Those of us who know how much money we have, who *have* to know how much we can spend, experience money in a categorically different way than the ultra-wealthy. They have a tool they can wield for any purpose, in the shape of money. All that matters is what they want to do with it.
But also, they’re in a culture in which one of the best and highest-status uses of that tool is to make more money! Like you never have to explain to your skeptical rich friends why you used your money to start a profitable business—you would have to explain starting an unprofitable business
But the thing is firefighters do worry about water. it's why NYC runs around distributing those sprinkler caps. Because everyone using the hydrant to say stay cool can reduce the pressure so firefighters don't have enough water. They're still dependent on society to do the right thing.
Yes! For sure the analogy falls apart because firefighters are generally not sociopaths and they provide value to others. But that concept of being someone who directs a resource, rather than a person who manages or acquires the resource, is key.
Right I'm not disagreeing with you about this is the mentality. What I'm saying is if you abuse that resource it will eventually collapse. And maybe you won't be first in line to feel that collapse but eventually your house is going to burn too
This is fascinating, and feels true. It’s related to how very wealthy people can have a ton of capital but still be cash poor because of the way money can be stuck in places while it’s making more money. It’s like discontinuities in the flow of money. Something something calculus derivatives.
No that’s really not it, except in rare cases. They want the money so they can do stuff with it, but not in the “buying things” sense. More in the sense of “this will make me tall enough to crush the people who disagree” kind of way.
Tens of millions is enough to set yourself and your family in comfort for life, or to control a moderate number of people.
Tens of billions is enough to control a much larger number of people.
But there is too much water for firefighters, where the intensity makes it impossible for a single person to hold & properly direct the flow; more important though is the lesson of King Midas, who lacked wisdom needed to control his own urges & gold consumed all he loved--Lost on our global elites.
