I don’t mean doctor-making-150k-a-year rich, I mean properly rich with millions to billions of dollars.
I think many will say yes, they can be, though it may be rare. I was tempted to. I thought more about it and I wondered, are you really a good person if you’re hoarding enough money you and your family couldn’t spend in 10 lifetimes?
I thought, if you’re a good person, you wouldn’t be rich. And if you’re properly rich you’re probably not a good person.
I don’t know if it’s fair or naive to say, but that’s what I thought. Whether it’s what I believe requires more thought.
There are a handful of ex-millionaires who are no longer millionaires because they cared for others in a way they couldn’t care for themselves. Only a handful of course, I would say they are good people.
And in order to stay rich, you have to play your role and participate in a society that oppresses the poor which in turn maintains your wealth. Are you really still capable of being a good person?
Very curious about people’s thoughts on this.
Can’t speak for anyone else obviously but for me it’s a not a line it’s a scale, the more you have the more you should give back. Not that I’m religious much anymore but there is a parable in the Bible about this, the rich man giving loads of money (but still only a fraction of his total) to charity is less good than the poor woman who gave a tiny bit, but it was all she had.
As with anything trying to draw a solid line saying this good this bad will just lead to conflict.
The idea that being a billionaire is incompatible with being a good person is that this scale means you should be giving enough away as you approach that point that you never reach it.