Topic: Seriously, why would anyone want $20 Billion Dollars? - page 3. (Read 1762 times)

For the mega wealthy I would guess it's not really about the lifestyle but rather the power and influence. At a certain point the money is just numbers because in reality 20 billion is too much for anyone. So then it comes down to power, influence and Ego. I think a lot of billionaires lose touch with the real world and also lose a lot of empathy in the process. Murdoch can go to a casino and drop 5 million on one hand of poker or roulette wheel (yes it happens)...thats just disgusting considering what good that money could do.

For many that kind of money or the path of getting to the point of having that kind of money turns you into an Ass@#le.

Who else in this world don't want more money. I think we should be satisfied in what we have. As long as we are healthy, happy and always safe.

So I can buy 25% of all the BTC and hodl.

Now  seriously, I think that it all depends on your social status and your character.
Average person doesn't need more than a paid off house and a retirement money on the side big enough for some decent life.
I mean we all need some small amount for our basic needs.
After "basic needs"- level comes the "security"-level money and "the final stage" is when you're losing your mind because you're doing stupid things and there's nobody to stop you. Something like Johnny Depp. He's not a billionaire but he's a good example. You don't need billions to lose yourself.
It's a thin line between rich, rich stupid and rich burnout. All of them have money but very few of them are truly happy.

Most of us think that when you have all the money in the world you can do anything and you'll live forever blah blah..
Yes, your appetites and needs grow when you have more money. Also your horizons broaden because you can afford the experiences that you couldn't before. But many lose their way because they can't control the bad habits. It's easy to became an addict when you have loads of money and no one to stop you. Everything is at the tip of your hands and that's the receipt for destruction. At that level only your character can save you. And if you have a good character you don't need billions, few mill would suffice and you'll live good enough. Being dirty rich isn't good for your health although you can afford the best healthcare. And one thing is interesting that when you have money you lose friends. The more money you get the less friends you have. Your true and honest friends get replaced by money hungry "persons". Also there's the security issues and the depression. Why would half of the rich dudes be depressed if they can afford anything?..

But what is the point then? Do we want money just so we can buy a house and a car, food, boose and spend the rest on some other stupid things? How much do we really need, a hundred, a mill or a bill?
I mentioned happiness earlier, isn't that the point of your existence?
To be happy and live a stress-free life.
Can money help with that? Yeah.
Can money destroy you and turn everyone around you to money hungry monsters? Yeah x2.
Billions destroy people. Money gives power and lots of money=lots of power. You can do ether good or bad with power and that depends on your character. And one more thing, money doesn't corrupt people, that's bull. If a person is bad it's bad even without the money but that comes into light when the first opportunity arises.

So be very careful with what you wish for cuz maybe, when you become a gazillionair, you'll find out that you're not such a good guy after all.

Gentlemen, I suggest you look into the story of Hetty Green if you're not already familiar with her.  She basically lived the life of a miser, living in an old apartment in New Jersey whilst being one of the richest people on Wall Street.

Everything depends on your standard of living, and it's that standard that determines whether $5 billion or $5 million would be enough to live comfortably.  Some people just cannot stop spending money, and they buy the best of everything until they have nothing left.  Remember Ken Lay of Enron fame?  He was earning tens of millions of dollars A YEAR, and it still wasn't enough to support his lifestyle.

So yeah, for me $5 million would be waaaay more than enough to live like a pimp.  $20 bln would be overkill.

Yes of course, you own the island, but it is not your own country. If someone invades your Island in, lets say, Dubai, they are effectively breaking the law of Dubai.

The affordable ones are in cold areas of Canada or in the middle of nowhere or you probably cannot build there... The cheapest one is like 250k or so...

When substantial amount of money gets into the hands of a greedy person most people suffer. Society is such that some people may have to depend on others for survival(The sick,war-torn countries,Highly impoverished people etc). I believe anyone with a good heart should strive to have as much money as possible so that they can help other people in the aforementioned domain. Society develops and gets better when we help each other. 20 billion in the hands of a greedy man will be detrimental to society, but any good amount of money in the hands of a good person helps to reshape society greatly.

I would assume that despite being private it's still part of some country like a regular private plot of land in some suburb and not a sovereign entity. So I shouldn't need to have my own army. But it probably implies another catch: taxes, particularly property taxes.

Stupid question: what stops your island being invaded?
On a more realistic point if your island is just off a country, the country gets taken over (say it's a hostile country) can your island be forfeited - I suppose this is the same as regular land.

Therefore, once you buy your island, you might need to employ guards or people to patrol it - unless you make a network of tunnels and just hide below the surface forever but that's not a great idea (you might end up stranded).

$72M isn't that bad for an island.

Ooh please even the most expensive is not even up to a billion dollar.
We talking of 20 billion here.

Some of those look very affordable, like only an order of magnitude more than a house in a decent neighborhood. What's the catch? No high-speed internet? Commute 100 miles by boat? Island-owners association fees?

Guys, we are all so poor that our dreams don´t extend beyond "a few millions". There are things out there that are really cool and cost much more. Not that I know of many, but if you want to f*king cry go here

See... confortable middle class now looks terribly boring, don´t you think?

Seriously this is a serious question, why would anyone want 20 billion $. The truth is we as human we are all insatiable, always wanting more.
This is just the life we are in, take for example a scammer scammed people off 5 million $ without been caught, which will be ok for him for the rest of his life but then he continues scamming people until things goes wrong for him.
For me i believe it takes the grace of God and a sense of security outside the security money can give for any human to be satiable.

Even when you want to live a glamorous life, I think that $20 Billion would be just too much for the it. Having a private plane and your own mega yacht as a well as your own island wouldn’t even cost $1 Billions.

Being happy is relative and dependent on the individual, his culture, his religion, his mindset e.t.c

I have always argued this with people back home to be some sort of conspiracy theory against Bill. The so called evil money fund is responsible for the total elimination of polio in my country, an act the corrupt ridden government has failed to do despite the huge resources and funds at its disposal.

They cry depopulation and I laugh. For the sake of argument, let's agree there's a depopulation agenda by Bill's foundation, in my opinion it worths it in my home country. You find people who can barely survive on $1 a day marrying 2 to 3 wives and giving birth to 10, 15, 20 children. Who will feed them? Who will pay their school fees? Who will pay their medical bills when they fall sick? Who checks on these kids as they grow up and become nuisance to the society as they as easily absorbed into criminal and terrorist organization!

There is no middle class.

It's done, for your information:
http://fortune.com/2016/07/13/middle-class-death/
https://medium.com/social-club/the-myth-of-the-middle-class-5fbd37256b13

Personally I'd rather live in hunter gatherer time even if I lived a shorter life. Life would be more fulffilling to me.   Bezos donated 33 million dollars, but what percent of his net worth at that?  I've donated 100x the amount he has if you look at the percentage I've donated compared to my net worth.

Don't say there is only profit in helping customers.  Pharmaceutical companies and defense contractors make money off wars and  by poisoning people with harmful drugs.

Individuals that you deem to be greedy, selfish people are irrelevant to the good that money can do. It is a tool, and a fundamental tool within our world if you are to achieve any consensual transaction with another human being.

Bezos donated $33M in one donation, more money than I will likely ever make in my life. Has that money not helped anyone, any community or done any benevolence? It is easy to point fingers and say "these people could do more", but realistically they've done more than you will ever do.

Almost everything you have access to is because of a successful and altruistic (to some degree) individual. I agree that there are a disproportionate amount of wealthy people that provide nothing beyond economic speculation, political manipulation or inheritance of a particular bloodline. These are unfortunate cases, but what characterizes the success of people like Bezos or Gates is the ability to bring something of value to a great deal of people in a way that has presumably made their lives better. Without their customers directly benefiting there would be no profit, and in this way they help whatever community they interact with. Of course, there is always an equal and opposite reaction and no good deed goes unpunished.

Good points but sadly most of the wealthy people do nothing to help their communities. Jeff Bezos is worth over 100 billion dollars but hes is threatening Seattle that Amazon will leave because of a homeless tax helping fund.  A guy worth 150 billion dollars won't even help homeless people, sad world we live in.

Sultan of brunei is a greedy pig who owns thousands of expensive cars and lives in a 2 million square foot palace while people around the world can't even survive.

Money goes beyond material goods. It is not limited to buying expensive cars, paintings or goods. You are able to develop entire nations, cultures and acquire the means to achieve your dreams with enough money. I disagree entirely that "extra money won't do much for you." If you believe that emotional connections are not influenced by money, and what money is able to accomplish then you are being disingenous. The extra money gives you access to better resources, more effective people, connections, technology, the list goes on and on.

Are all of these things in the category of "not much" for you? I see these all as very significant, they would do much for me.