Driving into town the other day I caught an interview on our ABC, of a couple traveling on the Queen Mary 2. They had been on the current cruise for 4 months, had some months yet to go, & were quite enjoying themselves.

It is to be hoped that they were enjoying themselves, apparently their monthly bill is greater than my gross annual income.

It appears some passengers are paying more than my annual income a week.

I compared this to my expenditure when I was cruising around, & working in the islands in my yacht. I was not spending more than A$100 a month, with perhaps another $100 a month put by for maintenance. Then I started wondering;

Was i jealous, no.

Would I rather swap my experiences for theirs, no.

Did I mind that some could afford such luxury, no.

How could people with such disposable income take 6 months off? no idea, perhaps they are retired, or inherited it.

Would I want to take such a cruise, I don't think so.

What did others think? A number I spoke to thought it was obscene that someone could "waste" so much money, some didn't care, some didn't want to know.

Is it obscene? Is it a waste? Many are earning their living, building & crewing these ships, to relive the mega rich of some of their money.

Sure if you are at the bottom of the trickle down effect, you'll only get a trickle, but often that is quite enough, it is for me. After all I earned my living in the tourist industry for some years, & those I catered to had to be richer than me, to pay what we had to charge them.

How do others OLO's view the world of the mega rich

Hasbeen,
Firstly,
I can't see how one can become so obscenely wealthy in a morally right way.
Just look at some of these princes & sultans or those electronic & sporting goods giants with their sweat shops.
Secondly, if someone becomes so wealthy through initiative then good on them, no jealousy from this lad.
Thirdly, when I see public servants on $6000 plus benefits per fortnight & collecting frequent flyer points whilst the show is crumbling all around then I do have a huge problem.
I'll certainly do my bit for Queensland come March 23.
Air Australia passengers are stuck overseas whilst the federal hierarchy got a huge pay rise. How about ordering other airlines to bring them back. After all Air Australia probably went broke on account of huge Government fees & charges etc.

the mega rich will go to the grave like everyone else. To whom much is given much is expected. I have met generous rich people and stingy poor people and vice versa. Compared with most of the world those on the dole are filthy rich. That is why so many illegals want to come here. Australia is the Queen Mary for many. The end is the same for all. The judgement will not be.

runner,

You never fail to entertain me : )

How very (un)Christian of you to put the boot into those "filthy rich" people on the dole as first recourse on this thread....and all those "illegals" who funnily enough are deemed genuine refugees.

You're right, however, that those who inhabit Western industrialised nations are the royalty of the world. We're saturated with wealth and opportunity - and, judging from your comments, we don't particularly like sharing either of them.

Hasbeen,

The very wealthy have always been with us. Nothing really changes as far as human nature goes. I've heard that being rich enables one to experience one's dysfunction in a much more comfortable manner : )

Well currently wealth creation is the wanted out come for most western governments.
We are not socialists.
So what other way, if indeed we wish to, can we fix the imbalance.
Tell you what, I do not care.
But I do,that mega rich can avoid paying tax.
If tax was fixed, on every dollar, same figure, say 25% for every one every dollar?
Remember this, usually money is earned, not given.
And some mega rich employ thousands of others.
We see here, complaints about social security, and an end to health tax breaks for well of, can not have it both ways.

Belly,

"We are not socialists."

But we do inhabit a social democracy - one where the less affluent are supported. Capitalism depends on an orderly society who spends up big. If it hadn't been for social democracy, capitalism would have floundered and been consumed by revolution. This way, however, most people exist anesthetised and in reasonable comfort while the mega-rich keep adding to their coffers.

*I can't see how one can become so obscenely wealthy in a morally right way.*

An interesting point, Individual. But they actually can.

If you look at the serious so called new money around, a huge
chunk of it has actually been made by university drop outs who
studied computer programming. The internet has created such a huge
global market, that when they get it right, returns are enormous
and in fact quite moral.

The young kid who came up with Facebook, is now worth billions.
So are the guys who created Zynga, Linkedin, Twitter, Oracle,
Microsoft, Google and all the rest.

Who is becoming poorer? The latest Economist contains an interesting
article which shows that most of the Japanese electronics manufacturers are on the ropes. Sharp, Sony, NEC, Panasonic, are
worth a mere fraction of what they were, just 10 years ago.
So much for the benefits of manufacturing.

The 1% and i bet they are all liberals.

Poirot

Your interpretations of what I said says more about your dogmas than my post. You are very predictable.

runner,

ha! - that's the pot calling the kettle predictable.

*This way, however, most people exist anesthetised and in reasonable comfort while the mega-rich keep adding to their coffers.*

Yeah Poirot, but the story does not end there. Firstly, the mega
rich only hold it temporarily, they die just like the rest of us.
So it all gets split up, wives, mistresses, children, employees,
charities, foundations and the rest.

The mega rich don't achieve much by sitting on it either, inflation
eats it away. 10 years at 4% and nearly half of it is gone. So
they invest in new ideas, new technologies, new ventures, which
creates new jobs, new benefits for all. Venture capital for instance, is huge
in a place like the US and that is how new
creative ideas come to fruition. Even Poirot benefits, by being
able to post on OLO, because of their risks and investments.

I must be quite fortunate. I simply don't envy the mega rich.
I am quite content with life as it is. But clearly many think that
only by winning lotto will they ever be happy. How sad really.

I have met good and bad people from both ends of the financial scale as far as income goes.
Although I fall in around the middle of the income scale, I sure would at least like to try living at the upper end!
One thing I would love to be able to afford is to travel first class anywhere... sigh :)

If you've got it to use, good luck to you.

Poirot, yes well aware we are in part Socialist.
But let me asure you Australia is not and never has been a Social Democracy.
Capitalism is not all evil.
Let us look at the pros and cons of post industrial revolution.
At first wealth had to be pulled in to gear, humanity,for a while became near slaves.
But it was that change and the wealth it created, that drove City living and funded the part socialism we have.
I just do not think we could get all we have, homes cars boats, very lifestyles we have, with out the wish to be rich .
Tax's yes every one should pay, but the filthy rich are not always filthy.
Had I or you, started buying land at age twenty, by now I would have been a million air at least.
Nothing wrong with that.

Belly,

I disagree.
Australia is a social democracy. Sometimes to a more and sometimes to a lesser degree...but a social democracy she is.

I'll second that Suse, in fact I have found very, [if not mega],rich yanks were some of the best people I have had on a charter boat.

When I was in the Whitsundays at one stage there was a shortage of skippers qualified to go out to the outer reef. I had an arrangement with a couple of island resorts, where I skippered their reef trips, in exchange for their help with our bear boat sailors when needed.

These might be just an overnight, or up to about 5 days. Most of the charterers were not poor, but many were stretching their holiday budget with this extra trip, & some could be a bit demanding. I found the least demanding were the rich yanks.

The boats involved were very seaworthy around 55Ft, more the type suited to professional fishermen than Gold Coast gin palaces, generally catering for up to 6 guests.

With the wealthy yanks I found they wanted to be part of the crew, the men taking over much of the work of running the boat, & a couple of times, the ladies chucked us out of the galley, [kitchen] for the duration.

So yes Suse, there are plenty of really nice wealthy folk around.

I respect those who have enriched themselves as a result of their efforts and feel they should be able to enjoy themselves in whatever way they desire - as long as it doesn't adversely impact on others.

However, the majority of wealth in society is inherited and technically not "earned" and the "trickle-down effect" is little more than a myth (probably promoted by the wealthy) - it simply doesn't work in the way that it is supposed to.

Beyond that, good luck to them - as long as they pay their taxes.

Everyone is different, I was never attracted to great wealth and am comfortable with my choices based on a less consumerist approach. That is not to say I am perfect just more careful and aware than I used to be. It largely depends on your values and beliefs.

Many of the rich I have met are unusual people, like politicians many have lost touch with the real world. That is not to say many rich do not act in philanthropic ways (eg. Bill Gates) or choose to use their wealth and super powers for good.:)

It is more important IMO to judge on how wealth is achieved. Ethics in business seems to be dirty word with many of the 'rich' crying discrimination for the 'job creators' at any criticism of wage disparity or excesses (cop the latest faux pas of the ANZ giving free cruises to senior staff while sacking workers).

Corruption is far more than tolerated in an effort to get things done in business in some cases whether it be bribes or unfair influence in contracts and approvals for developments. Far better IMO not to yield to these 'terrorists' it only encourages them.

Wealth can be created through innovation and without exploitation but I would be surprised if immense wealth, however that is defined, is not somehow linked to some form of exploitation or skullduggery at some time in the wealth creation process.

However there is great power in the hands of consumers that is never realised, most people being content to just accept the status quo without understanding where products come from and whether there was sweat shop labour, unsafe working conditions, child labour, environmental damage, unfair trade agreements and situations etc - the list is really endless.

The concept of money is interesting and this link makes a great attempt at explaining the concept including a good summary of the banking system.

http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/mboyle/2010/10/why-moneyless-an-excerpt-from-mark-boyles-the-moneyless-man-a-year-in-freeconomic-living/

"How do others OLO's view the world of the mega rich"

From a very, very long way away…

For a start, they don't travel on the Queen Mary 2

For example, I've lost track of how many yachts Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich has since he lost one in a divorce settlement (Pelorus - at 116 m about 10 m shorter than the Royal yacht Britannia to give you a scale; at least after its luxury refit five years ago it had a second helicopter pad, and a bargain when David Geffen later bought it for about $300 million).

Still, Mr Abramovich can console himself with his newest runaround the 164 m long Eclipse – still only two helipads, though storage for a third copter – over $1 billion of ultraluxury fitout and bullet-proof glass.

I don't know, Pelican, sometimes I wouldn't mind a bit of great wealth. I wonder if you can rent it, one day at a time.

I remember reading in a book about the history of settlement in Western Victoria - I think the book was called something like 'Australia Felix' - about how a family - now much better known - which was able to move from chronic poverty to sudden wealth. The author didn't specify how, but I got the idea it had something to do with selling swamp-land.

Don't you love that phrase, ' .... from chronic poverty to sudden wealth' ? Yes, Australia Felix, the land of opportunity, for many.

Swamp land hey Loudmouth. Well it probably won't be the last time. Anyone wanna buy a bridge.

Those poverty to riches story are 'feel good' copy. We are supposed to feel more warm and fuzzy if it is the poor who become rich but I really dislike the phrase bandied about in the media which describes the joy when a 'deserving' person wins a lotto or gets a prize.

What makes someone deserving? What if the lucky winner is poor but also a serial killer. :)