As an entrepreneur, I have always been fascinated on the fixation people have on someone’s financial net worth. Every time a news story is posted in the media, there is a section that refers to the $$ net worth of the individual, living or dead.
Seeing as net worth is defined on so many levels and the stark reality is 80% of wealth in this country controlled by 1% of population it seems like punishment (an oxymoron reference to core of post) for the masses to be shown how celebrities and tycoons have amassed fortunes while John Q Public struggles in their day to day existence .
Net worth is also defined as the sum total of a person’s service to his fellow man, an intangible impact that has no price attached yet in many ways holds more importance than money to society at large. Yet media laser focuses on the acquistion and tabulation of wealth, all the while touting various schemes to counter inflation, invest in stocks and real estate largely to a populace untrained and woefully ignorant to these type wealth building ventures .
Yet the media rarely focuses on the benevolent side of people, especially those WITHOUT MEANS that in some circles has a greater value than a robust bank account. In this world we live in, seems like punishment to focus on fortunes unattainable to almost everyone short of inheritance or marriage (or one in billion scores like Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates etc) while Americans suffer thru worst inflation and asset depreciation in modern memory, a most contradictory yet real impact of living in a capitalistic society.
This income inequality is a game changer moving forward and threatens to undermine our society in a multitude of ways. Let us fervently hope an accommodation can be made to allow for a more equitable distribution of wealth among the beleaugered masses. Fact is since the First Industrial Revolution the creation of massive fortunes among an elite few has been the norm so in a real sense nothing has changed since the days of the robber barons but we are in the age of disruption….