Heavily edited. URL in title.

[Opinion. Okay, all you Muskrat defenders—are you on the payroll? Think he’s going to kick you a nickel? Ha!]

Is it bad that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars?

Ingrid Robeyns

The Guardian: 17 Jun 2024

It was bound to happen eventually: Elon Musk has become the planet’s first trillionaire. Until recently, economists who spoke about “trillions” were describing the GDP of the world’s largest economies.

But now we have entered a new phase of the oligarchic era. Previously, when we described the wealth of the world’s richest billionaires, it was understood as a few hundred billions. Three years ago, the value of Musk’s total assets was estimated to be about $250bn. The pace at which it has increased is mind-boggling – and so is what it represents.

We need to know two things about trillionaires: what a trillion dollars exactly stands for, and why this level of wealth concentration is dangerous.

What wage would Musk have to be on to amass a trillion dollars? The answer is that, even if he worked 70 hours a week from age 20 to 75 and took no holidays, his pay rate would need to be about $5m an hour. By way of comparison, the median hourly wage in the US is just under $25.

A second argument against billionaires and trillionaires is wastefulness. There is no point in an individual having so much money, and it is scandalous, given that many people die prematurely or live stunted lives with very few opportunities, simply because the richest take the lion’s share of the wealth that we as societies produce together.

1 - He doesn't have a trillion dollars

2 - WTF ?

Trillionares could be stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled, and their skin could even be used to make fine gloves and boots.