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Re:Jeff Bezos Passes Bill Gates to Become the World’s Riches... by ralmidani on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:15PM (#15573012)
Then why do they keep pursuing more wealth? If you like money primarily for the pleasure it can buy, why not spend more time enjoying it? Why kill yourself just so your descendants can be financially secure?
Re:Jeff Bezos Passes Bill Gates to Become the World’s Riches... by gozur88 on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:31PM (#15573087)
Money is just a way of keeping score for people like Gates and Bezos.

Anyway, if you have the personality that creates a company like Amazon, you can't just sit back and enjoy it. It's just not in your nature. I had an uncle like that - he kept starting companies long after it mattered financially. He'd sell the current one, tell everyone he was retiring, sit around miserably for a few months and then start another. "It's mostly just a hobby," he'd say, and sell it for ten million dollars a few years later and start the whole process over.

Also, flooding your descendents with money isn't necessarily a good idea. People who grew up with more money than they could ever spend tend to be pretty unhappy. Warren Buffett claims he left his children enough money to do "anything they want to do, but not enough to do nothing." The rest he gave away.

Re:Jeff Bezos Passes Bill Gates to Become the World’s Riches... by mythrwy on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:31PM (#15573085)
What else do you do? You can't just walk away at that point. Gates appears to be trying to some extent but that much money takes on a life of it's own. You hire people and it keeps growing.
Re:Jeff Bezos Passes Bill Gates to Become the World’s Riches... by onions on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:34PM (#15573105)
I'm sure to a philanthropist it matters. How much would it cost to eradicate malaria? $100B?
Re:Jeff Bezos Passes Bill Gates to Become the World’s Riches... by ralmidani on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:40PM (#15573132)
Are all billionaires philanthropists?
Re:Jeff Bezos Passes Bill Gates to Become the World’s Riches... by onions on Friday October 27, 2017 @08:13PM (#15573271)
I guess I misinterpreted your question as, "What's the use of all that money?" Philanthropy is one use. There are many others.