> I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with their wealth.
There's a difference between having billions of dollars and controlling billions of dollars. Having usually implies controlling, but it's not necessary for that.
A hypothetical value system that "demonizes excess accumulation" will can still allow talented people to use massive resources to solve challenging problems. For an actual real-world example: the US didn't have to wait for a SF fan to become a billionaire before it built rockets to travel to the moon. Similarly, billionaires often don't solve any problems with their wealth. Musk spends millions to build rockets and win government contracts, but other purported billionaires spend millions on money-losing golf courses and vanity airlines instead.
I have a favorite illustration of what just one billion dollars is: a million dollars per week for almost 20 years.
Bill Gates is giving away the vast majority of his wealth
You don't know what Elon Musk will do with his wealth, but given his track record -- probably something good for humanity
That's a tax-avoidance scheme. Here's a recent (and certainly not the first) article laying it out:
https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/bill-gates-promised-to-gi...
> You don't know what Elon Musk will do with his wealth
I think we both know that whatever it is, first and foremost it'll be good for Elon Musk.
I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with their wealth.