11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought political office

Re:11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought polit... by macawfish on Friday November 03, 2023 @02:33PM (#38132958)

I like this point, but want to add that it's not a coincidence that people accumulate that much wealth.

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Re:11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought polit... by jjoonathan on Friday November 03, 2023 @02:44PM (#38133121)

Yeah. The risk of corruption doesn't just "remain" for wealthy politicians -- their investments give them a much more lucrative avenue through which they can get paid for policy and through which their well-heeled donors can monetize policy changes!

    A 10% chance of swinging a 001M position 10% is worth $10k.
    A 10% chance of swinging a 010M position 10% is worth $100k.
    A 10% chance of swinging a 100M position 10% is worth $1M.
    A 10% chance of swinging a 001B position 10% is worth $10M.
    A 10% chance of swinging a 010B position 10% is worth $100M.
    A 10% chance of swinging a 100B position 10% is worth $1B.

To you and I, lobbying and politicking is an expense. To the rich, it is an investment with expected monetary return.

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Re:11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought polit... by HPsquared on Friday November 03, 2023 @02:54PM (#38133274)

Hmm, so THAT'S why there is so much seemingly-random legislation being introduced all the time...

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Re:11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought polit... by jjoonathan on Friday November 03, 2023 @03:03PM (#38133459)

Yep. It also explains a lot about the networking and social venues used by the wealthy. It's a completely different world with different rules.

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