> I say this in terms of value to society. Is having some extremely, extremely rich individuals of value to the US?

yes. restated, is it good or bad that the USA has rich people? clearly it is good. if it were bad, then there would be evidence that countries with no rich people are better, but there is no such evidence.

> yes. restated, is it good or bad that the USA has rich people? clearly it is good. if it were bad, then there would be evidence that countries with no rich people are better, but there is no such evidence.

That's not the question. Having rich people is one thing; having extremely, extremely rich people is another. We're talking about people that are worth the entire annual economic output of entire medium-sized metropolitan areas of the US and Canada, not the guy you knew from college who became director of sales at a software vendor and lives in a neighborhood with a golf course.

Obviously does not follow. It’s like saying that torrential rains that flood your home are actually a good thing, because having no rain at all would be worse. Most things are best in moderation.

Let’s restate your argument. If a country only had Musks, how well would it work?