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I'm not sure these examples really do justice to the topic, they help bring the delta back to things we rationally understand but the scale between millions and billions is precisely what the major point is, since a million is already a lot then a lot of these is, like, really a lot, maaaaan.

Yes, the money on the higher end is measured using a log scale: there are people just like me, 10x richer, 100x richer, etc. simply because money helps to create money even with safe hedging.

The scale is the problem of capitalism, there's not so much we can do about it today. What could be achieved in our lifetime, is the progressive tax scale that although does not stop exponential growth, at least it tries.

And no, fuck Europe. Progressive tax scale in Europe doesn't flatten the exponential incomes, it affects only regular workers. Which may be good, but it's not enough

Yes, that was my way of thinking too some many years ago.

And all my enthusiasm and doing stuff resulted in.... What I have now. A world where I have little time for myself, where I have to grind money in a job type I'm too experienced in to switch away from, in a world that keeps getting more dystopian every year.

And I watch with horror how the next generation is falling for fascist populist rethoric politics and voting for them because they feel the same way as me but lack the life experience to realize that they are voting for the wolf in sheep clothing.

Without money I can't change anything.

I hate money and I hate that I have to want a lot of it.

Keep hold of your idealism. Perhaps it will serve you better than it has me.

Not true, money don't solve anythimg directly.

But think of how many people's lives you could ruin with that kind of power!

Plenty of people probably did, but the ones that don't are the ones that stand out, so they're the ones we know. Nobody cares about the guy who made a billion dollars and fucked off somewhere; even if they're still a blight on the country with that much wealth, we've got bigger fish to fry.

Bezos, Musk, et al. feel that they have not yet received what the world owes them. And since that feeling is a form of psychosis, they never will.

Not to mention the guy who started Jimmy John's .... Liautaud is an avid hunter and fisherman. In an interview in 2015 with the Chicago Tribune, Liautaud said that the largest misconception about him is that people still connect him to photos of him posing with big game from 10 years ago. According to Liautaud, he used to hunt big game in Africa on legally organized safaris, but he no longer does.[7] Starting in 2015, his hunting prompted people to call for a boycott of his business.[60] - Wikipedia

No longer because they are illegal now? Also, started small, only a 25k loan from his father

The fisherman had a large family who loved him. His fishing only took an hour or two per day, so he had a lot of time left over. When he could, he loved to play with his kids, take naps with his wife, and play guitar with his friends. But, he was also available when needed for other things. If someone needed help moving, he could help. If they needed to go somewhere, he could take them in his boat. If another family in the village was going through a rough time he could stay out a bit longer, catch a few more fish, and provide for them too.

Then, one day he became ill, and treatment was expensive. He was so loved in the village that everyone took up a collection to help him. They also saved money on his bills by doing as much as they could for him. Instead of having nurses feed him and bathe him, his family and friends did that for him. Since he lived in Mexico and not the USA, his medical costs were not obscene, and he was able to pay for them all, just owing a few loans to other people in the village.

For a while, he spent a bit longer out on the boat, catching a bit more fish to sell to pay off his loans. He also took the son of one of his friends out and taught him the trade, and for that, his friend wrote off that loan. A short time later his loans were all paid off and he went back to the nice, easy fishing lifestyle.

The retired banker had no friends. He had no family. His first and second wives had divorced him because he spent all his time at the office. His kids no longer talked to him, they knew him as that man who always promised he'd come to their soccer cup finals and violin recitals, but never made it. His 22 year old sugar baby had ditched him as soon as he got the diagnosis. He did some research and decided that the best doctors in the world for his condition were in Dubai, so he arranged a private jet to Dubai, rented an apartment for a few months, and hired round-the-clock nurses to take care of him, and a personal chef to cook whatever he needed. The doctor in Dubai was the best, but he was no fool. He quoted a very high price for his services, and then when the banker was in the pre-op room, he came in, announced he was ready to go, but that there were a few other costs he forgot to mention, and he was terribly sorry but the total price was actually triple the original quote. But, if the banker wanted to back out, there was still time. The banker grumbled, but assented, silently appreciating the doctor's hustle.

While he was under anaesthesia, his rivals struck. He'd made plenty of enemies over the years, and so when word was out that he was going under the knife, they planned their revenge. The banker was too proud to be fully retired. He still actively managed most of his money, and had a lot of it tied up in leveraged bets. His rivals jumped on them, spreading rumours on social media and calling up financial news outlets. If the banker had been conscious and online, he could have responded to the attack, but as it was, his positions were crushed ruthlessly.

When he came around after his operation, he checked his phone to see hundreds of urgent messages. He started scrambling to catch what he could. But, in the meantime, his latest payment for his nurses hadn't gone through, so they walked out. Once he stopped the bleeding (money bleeding, not blood), he'd be able to hire some new ones, but that couldn't be his priority yet. He had only hours left to fix his financial health, if he didn't, then his own health didn't matter.

And then Trump bombed Iran.