America's richest get richer

[T_i_B]

Insert comment about the poor getting poorer as well here. :eyes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3121428.stm

America's richest tycoons increased their personal wealth over the past 12 months, partly reversing a two-year decline, according to Forbes magazine's annual snapshot of America's super-wealthy.

The total net worth of the 400 wealthiest people in the US rose by 10% over the year to $955bn (£573bn).

The main winners came from the technology sector - with Larry Ellison of Oracle, Michael Dell of Dell Computers, and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft all seeing their wealth increase.

Other winners came from the media sector, with the two daughters of the owner of cable operator Cox Communications, radio and TV owner John Kluge of Metromedia, and Sumner Redstone of Viacom all worth around $10bn each.

[pschoeb]

1. This is what Bush means by "jobloss recovery"

10% real unemployment equals 10% increase wealth for the wealthy

Patrick Schoeb

[Solon]

2. This is really alarming...

Think about it, only 400 people have nearly 1 TRILLION dollars in assets, in the US alone. They control nearly 10% of the GDP by themselves, excluding the rest of the top 1%.

[bahrbearian]

3. Must be why the stock market is up

Jobs are down

[emad]

4. Forbes is hardly the 'Bible' when it comes to documenting

the seriously, seriously rich.

None of the top truly (and privately) wealthiest individuals are listed in its rankings, and neither are these individuals' immense and mostly secret charitable/humanitarian donations. Only the taxman knows the truth.

The seriously mega rich protect their privacy and do not flaunt the extent of their wealth. That's how they remain un-assasinated!....

[papau]

5. Very True - I helped set up some of the trusts/partnerships that hide

the money - and identity of the truly rich.

I was always amazed at how easy it was to find a counter-party with at least corporate citizenship in an EU country that was ready to drop a billion to 5 billion on a given deal in the next 180 days.

Folks do not understand why a "flat tax" will never fly - at least for the truly rich - as the definition of income will always have whatever holes they want to have put into the law. They do not want folks to focus on the definition of income unless they are excluding something - like "investment income" from tax. Indeed the sales tax is the preferred "fair" tax that they push. The 13,000 richest families rule, and of late have got greedy - demanding that the Social Security payroll tax and borrowing from future middle class kids income via new National Debt pay what they would normally pay. Indeed the Bush refusal to accept Mid-East small vendor offers on contracts and to instead give those contracts - at 10 times the cost - to companies controlled by the rich, appears to be a tip of the iceberg that Senator Kennedy found troublesome. Usually these fellows only occasionally exert control but even then stay less obvious.

[0007]

6. That's mild compared to what the Carlyle boys

and Halliburton is dragging.

Blood Money!!! It will come back to haunt the folks who love FOX News and the other propaganda whores.

[trof]

7. "There's nothing surer,

The rich get rich
And the poor get poorer.
In the meantime,
In between times,
Ain't we got fun!"

yeah...right
:-(

[Nottingham]

8. One of the facts about the Depression!

That when the wealth of a nation is held by a few greedy men

then a Depression hits


Its a fact! :bounce:

[Ganja Ninja]

9. I've got a couple of questions.

What do you suppose the total combined tax savings under Bush’s tax cut was for the wealthiest 400?
Tell me again why these people needed tax relief so bad we have to bankrupt the country on their behalf?

[Maeve]

10. Don't you know these are the folks who make jobs?

Why, since Dubya took office (and I use the term "took" advisedly), we've already added...um, we've lost jobs? With the tax cuts and all? Worst record since Hoover?...

Never mind!

[DBoon]

11. Be gone with Class Warfare

Major combat has ceased. "We" lost.

[DeathvadeR]

12. yup

<>

[Lindacooks]

13. Take a look at this Forbes article

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/0203/048.html

It's hard to make the case that the holiday season in Aspen, Colo. is a leading economic indicator--except perhaps for the mind-set of the superwealthy. By that measure they're feeling pretty good these days.

In contrast to a muted 2001 holiday season that suffered from Sept. 11 shell shock, the days between Christmas and Jan. 1 were booming this year in ways business owners say they haven't seen since 1997.

"It was bursting at the seams," says Richard McLennan, general manager of the St. Regis hotel, which sold out its 257 rooms, the highest occupancy it has seen in three years. The neighboring Hotel Jerome had its best December ever, while the famed Little Nell hotel--where nonholiday winter rates run from $595 to $4,400 a day and where 41% of holiday guests arrived via private jet--was sold out for nine days straight. The hotel served more Cristal champagne, at $280 a bottle, than in any holiday season in memory, says John Egelhoff, director of sales and marketing. The private Caribou Club says it sold out its $1,000-per-head New Year's Eve dinner and had to turn away 200 people.

<snip>

Dennis Basso, Manhattan-based fur designer to the rich, was pleased as he stood outside his newest retail outpost, at the Little Nell. In six days Basso sold 11 sable or combination sable coats, the $40,000-to-$100,000 price be damned.