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To: PoliSciStudent
As for appreciating the value of money, I can't help but feel that, if anything, the working poor in this country who often have to work multiple jobs just in order to make ends meet, would be more appreciative of the value of an earned dollar than some billionaire who rakes in millions simply by clicking a button and selling a bunch of stocks.

But the billionaire doesn't rake in millions simply by clicking a button and selling a bunch of stocks. He raked in millions by providing a product or service the people demanded. He is only accessing his millions by selling a bunch of stocks. Also most wealthy individuals (maybe not the ultra-wealthy, I don't know) didn't start that way. Many began their lives either poor or middle-class. It is in this lifestyle that they developed the appreciation for the value of a dollar, and the desire to be successful, that has brought them to their current wealth.

95 posted on 02/13/2004 1:24:25 PM PST by undeniable logic
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To: undeniable logic
Also most wealthy individuals (maybe not the ultra-wealthy, I don't know) didn't start that way.

I know several ultra-wealthy people.

Most people could not bear the amount of stress and effort that they put themselves through for years on end to achieve such. You don't waltz into loads of wealth, it usually requires taking grave financial risks and working 80+ hours a week every week for years on end without vacation and no real hope of financial gain.

Quite frankly most people do not have the fortitude to do what it takes to accrue great wealth in a relatively short amount of time. It isn't hard to do in theory, but it pushes a human being to the breaking point and only the strongest survive in practice. I doubt most people can fathom the amount of determination it requires to carry such a burden without rest for years on end.

For most people, the personal cost, stress, and pain isn't worth the benefit of acquiring all that wealth. It is MUCH easier to coast by on 40-60 hours a week on a regular income. Of course, most of the really successful wealthy people that you meet aren't really in it for the money per se. To them, the money is often just recognition of the monumental effort they put into whatever it is they do. For a lot of them, it is just in their nature to build things and work hard.

128 posted on 02/13/2004 5:11:49 PM PST by tortoise (All these moments lost in time, like tears in the rain.)
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