this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2024
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[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 197 points 5 months ago (6 children)

Nobody becomes filthy rich by being honest. You can only become this rich by exploiting people and having absolutely no fucking empathy whatsoever.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 40 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The biggest lotto win in the USA was $2.04 BN, in California. Subtract taxes and there is no way that comes close to the account of money other billionaires have ammassed, even assuming there was no outstanding debt to pay and the money was invested in high-yield investments (green or not). I believe you're right.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 19 points 5 months ago (8 children)

In theory a modern artist, writer, musician, etc could become a billionaire from direct to customer sales, but I'll believe it when it happens.

[–] RampageDon@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Isn't Taylor Swift a billionaire? That is about the extent of my knowledge of her though.

[–] Palerider@feddit.uk 34 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Wasn't Taylor Swift born into a wealthy family? That's why she could take the time and chances to become a pop star. Not that I'm saying she isn't talented, she obviously is, but a lot of talented poor kids don't get that opportunity.

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Yeah. But I wonder if she’s the first billionaire off actual performance and content sales.

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Kanye supposedly was before he lost all his endorsements for openly being a Nazi. Artists dont actually own any means of production so they can very quickly lose everything.

[–] GiveMemes@jlai.lu 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Some do. Some, like Shaq or Ryan Reynolds (or Kanye) use their money to invest in other companies. Ryan Reynolds coming out and saying Nazi shit would probably be bad for Mint, just like Ye's controversy was bad for Yeezy, just like Elon's controversy is bad for Tesla.

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 5 points 5 months ago

Kanye lost about 2/3rds of his net worth over night because Nike dropped the Yeezy brand. Being a partial owner of a niche brand is in no way comparable to someone like Musk who has controling interest in multiple market leading companies. Celebrity status can be leveraged to get a minority stake in a company, but minority owners can be forced out just as easily.

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[–] Zehzin@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Even them are profitting off the work of hundreds of people. Or rather, a publisher is profitting off of their work along with the work of a lot more people.

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[–] Papergeist@lemmy.world 38 points 5 months ago

That's why it's called filthy rich

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[–] Junkernaught@lemmy.dbzer0.com 58 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

Feed the poor 🎸🎶 Until there are, no rich no more 🎶

(The original starts with "Tax the rich" but you do what you can with what you got right?)

[–] hark@lemmy.world 56 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Are these the job creators I've heard so much about?

[–] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago

See? Trickle down economics really works! The wealthy trickle down $8 per day to their thankful employees for 18hr shifts! And don't you dare say it's slavery, you damn liberal! They're getting paid and free to leave at any time! Slaves don't get paid!

[–] Censored@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago
[–] philluminati@lemmy.ml 53 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Firstly, who the fuck are they?

Secondly, you have the money, why can’t you just be reasonable? Like it’s not enough to rich, and not work and be happy, travel the world without limits and without a care… you somehow need to hurt people. It’s awful.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

But how else will they get a bigger house? Nicer, larger yacht? More private jets?

Like, I kinda understand the "more more more!" mentality. As my income has gone up over the years, there's always something more my monkey brain tells me I should want. A nicer, more comfortable car. A new video card. Two angry ponies. You know how it is. I tell it to shut up because I have more than enough already.

I'm not a sociopath, though, so at no point has my monkey brain told me to enslave others so I can have nicer stuff.

[–] slurpinderpin@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Yeah but still, once I hit my "number", I'm taking my small slice of the pie and living life. There isn't a never ending drive to accumulate forever and ever. That's just these psychos

[–] bravesirrbn@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Why do the ponies have to be angry? Seems kind of uncharacteristic

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 5 months ago

Little Grandpa story time:

Ponies are generally nicer than horses, but I was raised believing ponies were angry, vicious little assholes. My father was bucked off of a pony in his twenties, causing him to break a rib and paralyze half of his diaphragm. Being the actual asshole in this story, he never stopped to think that maybe he was too heavy and too drunk for a pony, so he spread pony hate throughout his life. I want angry ponies as I dislike my father and on a primal level think they'd keep me safe from people like him, like two pissy, grass eating charms to protect against narcissists.

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[–] Kanda@reddthat.com 12 points 5 months ago

Because they've got their fortune by being an absolute psychopath not having a second thought about walking over dead bodies for a penny. This is how anyone becomes rich, just throw all morals, compassion and legality to the wind. And they can't stop now.

[–] RandAlThor@lemmy.ca 42 points 5 months ago

SMH. Is it any surprise how they got to be rich?

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 35 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Behind every great fortune is a great crime

[–] ratofkryll@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] sensiblepuffin@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

There are also some okay crimes

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

They wouldn't even notice the money if they paid their staff properly. But people like that actually get off on the cruelty. I hope they throw those fuckers in jail.

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[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 31 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I'm not even kidding when I say it's getting to be pretty close to the time that we need to break out the guillotines and remind these people what happens if they get too sure of themselves.

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It’s far past that time tbh.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 5 points 5 months ago

It's always a good time to get out the guillotines

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[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 31 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Actual monsters. I know you don’t get this rich by being generous but god damn. Unless people like this do get jail time then nothing will change.

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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 26 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Watch in awe as absolutely none of these fuckers go to prison.

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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago (3 children)

UKs richest family? But not the King? 🤔

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Nope, not the King. He might have a lot of stuff, but quite a lot of that is basically unsellable. So his crown might be worth a gazillion, but parliament would probably interfere if he tried to sell it off. And it would be an issue what is actually his to sell and what is really owned by the state.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Much of it is owned by the Crown Estate. Which is technically owned by the current monarch, but it's not their personal property.

All sounds like a scam to me to prevent inheritance taxes scooping off a chunk every time one of them carks it.

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[–] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

The british royal family are a bit like a church, Not that rich on paper but buffalo buffalo buffalo owning so many assets all over the world that if you did the legwork to put it all together they might turn out to be richer than the richest oligarchs.

[–] corus_kt@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I need a better linguist to ELI5 buffaloes

Or is this just bully bully bully

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[–] Feliskatos@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

It's been found that wealth reduces compassion.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Four members of the UK's richest family are on trial in Switzerland amid allegations they spent more money caring for their dog than their servants.

It’s alleged that Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, together with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, confiscated staff passports, paid them as little as $8 (£7) for 18-hour days, and allowed them little freedom to leave the house.

Although a financial settlement over exploitation was reached last week, the Hindujas remain on trial for trafficking, which is a serious criminal offence in Switzerland.

They deny the charges.This week in court, one of Geneva’s most famous prosecutors, Yves Bertossa, compared the almost $10,000 a year he claimed the family had spent on their dog, to the daily amount they were allegedly paying their servants.The Hinduja family's lawyers did not specifically deny the allegations of low wages, but said they must be viewed in context - noting that the staff were also receiving accommodation and food.

Mr Bertossa is calling for prison terms, and millions of dollars in compensation as well as legal fees.

It is not the first time that Geneva, a hub for international organisations as well as the world’s wealthy, has been in the spotlight over the alleged mistreatment of servants.


The original article contains 449 words, the summary contains 207 words. Saved 54%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] Alterforlett@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So, they were housed and fed while working 18 hour days, thus not being able to leave the house. So that's their defence, that you have to take shelter into context. When they couldn't leave.... Fucking throw the book at them

[–] JJROKCZ@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

Their defense is that they were literally using them as slaves by keeping them in slave quarters they can’t leave but we can’t call it forced slavery because they threw a couple euro coins in the cellar at the end of the day to call it wages

[–] ynthrepic@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

Is the royal family not the richest in the UK? Edit: Not just me wondering this I see!

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[–] mysterytoy@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Does Switzerland have guillotines?

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[–] JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Hope these cunts get locked up but they won't, the laws dont seem to apply when you are that rich unfortunately. I wonder which politician they have donated to.

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