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Anonymous 1d
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Anonymous replying to -> #1 1d

“earned” is very generous here when many people have “earned” their wealth by simply being born into it.

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 1d

Define many. Do you have statistics?

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Anonymous replying to -> #1 1d

Oxfam data suggests 60% of total billionaire wealth is derived from inheritance, monopoly power, or crony connections. This 60% does not those that were born in upper middle class and “rich families” (doctors/lawyers/etc), so if we’re including that the percentage is likely much higher.

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 1d

Even people count Jeff bezos as “self-made” even though he received a >$200,000 from his family. Its very rare to see someone completely self made in the sense that they used their own funds to kickstart a business and become a billionaire.

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 1d

The Oxfam stat you’re using is global. You’re including the British royal family, Putin, etc. It says very little about the American economy, and even still suggests that a minority (36%) of billionaires inherited their wealth.

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Anonymous replying to -> OP 1d

Amazon was worth over $4 million when his parents invested their entire retirement fund in his business. He actually tried to convince them not to do it.

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Anonymous replying to -> #1 1d

Im not sure why you dont think we should use the global stat? The royal family are still billionaires under classical capitalist systems. It just depends on how you define self made, most people define it as using the tools that are available to the average person, and most americans dont generally have 200,000k to start with.

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