The Coming End of Billionaire Rule - That Kicked in with Jeffrey Epstein, Streaming Is Doing the Rest
“…
a billionaire class anxious it no longer rules the world.”
New York Magazine, February 27, 2024.
The focus
of the New York Magazine article is hedge funder-activist Bill Ackman. But it
could be any rich man or woman, ranging from Leon Black to Shari Redstone. Here
we are, feeling foolish that we once assumed that we should be striving to be
like them, yeah, get where they are.
WHAT
DO YOU THINK, THAT YOU ARE A ROCKEFELLER
At one
time those with “real money” oversaw a gilded-age dimension. We who were excluded
from it were easily made to size up ourselves as “less than.”
There was
that old outburst from an angry parent about an offspring’s behavior, “What do
you think, that you are a Rockefeller.” My own mother’s version was, “What do
you think, you are Jackie O.” Actually, the parent was well-meaning in
introducing the child to the assumed reality of “knowing your place.” That
place had no opening for risk-taking. Be cautious. Only the rich had a margin
for error.
STREAMING
JEFFREY EPSTEIN
The end
of billionaire rule might have kicked in with the long half-life of the Jeffrey
Epstein scandal. Streaming such as Hulu’s “Secrets of Prince Andrew” keeps
eroding the illusion of that as a wonderful life.
After
all, now it has consequences. Prince Andrew may never come back, especially
since the royals are reconfiguring for survival. Black, after such a long long
time in the penalty box, might only be starting to receive absolution. And the
guy is worth about $10 billion.
THE WASTELAND
Something
else is also going on. In addition, there is a drilling down into the wealthy
from another gilded age – that is, the time when Truman Capote and those he
networked with dominated culture. That has been featured, again in streaming,
in “The Capote Tapes” and “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.”
The
Capote tribal members are depicted as insecure, self-absorbed, incapable of
real relationships, alcoholic, spiteful, lousy parents and easily duped.
“THEY
ARE CARELESS PEOPLE” The Great Gatsby
A sign of
the disenchantment with extreme wealth is the focus on nepo babies. Instead of
envy about those in "the lucky sperm club," there is either 1) growing media focus at the unfairness embedded in that
professional game and/or 2) joy when they screw up as with substance abuse or
simply not paying attention. Remember how the narrator of “The Great Gatsby”
observed, “They are careless people.”
CONSTRICTED
PATHS
Also,
there is the real possibility that fewer of us, if we want to head that
way, will have a real shot at being even a millionaire. Knowledge fields where there
can be big bucks such as management consulting, media and tech are being
decimated by the cost-efficiency obsession and AI. Read professional anonymous
networks such as Blind, Fishbowl and Reddit and you will bear witness to how
the strivers are being stopped dead in their climb. If they are knocked out of
the box, there could be no getting back.
PRIDE
IN NOT EATING CEREAL FOR DINNER
Meanwhile,
like how it was before post-WWII affluence took over, it is becoming okay to be not upper middle class. There
are so many of us. We are even allowed to use in polite company the vulgar term
“cheap,” as in, “I have cheap rent, so I don’t have to eat cereal for dinner,
like that Kellogg bozo tells us to.”
The
oldest of the boomers recall the sense of community in the old neighborhood.
Nobody had much and everyone shared what they had. The same ethos was when we
boomers went off to advanced degrees, which were cheap then, and lived
splendidly in genteel poverty. No one sneered at cheap wine.
THE JOKE ON THEM
Of
course, the billionaires not only no longer rule the world. They are targets.
It is not difficult to make the whole bunch of them seem cartoonish. Brit comic
John Oliver is already at that with his work on Elon Musk.
2024. You can transform the craziness of this time into unique
opportunity. Jane Genova provides you with intuitive career coaching, Tarot
readings and related communications. Complimentary confidential consultation.
(For appointment text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)
Meanwhile, please get to know me:
https://tarotreadingsforcareers.blogspot.com/
https://janegenovaintuitivecareercoaching.blogspot.com/
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