Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
The level of wealth inequality in America is grotesque. A Pew Research report found that the richest families in the U.S. have experienced greater gains in wealth than other families in recent decades, a trend that reinforces the growing concentration of financial resources at the top. Moreover, the wealth gap between America’s richest and poorer families more than doubled from 1989 to 2016. To put that into perspective, in 2018, households near the top of the income had incomes that were 12.6 times higher than those near the bottom.
At the top of that very economic ladder stand billionaires. And according to Forbes, there were 2,153 billionaires as of March, with the ultra-rich worth $8.7 trillion, and that’s in 2019. Heading into 2022, the 10 wealthiest individuals in the world are all worth more than $100 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The numbers are simply unbelievable, quite like some of their humble success stories.
But people are getting fed up with being told lies. They claim that self-made billionaires are nothing more than another case of nepotism, a common practice of power that favors relatives by giving them exclusive opportunities. We collected some of the most eye-opening arguments about it below, so be sure to scroll down and share your thoughts about this as you go.
Image credits: petergyang
This post may include affiliate links.
RELATED:
#2
Income inequality in the United States is at its highest level in at least 50 years, according to the government’s Census Bureau. According to Oxfam, the world’s wealthiest 26 individuals had the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the population in 2018. But 2021 was a year like no other for the billionaires, and it’s not the world still trapped in an unprecedented public health crisis.
The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755. That’s a whopping 660 more than just a year ago. According to Forbes, of those, a record high 493 were new to the list—roughly one every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong. Another 250 who’d fallen off in the past came right back. As a result, this year we see a mindblowing 86% who are richer than a year ago.
But what is the relationship between nepotism and sky-high fortune like that? Well, legally, the concerns surrounding it are few but not to be ignored. Tom Gies, a founding member of the labor and employment law practice at Crowell & Moring, says there's little out there to discourage nepotism—and nothing that explicitly forbids it.
However, trouble can arise if a company advertises a vacant job and then fills it with an employee's relative who clearly is less qualified than, say, a female or minority applicant. That can run up against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion or national origin. But the solution is more than simple: if the job opening is never publicly advertised, it's almost impossible for anyone to cry foul over nepotism.
#9
Katy McMouse 2 years ago
Every time I see Zuckerberg's photo, the first thing I think is "Damn. Someone needs to slip him some light colored contacts." Those dark eyeballs are like black holes to his soul.
#11
Legen ( wait for it ) dary 2 years ago
I'm poor because I don't have a Garage. My entire apartment have the size of ( insert the smallest size place in your house)
#13
#15
Florida, but without the beach 2 years ago
I love that Donald trump isn’t on these lists, he got more money from his dad than most of these people and still couldn’t make the list!
#18
Katy McMouse 2 years ago
I'm a legacy admission - I was granted admission to the every day rat race, just like my parents and their parents and their parents' parents.
#20
Davo gifman 2 years ago
My dad passed away; so all of our money is tied up in the afterlife market. An with my dad being a good man I'd like to think he's in heaven. An when I die...well I'm not so sure. So it looks like we will be diversifying our stock portfolio. No use in having all the deviled eggs in one basket. 😁🤪 yeah, yeah I'm leaving. 🤨 Well I know now; that it's not funny...🤣
#23
#25
thatmagicgaychick 2 years ago
Mazer- the economy is so fuckd up that a lot of people can't afford food and rent at the same time.
#27
RedstonewolfX 2 years ago
This is the slowest way to become a millionaire. No billionaire would ever spend enough on anyone but themselves to drop below $1,000,000,000.
#28
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Jo Choto 2 years ago
Capitalism. That's what it is. The idea that all good things come from being rich, so the richer you are, the gooder you are. But there is limited wealth in any economy, so when some people have a lot more, that HAS to result in many other people having less.
Martha Meyer 2 years ago (edited)
It's not a really something unique to Capitalism. Ever since humans stopped living in small equalitarian hunter gatherer groups and started agriculture to live in much larger groups, some people managed to accumulate a lot more possessions than others, gave it to their children and grandchildren and then built some kind of myth around it to justify why they had all this generational wealth while other people starved. It used to be I'm better than you and deserve all my wealth because I'm ordained by God to be your king/priest/ruler". Now we just have a different myth to justify why billionaires "deserve" to be billionaires while there are still starving people.
Load More Replies... Monkey Spunk 2 years ago
The UN told Elon Musk he could end World hunger with $6.6bn, he asked them to send him a detailed plan. Last year they sent him a full breakdown, he's been surprisingly quiet about it since then. Playing the big man on Twitter as usual.
Magoomba 2 years ago
M**********r has $120 billion & the world asks for $6.6 and Musk ghosts ‘em. Shows his true colors. Same as the rest. The French Revolution gave us the template to deal with them if we get the chance.
Load More Replies...
Jo Choto 2 years ago
Capitalism. That's what it is. The idea that all good things come from being rich, so the richer you are, the gooder you are. But there is limited wealth in any economy, so when some people have a lot more, that HAS to result in many other people having less.
Martha Meyer 2 years ago (edited)
It's not a really something unique to Capitalism. Ever since humans stopped living in small equalitarian hunter gatherer groups and started agriculture to live in much larger groups, some people managed to accumulate a lot more possessions than others, gave it to their children and grandchildren and then built some kind of myth around it to justify why they had all this generational wealth while other people starved. It used to be I'm better than you and deserve all my wealth because I'm ordained by God to be your king/priest/ruler". Now we just have a different myth to justify why billionaires "deserve" to be billionaires while there are still starving people.
Load More Replies... Monkey Spunk 2 years ago
The UN told Elon Musk he could end World hunger with $6.6bn, he asked them to send him a detailed plan. Last year they sent him a full breakdown, he's been surprisingly quiet about it since then. Playing the big man on Twitter as usual.
Magoomba 2 years ago
M**********r has $120 billion & the world asks for $6.6 and Musk ghosts ‘em. Shows his true colors. Same as the rest. The French Revolution gave us the template to deal with them if we get the chance.
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
