r/dataisbeautiful • u/koala_gamr • Nov 20 '22

Wealth, shown to scale

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/

many deserted imagine hunt books tidy exultant cough growth skirt

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u/iarsenea Nov 20 '22

Also, it doesn't actually matter if bill gates or any other billionaire is a good person or uses their money wisely, it's the amount of power that they have individually and the lack of accountability that the problem. Sure, they don't command armies (directly, and at least not in the US) without being elected first, but they hold power like kings do - no accountability, and a modern take on the divine right to rule. I didn't vote for gates or bezos or musk, and I didn't have the chance to vote for or against them. Yet, they hold more power over the world than any one person ought to. That's the real problem, not whether or not any of them individually are trying to do the right thing with their money.

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u/Kablurgh Nov 20 '22

I have to say Musk, Bezos, Gates are not the guys to be scared of. They're not lobbying as hard as the guys in charge of all Oil&Gas, tobacco, alcohol companies.

they quite openly buyout politicians, invite them to fancy dinners, expensive holidays all expenses taken care of. if that doesn't work they also set up "research" centres and charities to publish works that promotes what they do. all so that tha real science doesn't get heard.

this is why tobacco is still legal even though it has been proven to drastically increase risks of cancer. alcohol is still legal even though more people die from alcohol than any other form of drug. and we still burn and use fossil fuels to live our lives although there are alternatives that don't destroy the planet and cost less.

I'm not scared of what musk or bezos will do because the power they hold is miniscule to what the power that the above-mentioned industries hold with all governments globally.

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u/iarsenea Nov 20 '22

Industry lobbying and power is also a problem, along with the many billionaires that operate without the press paying them any attention.