You can’t buy prestige, but you can buy a building

I’ve been thinking of this running title for a while now. The theme of this post goes back to our current society’s fascination with the super rich. The current wealth distribution is becoming increasingly bipolar with the top 1% owning an ever so larger portion of the overall wealth distribution. And so with many barely able to make ends meat and living from paycheck to paycheck, perhaps it is justified for the common individual to dream of the rarefied air of infinite financial stability.

But the ultra wealthy individual is a fascinating breed. To exist in society without having to worry about money, but still be at the mercy of other people’s judgements and the rule of law, it is an interesting position to fantasize about for those who are not in their position. Yet, one of the disadvantages of having that much money is to be often time thrusted into the public eye or position of leadership without a choice. I don’t think that the ability to garner a vast fortune is strongly correlated strongly with intelligence. In fact, there has been evidence to support this. Generally, intelligent individuals are able to secure a stable amount of money throughout their careers, but it takes a certain amount of luck and a type of “networking” skill that is often anti correlated with intelligence to amass the an amount of fortune that successful business people often do.

But then the question becomes, for those who are successfully able to amass a large sum of money, what will they do with all of it? Money is an amplifier of what is inherently present in an individual. It gives an individual the power to enact on their desires and breaks down inherent barriers that was originally present to begin with. But that is a slippery slope for many in a society where there are many temptations present to rouse the more sinister side of an individual’s nature.