World's first trillionaire

[sukumvit boy]

Jeff Bezos ,Amazon founder , is slated to become the world's first trillionaire by 2026.
https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/news/to-become-worlds-first-trillionaire-2921183/

[holzz]

i don't get the moral outrage.
are we going to eliminate all "unfair" parts of life?
yes, there are many poor peple in the world. But Besos alone doesn't cause that.
It's certainly far more complex than that.

Besos doesn't make governments be corrupt and ciphen off money that could help their people.
He doesn't cause broken homes, or addictions, or shitty state welfare policies causing poverty.

[Fitzcarraldo]

i don't get the moral outrage.
are we going to eliminate all "unfair" parts of life?
yes, there are many poor peple in the world. But Besos alone doesn't cause that.
It's certainly far more complex than that.

Besos doesn't make governments be corrupt and ciphen off money that could help their people.
He doesn't cause broken homes, or addictions, or shitty state welfare policies causing poverty.

And his company also doesn't pay taxes.

[Stavros]

In business it is called either 'First mover advantage' or 'Early mover advantage' -a new business opportunity presents itself and the first one to exploit it successfully can become both rich and powerful. Think of the 'Robber Barons' like Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan, and of course John D. Rockefeller.
When oil was discovered at Titusville in Ohio in 1859 its first success was in providing the fuel for domestic lighting, and this was commercially successful because the previous source had been derived from Whales. At the very moment whaling was in crisis as hunting depleted stocks in the Atlantic, crude oil was being refined to replace whale products, not only cheaper to produce, but also safer and more efficient. Whaling never revived, and only persisted in countries like Japan and Germany because they had no access to petroleum in their own countries- Nazi Germany was a whaling nation, and Japan still hunts and kills whales 'for research purposes'.

Rockefeller saw an opportunity to create a vertically integrated company that owned every link in the value chain, from the stuff coming out of the ground to the oil in your lamps -and used whatever methods he could to control that value chain including those which these days are illegal. And guess what, who used first mover advantage to capture that dream market -in China? Yep, Standard Oil, Rocky's Cleveland-based company.

Where there be billions, there be China...? (There is even a book on it, 'The China Dream: the Elusive Quest for the Last Great Untapped Market on Earth', Joe Studwell, 2005)

Will anti-trust legislation break up Amazon much as Standard Oil was broken up in 1911? I doubt it, as anti-trust legislation does not seem to be popular, though I think Elizabeth Warren has mused on it- but let's enjoy the resentment of one man notorious for bankrupting casinos who can't bear it that another man created a fantastic -and popuar business. When it comes to 'Why didn't I think of that?' -the answer, Dopey Don, is: because you aint' good at business.

Off topic, but because it is such a fascinating and well-written book, I recommend Eric Jay Dolin Leviathan: the History of Whalng in America (2005).

[DGinmass]

And his company also doesn't pay taxes.

and is not breaking any laws in doing so.

he and many other companies like Apple are simply following the tax laws as written by the IRS.

don’t like it, reach out to your representatives to change the laws, the IRS, the treasury department, etc.

but no, it’s easier for politicians to make a headline saying “they don’t pay taxes!”

[holzz]

And his company also doesn't pay taxes.

Like Microsoft. and Bill Gates is so kind and gives so much to charity......

[filghy2]

In business it is called either 'First mover advantage' or 'Early mover advantage' -a new business opportunity presents itself and the first one to exploit it successfully can become both rich and powerful. Think of the 'Robber Barons' like Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan, and of course John D. Rockefeller. (2005).

There's also the phenomenon of the 'winner take all' economy which has been supercharged by technological change over the past couple of decades, leading to the dominance of the FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google). Information technology is particularly prone to this because of network externalities - basically there are advantages in being part of a network that has more users. That means that competition does not work effectively - even though the free market economics which lead to this is supposed to be based on competitive markets

The last great era of monopoly power was ended in the early 20th C by trust-busting legislation under the administration of Teddy Roosevelt - ironically a Republican. Who is going to be the Teddy Roosevelt our time, or is the political influence of money and free market ideology simply too great?

The issue here isn't about specific individuals and how they make or use their money. It's about an economic system that increasingly concentrates wealth rather than benefiting the majority.

[sukumvit boy]

In business it is called either 'First mover advantage' or 'Early mover advantage' -a new business opportunity presents itself and the first one to exploit it successfully can become both rich and powerful. Think of the 'Robber Barons' like Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan, and of course John D. Rockefeller.
When oil was discovered at Titusville in Ohio in 1859 its first success was in providing the fuel for domestic lighting, and this was commercially successful because the previous source had been derived from Whales. At the very moment whaling was in crisis as hunting depleted stocks in the Atlantic, crude oil was being refined to replace whale products, not only cheaper to produce, but also safer and more efficient. Whaling never revived, and only persisted in countries like Japan and Germany because they had no access to petroleum in their own countries- Nazi Germany was a whaling nation, and Japan still hunts and kills whales 'for research purposes'.

Rockefeller saw an opportunity to create a vertically integrated company that owned every link in the value chain, from the stuff coming out of the ground to the oil in your lamps -and used whatever methods he could to control that value chain including those which these days are illegal. And guess what, who used first mover advantage to capture that dream market -in China? Yep, Standard Oil, Rocky's Cleveland-based company.

Where there be billions, there be China...? (There is even a book on it, 'The China Dream: the Elusive Quest for the Last Great Untapped Market on Earth', Joe Studwell, 2005)

Will anti-trust legislation break up Amazon much as Standard Oil was broken up in 1911? I doubt it, as anti-trust legislation does not seem to be popular, though I think Elizabeth Warren has mused on it- but let's enjoy the resentment of one man notorious for bankrupting casinos who can't bear it that another man created a fantastic -and popuar business. When it comes to 'Why didn't I think of that?' -the answer, Dopey Don, is: because you aint' good at business.

Off topic, but because it is such a fascinating and well-written book, I recommend Eric Jay Dolin Leviathan: the History of Whalng in America (2005).
Yes, Dolin's "Leviathan" looks exceptional and I have ordered a copy . "Best non fiction book of 2007 " said the Washington Post and New York Times !
I read King['s "Ahab's rolling Sea" a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it .
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/books/2019/10/24/ahabs-rolling-sea/

[furbygr]

and is not breaking any laws in doing so.

he and many other companies like Apple are simply following the tax laws as written by the IRS.

don’t like it, reach out to your representatives to change the laws, the IRS, the treasury department, etc.

but no, it’s easier for politicians to make a headline saying “they don’t pay taxes!”

American companies are good on tax evading outside US as well as violating personal data regulations. Ocassionaly they get fined. Therefore Trump cries of unfair treatment of US companies.
Therefore Trump cries

[rabbitfufu]

lets stop giving the entertainers of thwe world so much money> does karassdians need that much? how about jayz and his wife> does Floyd M need 100 mil for a fight. when a first responder gets nothing THATS NOT FAIR. george cllooney and his islands. Stop these people

[sukumvit boy]

Perhaps Bezos could just BUY North Korea and that whole mess will be over !?