Into the mind of a billionaire

I have just finished reading “Brazillionaires; Wealth, Power, Decadence and Hope in an American Country” by Alex Cuadros. Brazil is a country known for its widespread corruption, its wealthy billionaires and its large poor population. It has one of the highest rates of financial inequality in the world. Brazillioniares reveals the lives and activities of some of Brazil’s billionaires (Eike Batista, Esteves, ---) and the role of some of its more recent politicians (Lula, Dilma, etc…). I read this book to try and understand the inner workings of the minds of the superrich. This is a topic that has intrigued me from an early age.

When only in my teens I was enamoured with hard work and earning lots of money. For two years I was the top Toronto Star sales person in Toronto. I was constantly bringing in consumer “stuff” into our home, to the amazement of my immigrant parents. I got us the first TV set on the block. I won an all expense trip to New York. I instead took the cash equivalent (to determine present day values , multiply the those cash values by 10).

  

I think I was still in my teens when I came to the conclusion that all of these pursuits were pretty silly. To me it seemed that because of the time and place in which I was born, I could easily earn lots of money by hard work, some smart decisions and a bit of luck. I decided to take a different path in life.

I will not go into all the subsequent changes in my life, such as studies in engineering and theology. Having just finished my Ph.D. degree in hydraulic engineering, our whole family all went back to Africa to spend four more years there. The following picture shows us ‘hippy like’ in Tanzania in the 1970s.

You can therefore see that I am very skeptical of the nouveau rich – even of the old rich, although they seem to have learned something and they sometimes set up credible foundations to assist the less privileged. So before I embark on this analysis, let me say that there are two kinds of billionaires out there;

1) the types of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Their societal concern runs strong.

2) the types of Donald Trump and his ilk. The ones described in Brazillionaires are more of the second type.

Brazil is a fascinating country. It is a test case to examine capitalism gone amok. Studying these billionaires can help one to understand the inner workings of the super rich, and maybe help us to cope with them. Here below are some of their main characteristics:

- They are adventurous risk takers. They have a massive self-confidence. They often see themselves as saviours of the world and consider themselves to be highly successful.

- They are forever in danger of equating their interests with the larger societal interest. This continues even when this clearly does not apply.

- Their concept of truth seems to be fragile. If a story puts them in a good light it is true. If their interests are favoured and they win, then that is the truth.

- They are indeed inveterate risk takers. They launch out where others fear to tread. They speak out about (future) profits as if they are already successfully gained, even if only in their dreams.

- Their desire for money and profits is insatiable. This easily can lead them to discount the plight of lower workers and the unemployed. In Brazil the success of billionaires is enhanced by a large pool of lowly paid workers. Marx’s analysis is exemplified in the Brazilian model.

- They all realize the importance of controlling the story. They inevitably take an interest in media outlets to put forward their version of reality.

- They rail against government interference, especially in regulation and tax schemes. However, at the same time they gladly receive government assistance to advance their businesses.

- Their risk taking can lead them into the possibility of massive debts. However, this is often done with other peoples leveraged funds. They can even turn bankruptcies into rebounding successes using government policies to help failed businesses.

- One would think that billionaires would give heavily to philanthropies. Some do (i.e. Gates, Buffett) but the second class of billionaires are notable in how little they actually give.

- They seem to live in an expanding universe. In a finite world, theirs is one of constantly expanding production.

- Profit is the driving force for these billionaires. They seen to believe that profit is the most basic driving force in nature. Profit works better for them when inequality is the highest.

- These billionaires have a difficult time understanding the larger world environment. They live in a world of increasing profit which gives them control in their isolated world view. The larger global environment which can ultimately torpedo their financial world is often beyond their grasp.

- I don’t know if the billionaire class fear anything. They have developed a vast societal network that reinforces and isolates their world view. Should this ever collapse they would be in trouble. However, if history is any guide, after a sudden collapse, without careful preparation of a better world order, the same capitalistic dominated world order can emerge. Nevertheless, massive street protests and violent revolution can give them a fearful pause.