The Truth Behind “Self-Made” Billionaires | Robert Reich

Elon Musk’s father owned shares in an emerald mine in Africa.
Bill Gates’ mom helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM.
Jeff Bezos’ garage-based start was funded by a quarter-million dollar investment from his parents.
“Self-made billionaires” are a myth.
Watch More: Here’s What It’s Like Having $100 Billion vs. $1 Billion ►► • Here’s What It’s Like ...

[@zoyadulzura7490]

4:03 "Billionaires are not made by rugged individuals. They're made by policy failures. And a system that rewards wealth over work." 👈

[@ilovetech8341]

You have to reward wealth over work. There is already too much useless made up bullshit jobs. Just imagine if more was rewarded. On the other hand... wealth is just wealth. Gold is gold. Pretty hard to fake gold and land.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Elon musk puts in seven day work weeks without him telsa would not have survived and thousands of jobs would have been lost Democrats party of handouts vote out handout Democrats before it's to late our childrens future depend on it

[@georgesheffield1580]

A prof I had ( finance class ) said the easiest way to make a million dollars is to start with two million dollars.

[@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj]

I heard that too.

[@georgesheffield1580]

That's how the Bush's, daddy and Bubba made it .

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Or go to college become an orthopedic surgeon which pays enormously good of course democrats would take most of your money away for handouts to the less educated

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Over ninety percent of the rich did not inherit there wealth and the top five percent in two thousand twenty two paid sixty percent of the federal taxes Democrats party of handouts

[@ElonHusky]

great but they made those 2 million from scratch

[@annefitz7346]

Corporate greed is off the rails. Then they spend millions or more to fight unions. Such hypocrites. Make them pay their part. Thx Professor. You’re the best

[@GenerationX1984]

Even though I don't make a lot of money I'd donate a freaking kidney just to support groups the sue the union busters ans sue them good. I really despise union busting. It's near the top of my hate list.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

People can boycott and destroy any corporation - but the word "boycott" is never mentioned anywhere.

[@peterbullen4956]

has capitalism failed yet?

[@GenerationX1984]

@@peterbullen4956 It fails when people trust corporations to do the right thing. Trust. What a stupid attribute.

[@robertmoore-vn2su]

@@peterbullen4956 No....it's the best, most equitable system yet. Is it Socialism, Communism and the 'Lite' version of those- unions- you are thinking of? They fail and always will. Visit Detroit if you think Unions work. Why would a smart person want some 'committee' to decide their working conditions?

[@hamburgermatty]

Still can’t wrap my head around the “wealthy” sports team owners who use public funds to build stadiums. 😂

[@ianalan4367]

The argument (or reason cities claim) is the revenue generated are worth the price the city pays. Even if that’s true I still say BS.

[@hamburgermatty]

@@ianalan4367 yeah, I mean still… really don’t find it fair that we as taxpayers have to front money for something that does a “billionaire” a favor. Shoot, they can afford it.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

@@hamburgermatty They can print all the money they need - your taxes add up to very little - you are taxed in order to keep you broke.

[@travelwell8098]

what I can't wrap my head around is that the people allow that kind of thing to happen

[@evilsharkey8954]

@@artandarchitecture6399 not as often as you might think. The owners also threaten to move the local teams to another state if they don’t get their free stadium, too.

[@montecristo1845]

That’s why I’m so damned tired of those stories about immigrant grandparents or great-grandparents who claim they “came to this country with less than five dollars in their pocket but within a few years owned a company.” I’m like, “Okay, either it was REALLY easy to succeed back then, or you’re leaving some major details out of the story.”

[@matt2027]

Part of the lie is that their immigrant ancestor was poor. Very few of those immigrants were, after all they were wealthy enough to afford passage. They were mostly middle-class-ish, not rich, but relatively well off and skilled in a trade, which they leveraged once they got here. But of course people love telling the rags-to-riches story because it sounds good.

[@icyx9268]

@@matt2027 exactly this is why it is complex with migrants it is like getting most times another systematic white bootlicker that wants the system to stay the same oppressive

[@icyx9268]

its all random wealth distribution if you are still unconscious to that with all of the resources and ability for cognative freedom you have and dont know that your just beyond brainwashed you know in WWII they made the japanese "leader" or king or whatever titles he gives himself through abuse of technological advancment made by other ppl to legitimise himself and maximise his control make ppl feel like there are much bigger structures above them to keep them in isolation and incompetance believing whatever lies they feed them out of the mind structuring of having blind belief in power as the only option mind structure they are put into inescapably and directed told to go into a path of survival of which they are unconsciously being hereded into and is all they know and slowly become an isolated dehumanised slave to a robotic entity of destruction for sustainment for a singular mans power who they through technological advancment of a never seen before magnitude and abuse of it brainwashed to believe he is some sort of god when in reality he was just a toddler little brat warlord who went a did a bunch of evil sh*t and scared everyone into submission until he got his hands on technological advancment of which he used and abused for further consentration of power and destruction of humanity anyways whatever you get the point they made him admit that he wasn't some megasized god that could stomp mountains through abuse of technological advancment through hiajacking with violence to propagate and consentrate waste humans minds put them into a state of incompetance into blind subserviancy belief in the god by putting him besides the leader of usa if china came over and dominated us with there authoritarianism they'd likely do the same they'd dominate our authoritarianism of which we've suffered under the illusions it propages as a justification for itself and in ppls incompetance so they with there authoritarianism come and dominate our authoritarianism and make billionaires say workers work 10x as hard in a day than in there entitled corrupt handed to them lives and that hard work isn't even remotely a metric of reality or substance in the structuring of this system based fueled on degeneration and self destruction and that everyone suffered for nothing under an illusion a lie we propagated and were inescapably able to get you into herd you socially cultural conditioning into a state of incompetance and behavioral charactoristics and prioratisation and basing your life around what we wanted if they came in authoritarianised our authoritarianism and dominated our authoritarianism into submission of there authoritarianism that wouldn't be so bad

[@mikesteelheart]

I think honestly that sorta thing was really only possible if you shined shoes for some mafia boss in the 1920's or 30's and he liked you enough to give you a shot. In that sort of situation it would be possible to prove yourself and work up the ranks from "rags to riches". Also before the 70's it was way easier to start brick and mortar businesses with less competition, fewer regulations, less ethical treatment of workers, etc. Nowadays it would be nearly impossible for most people to start some thriving business from nothing in the middle of Chicago or NYC...

[@eddapultstab2078]

You also have to remember that hundred years ago 5 dollars was considered alot of money. The average wage was in the 10s of cents a day so basically the translation is I had a at minimum a months wages at the time. Then that person probably never mention the departments and family members that may have assisted him in getting a job to make the money needed to achieve "the dream" or the economic policies the government did at the time, the new deal was and fdr really set up the ground work for the middle and lower class prosperity. But I'm still stuck on I wish 5 bucks could last me a month........

[@johnspence8141]

My brother does this all the time. He’s a millionaire with no kids. He leaves out the part where our mom paid 7 years of his education.

[@Hiltok]

He may have forgotten the sage advice, "No man is an island entire unto himself ..." Whatever great business a person might create that makes them a big pile of money, the big pile of money only comes if there are sufficient numbers of other people with money to spend. Same story is true of genius artists, unless they hitch their wagons to patronage from the already very wealthy.

[@Aikidoman06]

@@Hiltok that’s defeatist nonsense

[@Aikidoman06]

But the story would be the same if he took out student loans right? Maybe you’re a little jelly?

[@AquilaCat]

@@Aikidoman06 possibly, but not likely. 7 years is easily over $100,000. If his mother hadn't covered that, then he'd be paying on that as soon as he graduated. If he didn't land a very well paying job right out the gate, then he'd be paying every month while huge amounts of interest accrued and he'd probably still be paying that off. College being paid for absolutely gave him leeway to save or invest his money after graduating.

[@Aikidoman06]

@@AquilaCat he could have easily served in the Peace Corps or military to pay for school. If you are going to what if all day. I have three degrees; GI Bill paid for the first one and a semester of grad school. I paid out of pocket for the remainder of my masters and all of my PhD. The point is it wouldn’t matter how it was paid for; it’s the student that earns the degree. Had I taken loans it would have been a car payment level bill, so my life would hardly be any different

[@user-qm1wc7dc8t]

I’ve been saying this for years. “Self-made” millionaires and billionaires are a fallacy. Wealth is built in the backs of other human beings.

[@bera0014]

Disagree, a millionaire can be an average person who worked in a good job, saved and invested well. A couple of million doesn't mean you stood on anyone. Billionaires however, we agree...

[@jackcarraway4707]

​@@bera0014Ronald Read is a case example of this. Guy built a $9m fortune and worked as a gas station attendant and janitor.

[@stephengrover9406]

What do you think the Biden family is doing ? Jabroni!

[@radar0412]

Democrats voted for tax breaks for Billionaires three times. Once for Trump, twice for GW Bush. Oops. 😂

[@shermcat1]

Reich is no doubt a millionaire.

[@sirrellphillips6509]

Their greed is insane. Yet most people don't want to be billionaires. The rest of is just want to live comfortably. Pay our bills, own a home, being able to take care of our families and still have some money left to enjoy life. Not working 2-3 jobs and feeling stressed.

[@nedegt1877]

Very true, a comfortable life should be the basic norm for everyone on this planet. That will solve 90% of the world's problems.

[@johntashjian3926]

I’m living a comfortable life and I am very happy that most of these billionaires have changed the world for the better. They are not taking money from anyone. Want to be comfortable? Get off your ass, work a good profession and save and invest. Focus on yourself . It’s pretty simple.

[@atomiccritter6492]

@@nedegt1877 hasn't there been a survey that showed that people are basically ok if they have 6000 dollars in savings ...a nice little buffer to deal with life's curveballs

[@nedegt1877]

@@atomiccritter6492 That is true, in fact 90% of the world's problems can be solved easily if peoples had that. Sometimes I feel like I'm from another planet. Because it's only logical to me that a lot of problems are caused by the way the money system is manipulated. It doesn't make sense. Humans can design and build all kinds of complex systems, perform impossible calculations, navigate the cosmos and all. And you tell me they can't implement a more intelligent system to live by? You don't fool me; this world is run by crooks!

[@bbb_888]

If you have a billion dollars, you can live comfortably, pay bills, own several homes, take care of family, and still have some left over.

[@enricogattone432]

The boss comes at the office with a brand new Lamborghini. When all of his employees gather to admire it, he stands and tell them: "If for the whole of this year, each and any of you will work very very hard, next year I'll be able to buy me another one"

[@enricogattone432]

@@artandarchitecture6399 I would point out something, though... How many people do you know that went from "doing that same job" to buying Lamborghinis? It may have been possible in the 70s or the 80s, but I don't know if it happened with any appreciable frequency in the last 30 years...

[@billmcc64]

What a great boss. You must love working for him.

[@irkhanbasc]

And then some time later, he’s wondering who keyed his Lambo.

[@Opus313]

Most money is made off the hard work of others from their employees to the infrastructure they use, but don't want to pay taxes for...

[@jhegre]

@@Zach-ju5vi "they didn't personally profit" LOL Wanna buy a bridge Zach?

[@tuberific454]

@@Zach-ju5vi You're right it's because they don't show profits on paper, but that's due to loopholes engineered by lobbyists over decades. Bezos pays an effective 0% tax rate on his $140B per IRS documents released by Propublica, which wouldn't be the case without loopholes. This is why the Inflation Reduction Act included a minimum corporate tax rate that even bipartisan analysts agree was long overdue. Former hedge fund executive Morris Pearl has written extensively about this topic.

[@IMPOTUSx2]

@@Zach-ju5vi or little or virtually none at all that you know, they find many ways to evade paying taxes...but you DO know that huh, traitor?

[@IMPOTUSx2]

@@tuberific454 don't bother...the pro-greed/pro-russian qult45 traitor loves to troll on every sensible topic reich is talking about...& it stinks.

[@RobinHerzig]

@@tuberific454 Bingo + thanx for shouting out ProPublica 👏

[@jibrilamvs]

The fact these billionaires became even richer during the Covid pandemic is utterly insane. We scrounge around for any kind of assistance and they take it in like any other typical Tuesday afternoon.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

That's a good thing Amazon provided online shopping during the pandemic comeing in real handy during the shutdown due to the pandemic Amazon made money during the pandemic by providing a valuable service

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Would you rather Amazon have shut down during the pandemic depriving people of online shopping during the pandemic

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Are you saying Amazon should have shut down online shopping during the pandemic if not then what's insane about them makeing a profit by providing a valuable service during the pandemic

[@jbspaintanddetailing7696]

@@fritzforsthoefel8031 The problem is that the companies are willing to put peoples lives at risk without paying any reward.

[@roodine100]

No wonder Amazon, Google and Facebook were for the lockdowns and blasted Trump!

[@tgsiii2179]

As Reagan once said, "A rising tide lifts all boats". Unfortunately.......few of us own yachts or even a rowboat.

[@glennhecker4422]

The Reagan-style "rising tide" lifts all YACHTS.

[@finnmcool2]

I still can't believe people believe the idiocy that businesses hire people just because their profit margin increased. Businesses hire only enough people to meet demand. You want to create jobs? Increase demand by creating more customers. You do that by giving people that don't have it enough money to buy things.

[@mahlina1220]

But that would require too much critical thinking.. Greedy people only see everything in life in terms of short term greed and long term “power.” Even at the expense of a habitable planet.

[@finnmcool2]

First, cutting corporate taxes hasn't created jobs in the past, why would you believe it would in the future? Second, if higher wages doesn't lead to increased inflation in all the countries that have living minimum wages why do you believe it would in the US? Third, policy should always be based on reality, not talking points.

[@lamiagumbo]

@@Zach-ju5vi Oh sweetheart! This topic is a little too complicated for your little brain, you really need to run along and go play with your big trucks before you get a headache :) . Inflation is caused by companies raising prices in relation to demand, they don't HAVE to, they merely choose to. Now you let the adults talk about this before you get hurt. Here's an adult to explain things to you so you don't embarrass yourself further: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYuapXiZatlgjck kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJqXfIB5htqEj6c

[@icyx9268]

@@mahlina1220 exactly

[@finnmcool2]

@@Zach-ju5vi Let me give you an example. In Australia the minimum wage is about twice that in the US. A McDonalds Big Mac costs 15 cents more. Inflation can be greatly curtailed if corporate executive salaries go from 900 times the average wage of the corporation to, say 700. If you want to know how actions play out in the real world actually looking at the real world is a great start. Another great example is the US. When the minimum wage was enacted that wage had a great deal more buying power than it does now, it was an actual living wage. What followed was one of the greatest economic booms in our countries history. Wages went up, economic activity increased, wealth was generated. It might help you to remember that money always flows up, every time someone buys something it goes to a wealthier person. It's no sin to let the poor folk use it before it gets to a billionaire. Oh, and I'm not struggling with indoctrination. It's all those business management courses that went on and on about managing staffing levels and not pissing away money just because your margins rise a little. Utility costs fluctuate too, but you don't hire and fire based on them. Staffing levels are regulated by the businesses need for labor. Which is regulated by demand for whatever you are selling. Business are there to make a profit, you don't do that by spending all the profits needlessly. Although, to be frank, bloated salaries and bonuses at the top are wasted expenses from the point of view of the corporation and it's shareholders. If some of payroll gets shifted downstairs the worst that will happen is productivity will rise. People that are one minor infection away from homelessness don't do their jobs very well.

[@mariaschumacher5246]

Thank you! Been saying for years that there is no such thing as self made

[@jsebby2284]

Over 70% of billionaires are self made.

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi Same old MAGA cultist logic from this channels Mr. Sandman, Ambien Zach..

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi Nothing ever changes from this channels corporate bootlicking sedative troll, Ambien Zach the cure for insomnia. Again you are triggered by anyone who agrees with the great Professor Reich's fact filled videos that set off your derangement for everyone to see, you poor sick little man.

[@geraltrivia6148]

@@jsebby2284 Name one.

[@jsebby2284]

@@geraltrivia6148 mark Zuckerberg

[@charlottewalker5811]

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[@robertgorin1002]

Opportunity is a scarce commodity. I will partake in this; there’s no limit to what you can achieve in life (including success) if you put your mind to it. Luckily I stumble into this.

[@Shari466]

Thank you Robert for speaking the truth. I'm tired of all the fairy tales we've been told for decades.

[@seand2328]

I can't help but nod in agreement with much of what Dr. Reich is saying, but the ethos he describes is true of we Americans in general. We're the richest nation on earth, home to the richest people on earth. Our richest people avoid paying their taxes to take care of their country, and Americans more broadly turn a blind eye to the people around the world making all the stuff we enjoy for pennies on the dollar. We're a country with a waning sense of purpose and responsibility.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

You are misinformed the top five percent pay over half the federal taxes do your homework before commenting democrats party of handouts

[@firstconsul001]

Most of the billionaires come from humble beginnings and working class families. They were privileged in some ways but weren't the significantly privileged. Examples include : Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffet, David Rubinstein, Larry Ellison, Stephen Shwartzmen, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Ralph Lauren, Jan Koum, George Soros, Steve Jobs, Carl Icahn, Howard Shultz and many MANY more. All most all the people I listed and most others didn't receive significant funds from their parents and they were from families of middle class or lower. Your argument with Warren Buffet not doing on it himself was also very far from the truth. His father was a congressman but was not wealthy, he owned a small brokerage firm in Omaha and lost all most everything he had in the Great Depression of 28. All most every single dollar warren buffet invested was earned through the various jobs he worked and other side hustles he conducted. (source : The Snowball : Warren Buffet and the business of life). You are just another jealous guy, very demotivating man. "Behind every ten figure net worth..." is that so huh, well then tell me, what inheritance did people like Larry Ellison, , David Rubenstien, Howard Schultzand multiple such other billionaire get??? I think you are just another jealous person, who wants to demotivate the emerging youth...

[@johnchessant3012]

"There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own - nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police-forces and fire-forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory - and hire someone to protect against this - because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless - keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along." - Elizabeth Warren, 2012

[@timmmahhhh]

One of the best speeches ever. I have this video as one of my KZbin favorites.

[@dm121984]

I had not heard that speech before and it sounds great. Nicely highlights the boost that the rich got in the first place; the things they don't want to have to pay for now.

[@patriciarouse2801]

You forgot the immune systems " to weak" to survive massacre for hundreds of years.

[@PvblivsAelivs]

Here's the thing. The Reich and his followers do not want the creators of those great ideas to keep a great chunk of them. In all likelihood, Ms. Warren doesn't either. When he talks about billionaires not paying their "fair share," there is no amount that will satisfy him. He will always want to take more. Those billionaires _do_ pay taxes. They didn't hire workers "the rest of us" paid to educate. They were subject to property taxes, too -- both on their homes and on their factories. Think they didn't pay for that infrastructure? Think again. That was paid for though gas taxes they paid at the pump like everybody else. The Reich talks specifically about "federal income tax" because it is misleading. There are a lot of taxes that they still pay. But they run their finances through legal frameworks not in their own names and pay taxes largely through those same frameworks. The Reich, and his followers, simply pretend that the money somehow counts but the payments don't. The Reich and Ms. Warren, along with several others, are seeking to acquire power for themselves by giving you people to hate. They can't produce anything of value themselves, even a great idea. They only know how tor take. It is true that billionaires used resources provided by the government. They also paid into them. But the Reich wants you to hate them because they "have too much." Well, do you want to know how they got to have so much? People like you _paid_ them for providing goods and services you wanted. Now, you turn around and say, effectively, that you don't want them to have any benefit from that. You are rewriting the "social contract" to say that they have to give up everything, and then you still won't be satisfied.

[@nerfherder4284]

100% the rich use our infrastructure WAY more than the average American.

[@saxyrep1]

There will unfortunately always be a large swath of people who either won't see/believe it and will actively defend the system that generates billionaires out of hope they'll be one of them one day.

[@vinsanity40k]

poor (and stupid) american: you're just promoting class warfare! 🙄

[@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj]

There is NO Republican that can TRUTHFULLY SAY that ANYTHING Professors Reich and Chomsky say is NOT TRUE!

[@jsebby2284]

Can't see something that doesn't exist. 70% of billionaires are self made. Reich is just lying as usual

[@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj]

@@jsebby2284 How did you arrive at 70% of the billionaires are self made men/women? BTW, there is nothing wrong with receiving help. Name a credible source. If I am wrong, I am the first to admit it.

[@jsebby2284]

@@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj it's from Forbes. KZbin doesn't allow links unfortunately

[@Adones09]

Just remembered an article/study that CEO's "work hard all day!". Something like 3 breakfast meetings, 2 lunch meetings and 3 dinner meetings! Whew, tough day stuffing your faces!

[@jaredoliver8684]

'If you safety net to joining the billionaire class is remaining upper class, that's not pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Nor is failing to pay your fair share of taxes along the way.' - Robert Reich'

[@Craxin01]

Hey, I'm not against a CEO being wealthy. I'm against a CEO taking everyone else's hard-earned money for themselves. We do the lion's share of the work, they take more than the lion's share of the money. They're like dragons hoarding treasure and need to be dealt with the exact same way. Greed destroys everything.

[@XOguitargurlOX]

We need to adopt Donkey's strategy and seduce them! But how do we prevent them from falling in love with us?

[@jsebby2284]

CEOs don't take everybody's hard earned money for themselves

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

then you're against rich people. they're mutually exclusive propositions

[@dudeonbike800]

@@jsebby2284 au contraire! How wrong you are. Systemic theft of American wages couldn't be more obvious. Here are some facts: The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90%-And That's Made the U.S. Less Secure By Nick Hanauer and David M. Rolf September 14, 2020 9:30 AM EDT Hanauer is an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist, the founder of the public-policy incubator Civic Ventures, and the host of the podcast Pitchfork Economics. Rolf is Founder and President Emeritus of SEIU 775 and the author of The Fight for Fifteen (New Press, 2016) Like many of the virus’s hardest hit victims, the United States went into the COVID-19 pandemic wracked by preexisting conditions. A fraying public health infrastructure, inadequate medical supplies, an employer-based health insurance system perversely unsuited to the moment-these and other afflictions are surely contributing to the death toll. But in addressing the causes and consequences of this pandemic-and its cruelly uneven impact-the elephant in the room is extreme income inequality. How big is this elephant? A staggering $50 trillion. That is how much the upward redistribution of income has cost American workers over the past several decades. This is not some back-of-the-napkin approximation. According to a groundbreaking new working paper by Carter C. Price and Kathryn Edwards of the RAND Corporation, had the more equitable income distributions of the three decades following World War II (1945 through 1974) merely held steady, the aggregate annual income of Americans earning below the 90th percentile would have been $2.5 trillion higher in the year 2018 alone. That is an amount equal to nearly 12 percent of GDP-enough to more than double median income-enough to pay every single working American in the bottom nine deciles an additional $1,144 a month. Every month. Every single year. time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/ Rand Report: www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html Time Summary: time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/

[@nedegt1877]

Exactly!! Well said!!

[@Onodera1980]

In the Office, Ryan says "everybody wants to be a millionaire, but nobody wants to work for it". Funny thing is, nobody "works" for it. You don't work your 9-5 job and become a millionaire.

[@atomiccritter6492]

Most rich people inherited their wealth

[@HistoricLife]

I'm a millionaire and I work a 9-5 job. I am just a high wage worker doing programming. I however was already middle class, my dad having a union job that could send me to higher education at a time before the GOP privatized the student loans and skyrocketed the price of education. This is why I am a progressive, I got lucky and I know it.

[@joshstewart1649]

I’ve never excepted the self made label. No one, I repeat, no one is self made. Even if you originated an idea and did a lot of the leg work to get things going someone at some point helped you take it to the next level. Someone invested in your idea or company, someone advised you along the way, someone inspired you or supported you or made it easier for you to focus more of your time and energy into it. Maybe it was a parent, a friend, a spouse or someone else but for some reason the we give all the credit to the person at the top and almost no credit to anyone else involved in making a company successful.

[@zedmonopoly..]

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[@Ammo-Hoarder]

No worries for me, I don't try to time the market. When I see that stock drops below its fair value with some margin of safety - I buy. Past 2-3 months have been huge shopping spree for me. I've got literally like 2000$ left of investing cash. Probably I will miss some occasions in the future months, but who cares as long as I got value?

[@Americanpatriot723]

You also have to look at the balance of your portfolio too. Not be over invested in one stock, I have made that mistake too but I fluke a good result! Never again, but I have a much bigger pot now.

[@MatthewVinson]

Agreed i like this mentality. You can never time the bottom but if you're getting good value, take it and in the long term you'll be rewarded :) . Personally I’m always invested because the financial-market for me seem the only way forward with my long time horizon (accrued ROI of over $200k since 2020 )but if you don’t have that fortune of time it’s a tough market out there almost nowhere feels safe!

[@elizabethyork590]

@@MatthewVinson You inspire me, I've only just started over the last couple of months. I've been doing plenty of research. In fact I'm really enjoying the aspect of learning and researching. $200k is a milestone, what’s your approach?

[@MatthewVinson]

No doubt, the stock market is definitely the most awkward teenager with the wildest mood swings! I began with a pundit by name "LISA ELLEN SHAW". Her approach is transparent allowing total ownership and control over my position and fees are very reasonable in comparison with my ROI.

[@elizabethyork590]

@@MatthewVinson I looked up LISA using her full name and found her reachout-page, read through her resume, educational background, qualifications and it was really impressive. She is a fiduciary who will act in my best interest. So, I booked a session with her

[@davidritchie1272]

Note that the that well-known expression "pull(ing) yourself up by the bootstraps" is nearly always misunderstood. It is a description of the impossible, i.e. defying gravity which can't be done.

[@Trixie_Lavender]

Comparing "self made billionaires" to unicorns is highly offensive! You should apologize to the unicorns

[@SharienGaming]

yeah unicorns at least exist as the national animal of scotland

[@jsebby2284]

@@SharienGaming and self made billionaires also exist

[@jsebby2284]

70% of billionaires are self made

[@SharienGaming]

@@jsebby2284 no they dont - they all came from pre-existing significant wealth combined with massive worker exploitation they did not make themselves or earn it - they were rich and then proceeded to steal more

[@brucebasile5083]

@@jsebby2284 You are the poster boy for the phrase, " Figures lie and liars figure", pal..

[@MrSupernova111]

First time watching your channel. Love it! I've been saying this for a long time but most Americans vote against their own best interest while they worship the very people to who hold society as debt slaves. Great job! Thanks!

[@erc3456]

Exactly, voting repubicKKKan is the way to maintain all this abuse of power through policies that protect them and make them more powerful, destroying democracy in the process.

[@gzayas08]

Hard work never goes to waste, it always get's exploited.

[@jimmytimmy3680]

They become obscenly wealthy from the exploitation of their employees and the real wealth the working class produce.

[@NinjaLobsterStudios]

@@Zach-ju5vi You have merely contradicted the author by using a different definition of the word "exploitation". Whether or not the worker agreed to the terms of employment is not the meaning of the term "exploitation" in this context. Here "exploitation" refers to an economic phenomenon. The monetary value of a employee's output is higher than the monetary value of their compensation, and this difference is retained by the employer. If you would like to argue that this is okay, good, just, etc then go ahead and make the case for why this private accrual of wealth is a good thing in a democratic society. Otherwise you can hardly make a convincing argument.

[@IMPOTUSx2]

@@Zach-ju5vi yeah yeah says the traitor that sucks off to the wealthy...being pulled his strings!

[@tuberific454]

@@Zach-ju5vi 53% of inflation over the past two years is directly tied to corporate profits while increased labor costs account for only 8%. Meanwhile, the increase in median household income was "statistically insignificant" per the census bureau, while CEO salaries increased by 18%, an average increase of $2.8M. As former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly says in his recent book, an extreme ideology of profits over people overtook the US business model starting in the mid-70s, transforming what used to be a goal of creating jobs and national prosperity into one that undermines domestic innovation and long-term growth.

[@tuberific454]

@@Zach-ju5vi Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the greatest killer of jobs over the decades has been the swallowing up of small businesses by large conglomerates. The 2017 tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy with no new job creation gave corporations the leverage to buy up competitors, helping to create the oligopolistic market conditions we see today, and which are a textbook driver of inflation. That is, in econ 101 a lack of competition causes arbitrary price hikes. The point is that in a healthy capitalist market, the nation and its people share in the prosperity of their labors, but the data shows the opposite to be the case.

[@icyx9268]

and stealing other ideas and also producing products of destruction and degeneracy well atleast in case of elon musk psychological labour of his fans having blind belief reliant in a state of incompetance but for the rest of them this applies degenerating other ppls ideas into mass production of degeneration of which the already astablished previous system is prone to and of which a couple mediocre losers apealed and degenerated ruined this technological advancment for further incompetance degeneration for immediate power and profit and enabling even further incompetances idiots to make a bunch of be handed a bunch of money through a sliver plate that they couldn't fathem it is like watching primative mnkey on an unfathemtable technological advancment and propagate this waste this degeneracy and that they used and abused by exploiting a schemey loophoole integrating with that garbage system irresponsibly and then for that use and abuse of propagationg of degeneracy at a magnitude scale we've never seen before for immediate short turm profit and then for the lesser extent they used and abused on a very minor front line part of the plan used exploitation of workers for a product that shouldn't even exist and is the quickest easiest way in which this person with no appreciation has to exploit this thing they have hijacked being pout into a culture of degeneration through unconsciousness that encourages incompetance and subconsciously being herded into something you shouldn't like

[@1Kent]

Stuff you won't learn in school.

[@saxyrep1]

@@Zach-ju5vi From one of the people who cheered on when their overlords coined the term "alternative facts" that's rich.

[@jhegre]

@@Zach-ju5vi You’re not fact based. Doze back into your Ayn Rand fantasy land.

[@IMPOTUSx2]

@@Zach-ju5vi that's because you're a poor deluded soul...

[@michaelolson291]

@@Zach-ju5vi Tr011 much, Zach?!

[@jsebby2284]

@@saxyrep1 the only alternative facts here is coming from Reich. 70% of billionaires are self made

[@dougstarwalt8984]

As a young boy I didn't understand my grandmother's reference to 'Fat Cats'. Now, as I near retirement, seeing savings losses mount and inequity rampant, I know what she meant. Then I thought her a radical. Now I see she was clear sighted. Thank you Robert!

[@X_TheHuntsman_X]

There is no "upper middle class." There is only the working class and the owning class. They can lie and say they work, but their work is a text while on a yacht trip. That's the ultimate difference.

[@Aloyz3n]

it's true that tech giants have all started in the garages, shame most Americans can't afford a house with a garage...

[@adamchristopher6917]

I'd be happy to afford a garage, let alone a house. ^^;

[@lordeverybody872]

I'm happy to be able to afford living in a slum in middle america

[@toomuchdata]

the easiest way to make a lot of money is to start by having a lot of money.

[@sparky2995]

LOVE IT! Been working nights, overtime, and going to school for my bachelor's and master's degree. Can't even afford no buy a home without using my VA loan benefit. Still going to wait for the housing collapse but as someone who comes from a poor family with limited resources. No one is going to help you but yourself! College should be free and there should be price caps on tuition...just another way to keep you as an indentured servant and keep your liquidity at a minimum. God forbid you want to start your own business and be your own boss.

[@JimHabash]

Robert, can you explain the history of how overtime rules got changed in the US? As an hourly worker in the 80s early 90s, I used to get OT for anything after 8 hours worked. Sometime that changed by the 2000s to where the only state that still pays this way is California. Take for example this last labor day week- a perfect sad example that includes "Labor Day". I had worked 50 hours from Tuesday to Saturday. Yet until I got over 48 hours worked for the week I only got 2 hours overtime due that labor day was a holiday and that doesn't count towards the 40 hour work week. In fact I worked Saturday but still didn't get any overtime until I crested ABOVE the 48 hrs worked level. I am scheduled Monday - Friday, every week as a robotics service engineer in healthcare. This changed for me under the same rules in 2009, so I'm guessing some house representatives introduced legislation to change the rules that used to apply in the early 90s when I used to get OT after 8 hours worked and double time on holidays. Those days are gone. I assume the house changed it in the days of Newt Gingrich, and the Senate confirmed it into law. Can you explain the history of this to us? It would make a FABULOUS video. Thanks, Jim in Ohio.

[@gund89123]

I don’t know nothing about over time. If labor day was holiday then work week should be 32 hours and anything more than 32 hours should be overtime? It doesn’t work that way ?

[@down-to-earth-mystery-school]

I know a tiny bit about this. In the 2000s, laws were enacted that created a new category of employee ‘salaried’, which gave an overtime exemption to anyone who is supervising other employees or performing a technical or administrative type job. That allowed employers to demand that workers put in more than 40 hours for no more pay. The only ones who are protected now by overtime laws are ‘hourly’ front-line workers. Most of the jobs I held since then, expected 45-50 hours/week as the norm

[@bridgetbecker8589]

It started when Reagan broke PATCO, the

[@craigbrowning9448]

Part of this rags riches in America story comes from an author named Horatio Alger, a failed Unitarian minister (lost the gig from getting sexually out of line with a couple of teenage boys) who leader reinvented himself as a novelist. A key point to a lot of his stories was a troubled teenage boy that was rescued by a wealthy older man.

[@benjaminchylla5212]

Disturbing

[@JaimeGarcia-pe7bj]

You stated the truth.

[@rickb3650]

@@artandarchitecture6399 No, it didn't. You're trying to sell the lie that you swallowed because, either couldn't be bothered to look into it for yourself, or deliberately avoided learning the truth to rationalize your own questionable actions. "If I didn't do it somebody else would have" and "Everybody does it" are the most common rationalizations.

[@jacksonray3596]

@@rickb3650 “learning the truth”, there are currently 32.5 million small businesses in America. They are created by ordinary people. This hatred of “the wealthy” is fueled by nothing but anger and jealousy. If they are paying their workers too little, the workers don’t have to work there. If they are selling their product for too much, you don’t have to buy their product. It’s that simple.

[@vg2448]

@@artandarchitecture6399 my grandfather was an immigrant that lived in poverty and started a business. He sold the business to a rich man and managed to live as middle-class. He never became rich. He had to continue working throughout his life and went from middle middle-class to lower middle-class to lower class over a span of living in the USA for 80 years. This nation bled him back into poverty after rising him to a basic standard of living. There is no immigrant that became rich on hard work. Just struggles of maintaining the wealth we acquire. He did everything correct in the end. But the nation decided to screw him over in his final decades with healthcare costs.

[@eaphantom9214]

Born rich - Die rich Born poor - die poor Yes, the likes of the uber rich people we're well aware of like to portray they had humble beginnings and every1 can make it to their level, if they work tirelessly for years on end! - Reality Check : It sugar coats their reputation and skewers the dark truth - as seen in this video 😐😑

[@ericb.4358]

montecristo is CORRECT. I used to hear Filipino doctors, attorneys and engineers say, "I came to this country with nothing and built my own success." I was "damned tired of hearing these stories" too and told them what they started with. They came here with college degrees from prestigious Filipino universities PAID FOR BY THIER DADDIES. I however, as a native-born citizen, worked and loaned my way through college and paid the loans off over several years of scrimping.

[@ShadeandShadow4ever]

Darn right! You tell 'em!

[@terrisewell4729]

Building wealth involves developing good habits like regularly putting money away in intervals for solid investments. Financial management is a crucial topic that most tend to shy away from, and ends up haunting them in the near future. Putting our time and effort in activities and investments that will yield a profitable return in the future is what we should be aiming for. Success depends on the actions or steps you take to achieve it. "You're not going to remember those expensive shoes you bought ten years ago, but you will remember every single morning when you look at your bank account that extra 0 in there. I promise, that's going to be way more fun to look at everyday", I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life too. 🙏🙏🙏

[@perefeghaandrew8076]

you've remind me of what someone once said "The mind is the man, the poor is in it and the rich is it too". This sentence is the secret of most successful investors. I once attended similar and ever since then been waxing strong financially, and i most tell you the truth..investment is the key that can secure your family future.

[@philippine6168]

Starting early is the best way of getting ahead to build wealth, investing remains a priority. I learnt from my last year's experience, i am able to build a suitable life because I invested early ahead this time.

[@johnalex4006]

I urge everyone to start somewhere now no matter how small, this is literally the time for that, forget material things, don't get tempted,i became more better the moment i realized this.

[@Soboj-oy8me]

yeah investment is the key to sustaining your financial longevity but venturing into any legitimate Investment without a proper guidance of an expert can lead to a great loss too

[@philominafashi1662]

exactly! That's my major concern and what kind of profitable business or investment can someone do with the current rise in economic downturn

[@lillywho]

Calling them unicorns is actually a right fit for Musk. His sort of insecurity, he'd definitely have them surgically attach a phallic metaphor to his forehead.

[@jsebby2284]

You need some help

[@ajulrich1072]

Hahaha! Right?

[@brucebasile5083]

@@jsebby2284 Typical projection from another corporate bootlicking troll..

[@colincheck6659]

there is a saying. when someone tells you that they became rich from hard work ask them whose?

[@pandoraeeris7860]

The two most important factors to success are social connections and emotional resilience.

[@atomiccritter6492]

Being born into a wealthy family is the surest way

[@johnspence8141]

It’s the old “a small million dollar loan from my father” story

[@RobinHerzig]

🎯 So glad this channel has a pretty good following. Lotsa channels try, but very few get the info out far + wide enough as here, or maybe the Gravel Inst or Richard Wolff but we all gotta try + spread this knowledge - handy to have it in the video description too 👏

[@Tommy_Mac]

The billionaires club is populated by real life Scrooges. We are being Scrooged.

[@Tommy_Mac]

@@Zach-ju5vi I am, unlike you, troll.

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi Triggered again huh Ambien Zach? Your Reich derangement is out of control.. hahaha

[@Tommy_Mac]

@@artandarchitecture6399 says who?

[@memonk11]

Every rich kid I ever met always said they made it on their own. The rich kid's lament.

[@jacobfinder7476]

True... I worked in the High-line and Exotic car business for 45 years. I know and have met many Billionaires. Not one of them came from nothing. All BS

[@jonathanellis6097]

Sure some of the people who have vast fortunes did have to put the work in and take opportunity's when the presented themselves, what these people don't understand is most never get the opportunity they have been afforded. I've argued this time and again, no one is self made. Everyone gets a helping hand every now and again if they recognise it or no, but the system is rigged to give those who need the help the least the most.

[@jaegrant6441]

Plus something that isn't talked about. It was a position of privilege to have early access to the internet. When most people were either using internet cafes or sharing a computer and phone line with other house members, these tech billionaires had personal computers, dedicated phone lines for internet, etc. There's a phrase with internet success stories "it doesn't matter if you're the best, as long as you're the first." It is so true. I personally feel this disparity between early internet behemoths and the rest of the population's access to the internet will be viewed in the future as a form of redlining. If, of course, the elites allow history to be taught objectively

[@primusheating1]

Damn, he did it again. I love this man.

[@growthandunderstanding]

I'm with you!

[@jsebby2284]

Did what? Lie?

[@timmmahhhh]

It's a shame Zach and Sebby have their heads too far up Ayn Rand's posterior to figure it out.

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi The truth always triggers the Mr. Sandman of this channel, Ambien Zach the corporate bootlicker troll of this channel.....ZZZZzzzz......

[@jsebby2284]

@@timmmahhhh it's a shame you can't actually make a point so you just throw out ad hominems. And not even good ones

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

Great video, as always. These freeloading nepotism tax avoiders need to be called out and more importantly, taxed their fair share, with zero loopholes.

[@jsebby2284]

Great video where he lies? Who's avoiding taxes? What's a fair share?

[@brucebasile5083]

@@jsebby2284 Truth to all clear thinking people..

[@jsebby2284]

@@brucebasile5083 70% of billionaires are self made. So no - it's a lie to all clear thinking people living in reality. Which apparently you arent

[@brucebasile5083]

@@jsebby2284 Thanks bubba for proving my point. You are the typical corporate stooge who has never had a clear thought in their life, that the great Professor Reich triggers with his fact filled videos.. You are the poster boy for the phrase "Figures lie and liars figure".

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

@@jsebby2284 0% of billionaires are "self made" they exploit those around them and their workers to "earn" all that money while also doing everything they can to avoid paying their fair share. Literal parasites.

[@nobaloney10]

I believe that Robert Reich is doing a wonderful public service because he is able to explain it and put it in a short video that anybody could watch and learn Thank You Robert

[@PoliticalEconomy101]

(Sayer, 2015) Why We Can’t Afford the Rich (McQuaig, 2010) The Trouble with Billionaires: Why Too Much Money at the Top Is Bad (McQuaig, 2013) Billionaires’ Ball: Gluttony and Hubris (Pizzigati, 2018) The Case for a Maximum Wage (Nolan, 2017) Time to Make Life Hard for the Rich

[@growthandunderstanding]

Thank you!

[@nedegt1877]

Thank you, we really need to do something. It's getting worse every year.

[@ElonHusky]

@@nedegt1877 if you make life harder for Billionaires they'll close down their companies and went to other countries the only losers will be you fools

[@nedegt1877]

@@ElonHusky No you're the loser who keeps them rich in the first place. You don't understand what they're doing, that's why they keep doing it and make you believe you need them. LMAO

[@nedegt1877]

@@ElonHusky They keep deleting my replies because they don't want me to wake you up. But if you think I'm the loser, think again, they're not deleting my replies for nothing. You are being fooled, that's all I will say.

[@mikeodell9688]

TV shows like "Shark Tank" contribute greatly to the fantasy.

[@tarajoyce3598]

The poorest people are usually the hardest working and most generous.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Elon musk puts in seven day work weeks what are you talking about

[@tarajoyce3598]

@@fritzforsthoefel8031 Talk to some people. You really don't know? Lol Consider your self fortunate.

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

The average executive of corperations puts in sixty hour work weeks according to the labor board

[@tarajoyce3598]

@@fritzforsthoefel8031 I worked 2 full time jobs at the same time. My son works 65 to 70. No one is impressed. Most workers work at least 60 hours. They still can't make it. It's called wage gap.

[@michaelcoulter8477]

Some time ago I saw a list of the 500 richest Americans. I was encouraged that only about 40% of them inherited their wealth.

[@usaintltrade]

GREED IS NOT 🚫 A VICTIMLESS CRIME ?

[@IMPOTUSx2]

@@Zach-ju5vi so is your existence...

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi YAWN....ZZZZzzzz.....

[@ExpendableRedshirt]

The massive profits are earned by ordinary workers. That money doesn't simply get magicked into existence by the efforts of the board. The board and owners/stockholders then take the huge bulk of those profits for themselves and dole out a tiny fraction to the people who really created the wealth.

[@chenvictor8]

In a more equal society we wouldn't need as many people doing private investments like real estate and or passive income streams. A living wage should be the law of the land

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

Democrats want a livable wage healthcare paid family leave vacation time and pension and childcare so according to Democrats drop out of school get a low skilled job and live good

[@fritzforsthoefel8031]

A surgeon in NYC who goes to college maney years and works long hours and earns four hundred thousand dollars will pay between state local and federal half his money to the government and the Democrats want more

[@chrissbeausoleil2766]

They still consider it "rags to riches" when you go from millionaire to billionaire.

[@jobjob7848]

This was the utmost important video you made because the truth is to achieve their wealth they all had family money help. No way these people can build his companies working a minimum wage job slave work and achieve success that fast. I have been working so hard exhausted and have nothing getting ready to give up staying depressed but thanks to your video it gave me hope and respect back. I don't feel so bad anymore about not achieving my goals. And I'm glad all these people agree with your point of view.

[@Fiawordweaver]

Thank you

[@myronidasvestarossa]

What’s more disappointing is working class folks who work 100 hours a week will rabidly defend these billionaires as if they will be like them one day.

[@Dud-in9iu]

I've always said this that there is nobody who is genuinely self-made. It takes people mentoring you, opening doors, investing in your products/services, and even receiving handouts to grow wealth. Nobody is truly selfmade

[@thejanitorssweeps5883]

Thank you Mr Riech people need to hear the truth

[@MarcioSantos-ev4gb]

Excellent, Mr. Reich. I wish more people were aware of that!

[@zedmonopoly..]

☝️☝️ Thanks for commenting, Tell Max I referred you to him for an online opportunity business investment that will change your financial life, And make you rich

[@GhostOfMrPickles]

this is something that should be a part of all degrees: understanding economics and how they work for the average person, or more accurately, *don't* work for the average person.

[@adamrisch]

Great video, way more people need to understand this.

[@Labor_Jones]

..... you start young and the lies get bigger and bigger and BIGGER.... man, that's sad!

[@mahlina1220]

Religion- that’s how it starts.. within the family and becomes pervasive.

[@SamuelClemente7718]

Secure a GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS then you will Secure WEALTH!!! -S.C.-

[@Vort_tm]

This is a video I've been hoping you'd make for a while. Thank you.

[@ShadeandShadow4ever]

I'm so HAPPY someone has FINALLY made a video about this!!

[@robtk3]

This reminds me of the joke (?) back during the Obama years... A billionaire, a Tea Partier and a minimum wage employee are sitting at a table with a dozen doughnuts in the center. The billionaire takes eleven, turns to the Tea Partier and says "watch out, that guy is going to want some of your doughnut.".

[@sheilbwright7649]

I came to the view that most self made people, when you scratch the shiny surface, are truly awful human beings. I then asked myself why. The answer I came up with is that to make truckloads of money you need to put your acquisition of money first above every consideration that is decent family, friendship, fair play or concern for others etc.

[@jaegrant6441]

Yep! Imo, if you have amassed insane levels of wealth, you have failed in the areas of being a human. A similar vein of thought for politicians. Healthy attituded people don't want to go into politics. It takes a certain level of narcissism to want to get into politics.

[@sheilbwright7649]

@@jaegrant6441 Whilst many a politician is motivated by narcissism not all. There are good people on the left and right who go into politics out of a genuine desire to help others. The "their all awful" is the counsel of the authoritarian. A belief that politics can affect change for the better is a bedrock of democracy.

[@Yardbird_]

Thank you! Best short video ever! Pls share!!!

[@dismaldavetujunga]

loved "Billionaires are not made by rugged individuals, they are made by policy failures, and a system that rewards wealth over work". Amen!

[@kevchard5214]

In the immortal words of George Carlin 'That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.'

[@kevchard5214]

@@Zach-ju5vi So in your tiny mind if someone makes money nothing he said is worth listing to? typical stupid christian republican reaction. This is why you are a looser.

[@jsebby2284]

Unoriginal and unintelligent

[@brucebasile5083]

@@jsebby2284 More projection from another corporate bootlicker..

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi More of the same sedative blather from this channels corporate bootlicking troll.We all know him, Ambien Zach the cure for insomnia..

[@johns.7297]

The professor always tells it like it is. Thank you.

[@johns.7297]

@@Zach-ju5vi Of course, there are always examples. We should applaud their success. But most wealth in this country is inherited, not life cycle.

[@jsebby2284]

Except he lies like always. 70% of billionaires are self made

[@brucebasile5083]

@@jsebby2284 Only lies to the corporate bootlicking trolls who are triggered by the great Professor Reich..

[@johns.7297]

@@jsebby2284 Nobody is "self made." Adam Smith argued as much. T hat was the whole point of his argument. All of us depend on others. This is just as true of billionaires as it is for those of modest means. Let's applaud the contributions of billionaires but realize that there were many who helped them along the way.

[@brucebasile5083]

@@Zach-ju5vi More of the same sedative nonsense expected from this channels Mr. Sandman the cure for insomnia our boy Ambien Zach. YAWN....ZZZZzzzz.....

[@annepokras551]

Thank you again Professor/Secretary Reich - keep it coming...

[@sjensen8310]

Thank you Bob, for exceptional videos…!

[@danalinchristania5163]

Thank you robert gor another great video!

[@elmarko9051]

Just like the line from that old Michael J Fox movie Secret of My Success, where the heiress tells the Fox character, "He made his money the really old-fashioned way, he inherited it!"

[@down-to-earth-mystery-school]

I think it was Forbes who said he made his money the old fashioned way, he was nice to a rich uncle

[@kateskeys]

Great article Robert- Just read it and shared it

[@mikeklein4949]

And snaring market choke points sometimes also referred to as passive income while being behind the curtain hyperactive.

[@thoughtfortheday7811]

"Trickle" down was always the obvious clue that this approach was and is rubbish, it should have been pour down from the beginning.

[@ShannonJacobs0]

Also ignoring the luck factor. They are lottery winners, but there are LOTS more losers playing in the same lotteries.

[@Sunnykr275]

The editing work and explanation within 5 mins is just amazing! 👏🏻 Amazing editing

[@saynotop2w]

I recommend Steve Jobs' biography to his fans. That guy blackmailed and groveled capitalists into funding his capital when he started out, and then when he was asked to fund other companies like Pixar, he was infamously abusive, throwing tantrums and cursing.

[@kekiki500]

It’s sad that with all that money they could pay their workers living wages or higher AND still be ridiculously wealthy but they actively choose not to.

[@detailed_data4PSN]

Because they don't want to share their life style with the lowly worker it's an exclusive club after all

[@ElonHusky]

@@detailed_data4PSN Does the employees invest and work 16 hours when the company founded ?

[@simonbattle0001]

Hi Bob, you are so right. I knew about some of this but not all. I use to think "why am I such an unlucky person no matter how hard I worked or tried" I even went as far as believing I was cursed. Until now. Now I know that I and most people who are 67 spent our adult years in the hands of people like Jerome Powell who work in the back ground programing booms and bust. Even now after President Biden made our country survive with the help of a few through the turmoil of COVID-19 the rigging of the game is on. The bigshots wants their 7% unemployed back, people trapped in dead end jobs back, people unable or to scared to unionize back and the list goes on to kill the worker enlightenment that came when people were at home because of covid and finally had a chance to ask "is this all there is". They actually had the balls to admit it; that 7% of us must be ruined so bigshots don't have to take a haircut. Here's another crazy thing they said. Raising interest rates will lower food prices, because if people have no money, it will decrease demand, because only those who can afford to buy food will buy it. In my opinion the so called "Fed", the so called "Markets such as wall street are corrupt. Fixing these things may be above my pay grade of course, but those who claim to care about our economy? Well it's above theirs to. I wasn't cursed or unlucky. I was robbed like everyone else.

[@surfernorm6360]

Yay Bob i always liked your animations on the money topic on FSTV i hope you pick up some extra change on youtube.

[@CitroTeam]

50 years ago my grandfather used to tell me: son, nobody gets rich by working. Later someone said: If hard work were the way to get rich, women in Africa were all millionaires.

[@garyreid6165]

I remember hearing something like years ago. The self-made millionaire or billionaire is a myth. These people didn’t make it on their own. It takes workers to get the product out and the people who have the money to buy the product. That takes a lot of time and product. I become suspicious of people who say that they did it all by themselves. Sure, it makes them feel good about themselves and they are trying to inspire other people. If they did it all on their own, by that logic, everyone can do it, regardless. The point being is that every so-called self-made millionaire or billionaire or any other successful person had help and guidance on their journey. It’s either from family or they probably asked for a loan from a bank or these millionaires/billionaires. Once they get the funding, they can craft whatever personal mythology want to tell the public.

[@InventaChris]

Actually, ~80% of millionaires are 1st generation.

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

And let's not forget that all of the super-wealthy also profited from 'soft' and 'hard' infrastructure that the government/ taxpayer provides, such as education for the population,, legal systems, research and development, as well as roads, bridges, water mains etc.

[@Ianpact]

Thank you, Robert.

[@billmoss2877]

Workers (humans) have always been thought of as just another cost center that has to be ‘delt’ with and contained. But when workers look towards unions to achieve some sort of equity they are seen as if they were the devil. But it begs the question: Who let the devil in the door in the first place.

[@patriciacooke886]

Satan has been here since God threw him out of heaven, look at all the evil things going on, all his plan. Christ is returning.

[@spir5102]

What will it take for Congress to make laws that help the middle class and poorer, and not let the wealthy people walk all over the employees?

[@ShmuelWeintraub]

Campaign finance reform

[@mariag.8242]

Vote in primaries to get the right candidates nominated. Donate and volunteer for them. Lobby for campaign finance reform. (The House Dems did pass Biden’s plan as a bill but o/c the Senate Republicans killed it) The right candidates are people who’ve worked the minimum wage jobs because they needed the money, got a great education, are brilliant and still have enough fire in their belly to work for a Congressional salary when they could make at least double and often 10 times as much in the private sector. Don’t begrudge that salary. Most of the people in Congress are so rich that it means nothing to them but the ones we want actually live on it, maintaining a home in one of the most expensive cities in the country AND a home and office in their district or state. Katie Porter is a single mom and lawyer with a specialization in corporate finance law. AOC is still paying off the student loans that helped her acquire simultaneously 2 B.A.s with majors in Economics and International Relations (cum laude). Raphael Warnock and his 11 siblings grew up in public housing in Savannah, GA, and earned a B.A. in Psychology (cum laude), then went on to earn 2 M.A.s (Philosophy & Divinity) and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Choose people like them, and choose women and people of color because they’re still badly underrepresented and more likely to understand the real life that most people live.

[@spir5102]

Start by voting all Republicans out of office.

[@jaimeorr4661]

!!!! Another outstanding job in a series of outstanding jobs

[@williamsimpson3155]

Please never die Robert... Zabeth Warren (and maybe Katie Porter) and Paul Krugman won't be enough to help us😍

[@jackmeehof2440]

Take a bum off the street, dress him in a suit , put him in an office cubicle with a phone, and you’ve got a “wealth management consultant” …. Still begging for money, just in a different environment….. LMAO 🤣