When Elon Musk took SpaceX public, last week, the value of his stock in the company was said to amount to about $866 billion, which — added to other holdings — makes the “world’s richest man” now a trillionaire.
Capitalism’s first.
So of course nearly every left-of-center journalist, blogger, and social media warrior decried the enormity of the record.
While “it’s hard to even imagine a trillion dollars” is an honest reaction — it is difficult, just as it is to imagine the projected 2026 federal “budget” ($7.4 trillion), deficit ($1.9 trillion), and the ever-increasing debt — immediately moving from awe to anger is less than honest.
Mr. Musk, Metro UK’s Brooke Davies mused, “could give every single person in the United States a share of his cash, with everyone receiving $2,917.32,” while, if he set his sites a little wider, he could “give every person on the planet a gift, they would receive $121.80.”
What’s less than honest? Elon Musk could not do this.
Mr. Musk’s wealth is in the company that just took on new investors, driving up his shares. If he started selling his shares, the value of the stock would plummet before he found enough buyers. It is Mr. Musk’s managerial genius and technological vision that is responsible for the company’s success, so any step back from control — even by relinquishing stock — would almost certainly spell disaster.
And if he vanished off the face of the Earth, our global civilization would feel it.
What Elon Musk’s envious haters do not seem to understand is that Musk succeeds by developing products that people, businesses, and governments are willing to pay big bucks for.
He isn’t exploitative in the negative sense, either. “In total, more than 4,400 current and former SpaceX employees” — “from execs to even welders,” says Fortune — “are expected to become millionaires in the IPO.”
Were Elon’s critics a tiny bit consistent, they’d suggest that Space X’s nouveaux riche welders also cough up unearned wealth. Contribute, evil magnates!
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
Further Reading:
- Elon’s Latest Offer
- The Next Population Explosion
- Starlinking Iranian Protest
- The Matrix Reprogrammed, He Said
- Google Confesses All
- Elon, the CR & the Shutdown
- Musk Avoids a Trap
- Musk Gone Mad?
- Will Elon Liberate Tweeting?
- Falcon 9 Delivers Eleven
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4 replies on “What the Trillionaire Can’t Do”
“What Elon Musk’s envious haters do not seem to understand is that Musk succeeds by coming up with an idea then managing to get massive taxpayer subsidies to make that idea profitable to himself.”
Fixed, no charge.
“ Looks like the U.S. is on the way to becoming an oligarchy! Or, are we already there?
“Elon Musk (~ $1.1 Trillion) – Tesla, SpaceXLarry Page (~ $294 Billion) – GoogleSergey Brin (~ $271 Billion) – GoogleJeff Bezos (~ $248 Billion) – AmazonLarry Ellison (~ $231 Billion) – OracleMichael Dell (~ $225 Billion) – Dell TechnologiesMark Zuckerberg (~ $194 Billion) – Meta Platforms (Facebook) Jensen Huang (~ $177 Billion) – NVIDIA”
Trump and these oligarchs want to have all the money AND control your lives! Time to wake up! They want to control what you watch on TV and want to destroy those who won’t toe the line. Musk took away your health care, Medicare and Medicaid are next, and Artificial Intelligence will destroy jobs.
The U.S. is already a paper tiger! Iran is winning!
“Whether the United States is on the verge of becoming an oligarchy depends on how you define the term, but many political scientists and economists argue that the influence of wealthy individuals, large corporations, and major donors has increased substantially over the past several decades.
An oligarchy is a system in which a small group of people holds most of the political and economic power. The U.S. is still formally a constitutional republic with competitive elections, an independent judiciary, federalism, a free press, and multiple centers of power. Those institutions are important differences from a true oligarchy.
However, critics point to several trends:
* The growing role of money in politics, especially after the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision.
* Increasing wealth concentration among the richest Americans.
* Heavy lobbying by major industries and corporations.
* The ability of billionaires and large donors to fund political campaigns, advocacy groups, and media outlets.
* The “revolving door” between government positions and private-sector influence.
Some scholars have cited research suggesting that policy outcomes often align more closely with the preferences of affluent Americans than with those of average voters. Others argue that this evidence is overstated and that elections, public opinion, interest groups, and party competition still exert substantial influence.”
Even Space X’s welders might have to sell some or all of their stock to pay the ‘wealth tax’ that many on the Left yearn for.
Great!