The Gilded Ultra-Rich

F. Scott Fitzgerald, who knew something about the subject of money, is reported to have commented to Ernest Hemingway, ”You know, the rich are different from you and me” to which Hemingway responded, “Yes, they have more money.” That’s it?

We are introduced to the characterization of four of the reported 2,781 ultra-rich (multi-billionaires) in Plutocrat Archipelagos to discuss whether the asserted psychological profile of those instinctively “retreating into their money” – doomed to a directionless spiral – comports with our own understanding of the breed. Fair comments or garden-variety envy?

My own limited up-close-and-personal experience came some forty years ago, courtesy of a banker’s invitation to join a ski holiday group in Verbier, Switzerland. Though the overall experience was quite enjoyable, I had the distinct feeling of being the “other” among those whose conversation was often peppered in ironic tones, clever innuendo, and hidden “tells,” as in oh, I see Linie (Linus Pauling’s grandson) went to town this morning for his job of checking on his bank account balance.

And so on. One is tempted in reading the article to feel for those ultra-rich, whether of the “self-made” or “second gen” variety, dominated by their reported interminable existential crises. They are, you see, insulated from any real world cause-and-effect consequences and deprived of the opportunity to fail in any meaningful sense. We are told they are both traumatized and overindulged, blind to social realities, and painfully narcissistic. They sometimes sport a nose ring (not in the article).

Perhaps, but it seems as though that’s a pretty broad assertion for a subject that’s open to significant nuance. Elon Musk is about the hardest-working son-of-a-bitch I know (not personally) and is out there tempting fate in his 24/7 high-wire act. He also lacks a nose ring (though perhaps not so for some family members) giving rise to a meaningful distinction between the self-made megalomaniac and the self-indulgent second gen trust funder displaying the nihilistic tendencies we discussed in MM 12/14/20 The Rich Kids Who Want To Tear Down Capitalism.

One common trait, though, might be the described metaphorical wall, erected upon a foundation of paranoia, distrust, and fear, that circumscribes obscene wealth which tends to cut the rich off from their own humanity. Such gives rise to the essence of the article and perhaps the meat of our discussion of what feels like an end of the social contract. The ultra-rich are so divorced from reality, so cocooned and entombed in their wealth, that they barely perceive the violence they commit against the world as such.

It is here that the bunker mentality meets the MM 6/11/18 Tragedy Of The Commons i.e. the destruction of finite resources through the self-interested exploitation by the privileged few. It serves as a reminder of the distinction between MM 5/23/22 Rich Versus Wealthy.

Welcome to the new face of modernity, marked by an archipelago (hence the article’s title) of walled settlements, each cut off from its geographical location, yet united by the rules-based order of international capitalism.