The further you go towards the tails of the bell curve, the more similar social characteristics. In a society that has been even more polarized, we increasingly see similarities between the very wealthy, and the very poor. The declining middle class is more and more a world of it's own (as the elite used to be).
In Summary, the Superclass "Elite" UHNWI and the ultra poor have the following in common:
- Both have usually a less than superior education, or even are illiterate (and/or extremely out of touch with 'the real world')
- Both have nearly no daily obligations but are 'busy' by choice
- Both have a tendency toward extreme substance abuse (i.e. constant drinking / drug use)
- Both have extreme freedoms
- Both are near handicapped, having many 'caretakers' (whether it be in the case of the rich, a staff of servants - in the case of the poor, government / social workers, government support, etc.)
- Both don't worry about money!
- Both have little respect for the laws
- Both have a fleet of vehicles, half of which are not working or in the shop
- Both have little regard for the trend of the time
- Both may occupy a space, having almost no assets in their own name (of course, for greatly different reasons - the rich don't want tax obligations and in business 'conflicts of interest' for owning certain assets)
- Both could care less about foreign affairs, unless it impacts their business or daily life
- Both usually have a lifelong advisor they turn to and speak with constantly (in the case of the poor it is their 'friend' or their 'cousin' - in the case of the superrich, probably their 'lawyer' or 'advisor' in some cases their 'brother')
- Both 'don't work'
What is the difference between tent cities and the growth of 'billionaire hubs' [6] - primarily, it is a difference of infrastructure. Both are largely anti-social, and live outside the realms of society, on the edge of the law. The point here is that the destruction of the middle class as it is colloquially referred, is really a breakdown of modern civil society. Investment funds have shifted away from public development uses, so in parallel to these billionaire hubs we've seen a great deterioration of public infrastructure (i.e. bridges, roads, schools, dams, levees around New Orleans, etc.). Even the poor have their own Web 2.0 startups, such as "Rent a Tent." [7]
But of course - the big difference. The UHNWI can make choices that could change all that. But can they? Are they just as much slaves as anyone? Through the vast vestiges of the social control paradigm, maybe it is in fact they too - who are the victims - or if not the main victims. We here at Zero Hedge often have disdain for some of both of these classes (although many UHNWI are our clients, even if through their various proxy entity networks). So it may be important to take a step back, and realize what's happened economically speaking since the economic polarization of our modern capitalist society.
How did we get here? How is it that - in the city with explosive real estate value growth (San Francisco), has sewers built more than 150 years ago? What's wrong with this picture? Billionaires drive on bad roads too. As traders and investors it's easy to be sucked into our niches of analysis, i.e. technical vs. fundamental, without looking at the system as a whole. When we can understand the system as a whole better, we can make better investment decisions, and create better markets (with less fraud, less volatility, and less regulation). The only thing that can save the freefall economy - it's knowledge and education! Fractional reserve capitalism is all about hiding and profiting from information.
From the very beginning of the modern free-markets system, huge investments have been made in anti-education efforts, counter-propoganda, social and biological control mechanisms, and so on. The CIA has openly been involved in cultural propoganda and social engineering programs, including but not limited to, the 'womans rights' movement, 'gay rights' movements, 'flower power' (specifically, Timothy Leary and various military experiments released into the youth culture), and generally - promoting a culture of stupidity (where it's 'cool' to be stupid). We don't need to mention Beavis and Butthead, Jackass, because this is all low hanging fruit. What they do now is simple - because a roadmap was laid during the 60's and 70's, and now far greater technology has been developed. That means a child growing up in 'civil society' doesn't stand a chance!
All this is designed for one thing - send your money to the power elite. Spend your time, energy, doing whatever you want, as long as every 20 or 30 years, all your hard work and wealth, will be donated to your local Rothchild branch.
The billionaire class - as proved with Russia after privatization - is a great tool for controlling the masses. It gives people false heroes, material gods, someone to look up to; and at the same time appeals to their ego and vanity. So, for the elite, it is most critical to program and enslave this very special group of people, and if they don't exist - to create them! As the Europeans learned more than 1000 years ago - people need Kings and Queens - not to be 'ruled' - and to be 'taxed' - but to exist! At the end of the day, most humans are like animals that need to be herded. For whatever reason, humans haven't evolved enough to live in a real utopia - which is possible with current technology (free energy and no one works, all are happy).
So, when you realize all this, and consider how important it is that UHNWI are the social templates used for the programming on down the genetic chain, it's no wonder that the billionaire favelas are not much different than the real favelas, in a nation built by tired and poor people:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
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