• unfreeradical@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    1 year ago

    You are probably not vastly different from a millionaire, just someone with less pomp and perhaps pretentiousness than some millionaires may have.

    You may even know someone who secretly holds such wealth but feels too embarrassed to make it known.

    A billionaire is someone who has the social role of controlling a vast section of society, through private ownership of resources and assets that are needed by others for use.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Oh I’m pretty different from a millionaire. My car is a lot older and less fancy, my house (which I’m lucky to have because I bought it when you could still get low-rate, fixed-rate mortgage) is a lot smaller, my hospital bills are a lot harder to cover, the food I buy isn’t as high-quality, my job is likely shittier, and they never have to worry if their paycheck is enough to get them through the month. I also probably pay more in taxes because I can’t afford an accountant to hide all of my money from the IRS.

      And if they’re so embarrassed that they live a shittier life just to hide the fact that they’re a millionaire, I think that tells you something about millionaires.

      • WalrusDragonOnABike@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        Depends on which millionaires you’re talking about. If you just mean a couple who saved aggressively and are living off $35K/year, they’re spending much less than the median household. Not sure how much below the median you are, how many children you have, etc, but in day-to-day spending, ordinary millionaires are just working class people. Of course it gives you flexibility to deal with some emergencies like a car breaking down or a hospital bill without worrying about the cost, but those aren’t normal day-to-day events.

        Multimillionaires are a different story.

      • unfreeradical@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        I am not denying any of the differences, but the differences you both have with billionaires is even greater, as the billionaire occupies a role in society of power and domination, through control of resources and assets that are utilized socially, for the necessity that we produce our shared sustenance.