Why Do Billionaires Hate All People and How Should You Respond

6 min read

The topic of billionaires has been a popular one in the past decade, with people becoming more aware of inequality and the way in which the system is rigged. This post is my way of trying to contribute to the discussion about billionaires and millionaires. So if you’re interested, read on!

A few days back, I was talking with one of my friends about a person we both knew. This person was practically born a millionaire but you can’t deny that he has grown his fortune over the years and may very well be on his way to becoming a billionaire.

But the thing we were talking about was not his money. It was the way he talked to people and it was the way he behaved. We concluded that he, like most of his fellow millionaires and billionaires, just hates all people who don’t have as much money as him. And here is our reasoning for this conclusion:

1. They believe that they are better than everyone else

Ever since the monetary systems appeared, there were wealthy people and poor people. Understandably, poor and middle class people would look at the rich ones and wonder why they had more money than them.

Things could’ve gotten out of hand if this question had no answer. People could revolt! And that’s why the monarchy, aristocrats, land-lords and every other rich man started to find answers for this question. Some went religious and paid some money to the church or some other authority for their religion to say that this was the way god had intended it to be.

But this didn’t work for everyone and it stopped working altogether after the age of enlightenment. So another explanation took its place: rich people were just smarter and better than everyone else! Even now, you can see it in their tries to prove that they’re “self-made”.

Billionaires and millionaires have repeated this so often and throughout so many years that they’ve actually started to believe it themselves. Even if they don’t say the quiet part out loud, you can see it in the way they act and talk. They see themselves above you and me and even our governments and see us as “lazy people” who just don’t work hard enough or are not smart enough to be rich like them.

These feelings can so easily turn into contempt.

2. They know they need us to make money

Even though they think themselves better and above everyone else, they know that they need ordinary people to make money. We are the ones that pay for their companies’ products and service. And this makes them angry.

To depend on people you don’t like and see beneath you for the one thing you value the most, is not a good feeling.

3. Money is the number one motivator for them

If you ask a billionaire what their number one priority or motivator is, they would probably respond by saying family and community or some other cheesy and completely untrue thing.

Don’t believe what they say, only what they do. And what they do, shows us that money is their top motivator and priority.

When you see everything in terms of money and make all your decisions based on this frame of mind, people who have no money become worthless. And crossing from worthless to just an inconvenience or even annoyance is so easy.

4. They believe that everyone is jealous of them

When you believe that money is more important than everything else, you don’t usually stop to consider that not everyone sees it that way. People have different priorities and want different things from life. But someone who’s consumed with thoughts of money, can’t see this.

So they think that everyone else also care about money more than everything. And this turns to “everyone wants money, I have more money than them so they must be jealous of me”.

If you believe that someone is jealous of you, what would you feel about them?

These are just the obvious reasons. I’m sure a social psychologist can think of more. But they don’t really want to write about this, it seems. Which is understandable. Who would want to piss off every billionaire and millionaire?

So there aren’t many books that go into this topic. But if you want to read more, one book I would recommend is “Winners Take All” by “Anand Giridharadas”. It’s not totally about this post’s topic, but in some chapters, it paints a behind the scenes picture of the elites which can help you understand them better.

You can also watch tv shows like “Billions” and “Succession”. They’re about fictional characters, of course. But aside from being fun to watch, they can also give you some glimpse into how rich people think.

What should you do? How should you respond?

If you don’t like what you’ve read so far and want to do something about these people who don’t seem to give a shit about you and me, here are some suggestions:

1. Try to improve the system

If you’re lucky enough to live in a democracy, participate! Vote in elections and organize and protest to enact new policies. Try to make rich people give their fair share in different forms, most importantly taxes. Support programs that want to give everyone a basic income and living wages.

If you don’t live in a democracy, you can try to influence minds by talking about this in any capacity you can.

2. Support decentralization efforts

Centralized systems are to blame, at least partially, for this mess. If we want a better future, we should make sure that it’s mostly decentralized. We should aspire to give power and equity to people. So support projects that aim to do this in different areas and industries.

Buy the coin/token of these kinds of projects and hodl.

3. Lead by example

We don’t think money should be the top priority. But anyone who has experienced being poor can tell you that everyone needs a certain amount of income just to live a dignified life.

Aspire to go beyond this certain amount. Save money. Invest only in good projects, not big company stocks that make money but are part of the problem. Be the kind of “rich” that you want to see.

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