Spare a moment to think of the super-rich

WTF?_2

From The Times:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5404353.ece

Britain's super-rich have seen their fortunes collapse by half in the economic downturn, with more than £200 billion of their money just melting away.

Research for the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, to be published in the spring, suggests that the fortunes of the 1,000 wealthiest people in the UK have fallen more than 50% from £412.8 billion in the list for 2008 to about £200 billion.

The value of some assets, including hedge funds and property firms, has been shattered by as much as 90%.

The destruction of the wealth of Britain’s richest is so great and sudden that it has been likened to the bursting of the South Sea bubble in 1720 or the depression of the early 1930s.

Can't say my heart is bleeding too much. How much wealth would you have to have in order to be totally comfortable for the rest of your life anyway - probably a lot less than these people still have. Still, I suppose some people have a different definition of comfortable.....

Generali

!!!!!!? wrote: »

From The Times:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5404353.ece

Can't say my heart is bleeding too much. How much wealth would you have to have in order to be totally comfortable for the rest of your life anyway - probably a lot less than these people still have. Still, I suppose some people have a different definition of comfortable.....

Buddy can you spare a million?

milliemonster

what a shame:rotfl: they may have to limit the amount of Louis Vuitton bags they buy next year then, hard times for us all

WTF?_2

Clearly not all the rich feeling the pinch yet - good to see the Best of British nouveau riche spending it like it was going out of fashion:

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/showbiz/111744/Wayne-Rooneys-pound300k-Christmas.html

MEGARICH Wayne Rooney drew 1-1 in extra-time with wife Coleen for Christmas presents—they both secretly bought watches for each other from the SAME shop.

The Man Utd star, 23, forked out £70,000 on a diamond-encrusted Rolex for her. And she bought him an £80,000 luxury Panerai watch after nipping to the same jewellers while he was in Japan helping his side win the World Club Cup.

Coleen, 22, knew Roo had bought her a SECOND £150,000 Bentley and a gold necklace — meaning the couple topped £300,000 on gifts for each other.

I must be getting old - I can remember the days when the news headlines about footballers were about them kicking a ball around a field.

Generali

!!!!!!? wrote: »

I must be getting old - I can remember the days when the news headlines about footballers were about them kicking a ball around a field.

Jimmy Hill's to blame. Really.

milliemonster

Footballers? you mean that's a sport? I thought it was just a loose term for the modern semi good looking rich kid flashing his cash about with an anorexic no brain bimbo on his arm, not that I'm jealous or anything, you know guys, there aren't really any starving people in this world and there isn't really a recession, oh well at least Bentley can probably keep going for another year

milliemonster

then again, you can't blame the extortionate salaries of footballers when the sad ar5e football fans continue to pay extortionate sums to watch them play

Oblivion

!!!!!!? wrote: »

From The Times:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5404353.ece

Can't say my heart is bleeding too much. How much wealth would you have to have in order to be totally comfortable for the rest of your life anyway - probably a lot less than these people still have. Still, I suppose some people have a different definition of comfortable.....

It's very easy to be critical of the super-rich, and I agree that only so much personal wealth is needed for a comfortable life.

What I think is often overlooked by the nay-sayers is that many of these people got rich by using their talents to found great industrial / commercial empires, giving rise to employment opportunities, creating the need for other companies to supply materials and to sell their produce, thus enriching our economy ... before Clown spent it all of course!

I'm not saying this applies to all rich folk of course, there are also plenty of those born with a silver spoon in their mouth who have never contributed a thing to society. But my point is, don't tar them all with the same brush.

Dave.

milliemonster

I think there are many talented people out there who work damn hard and never get anywhere in life, I just disagree with the super rich flashing their cash about when we are in difficult times and it offends me that charities are constantly asking the 'ordinary man' for contributions when they can barely afford it while some of the super rich never give it a second thought. I just think that anyone only needs a certain amount of wealth to be more than comfortable for the rest of their lives, the rest of their money they earn they should do something constructive with it instead of buying endless cars/jewellery/handbags when we have such poverty and sections of society such as the elderly who can't even afford to heat their homes in the winter. It completelt disgusts me.

mewbie_2

On one thread we have the super rich, not really getting much of a slagging off. On another thread we have a series of postings attacking the benefits system and how we pay too much too poor and disabled people.

Can I just mention Lewis Hamilton, now a tax exile. I guess he could have supported a few single mothers without noticing it too much. It takes more of a 'personality' to bring up a kid without income than to play racing cars.

tbh - If you want to be a tax exile then fine, but p1ss off permanently. If you ever want to come back, then a spell in immigration is what you deserve.

minimike2

I second Oblivions post.

The ones who were born into money and did nothing to earn it and never got a job or did anything to contribute to society - well no love lost there.

But the ones who actaully earned thier fortune - fair play to them. THEY went out and did it....anyone else could have done, but no, it was them.

To spite them, is pure jealousy, nothing more, nothing less. To try and argue that point is insanity. Just because they made something for themselves does not give the right to the ones who didnt to wish suffrage on them.

"Wealth" doesnt mean being super rich. Only you can decide how "wealthy" you are, and its got f**k all to do with money.

So before you all go slating these people (apart from the aforemetioned silver spoon brigade), you want to take a step back and realise how they got to where they are and be bloody happy with what you have got, that less fortunate people in the world do not, because I tell you now, 100% of the people who will read this are a hell of a lot more "wealthy" than some in this world!