Rich Arseholes
Look out for bad guys on the make
In the oft misquoted Bible passage, we learn that ‘It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven.’ That sounds like an awful indictment of wealth, but it is out of context. And as preachers of the prosperity gospel will tell you, there would have been no good samaritan if the good samaritan was broke.
Be that as it may, we’ve all encountered our fair share of rich arseholes. I know there are poor arseholes as well, and there are also wonderful rich people and poor people, but the extremity of arseholism that is displayed by those with plenty of money, or those who value money above all else, is often mind-boggling.
When I think of the rebarbative broke people I’ve met, they all have one thing in common; above all else, they value money, alcohol, sex, or drugs. The ones who become rich arseholes are usually the ones who value money above all else, no great surprise there.
The most undeniable realisation seems to be that money simply magnifies the person you already are. If you’re a good person, money might make you more of a good person, I know a few examples. If you’re a nasty piece of work on the other hand, money will only make you nastier.
The very rich (billionaires) occasionally earn themselves news space with their antics. These are people who have been rich for so long, they have forgotten what it’s like to share, or to have to hear the word no. One can even imagine that some of these people were once nice, decent human beings; before money loosened the rules for them, but that seems far fetched.
In societies where there is no real rule of law, of where money can put you above the law, wealth has far more scope to turn good people bad. Parts of Africa and Asia, and America all come to mind. The families and associates of politicians, dictators and the wealthy routinely behave hideously; as if other human beings are merely playthings or annoyances, floating happily above the law on a cloud of money. In America it seems the wealthy can do whatever they want until public opinion turns against them. The examples of the Trumps and Kushners come to mind, before them Epstein, and before them Madoff, and so on and so on.
A recent article in The Financial Times highlighted the case of David Gross, a 76 year old billionaire bond trader. When his neighbour complained about a million dollar glass statue, Gross began blasting loud music over the fence and sent a text to his neighbour saying “Peace on all fronts or we’ll just have just have nightly concerts, big boy.” Gross also sprayed fart spray around his marital house during divorce proceedings because he didn’t want his wife to have it, saying “I went to the drugstore and found some smelly shit.”
Another less than pleasant billionaire is Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. In 2008 Khosla purchased a 32-acre property behind Martins Beach, and decided to block the access road to the beach and paint over signposts advertising it. Californians had flocked to Martins beach for decades, and the California constitution defines beaches as public areas, but Khosla didn’t care. He was adamantly against sharing.
This year the state of California stepped in to sue Vinod and force him to open the access road, to avoid setting a precedent for the super-rich to illegally privatize public beaches. In response, Khosla is suing the State, laughably value signalling in his defence by saying he will be ‘depressed’ if he wins. In fact, Khosla says he doesn’t even want to win but is fighting on principle alone. And the poor thing says he hasn’t spent a single night in the whimsical and regrettable property purchase but is merely acting to uphold property rights, which are more important than State constitution, which he supports of course. Oh, what a heart of gold he has, what a bastion of principle he is. He’s also complained that the State are forcing him to operate a parking business which won’t be profitable by opening up the public access road.
In the United Kingdom, billionaire business leaders were willing to fire hundreds of staff unless the government gave them COVID bailouts. Mike Ashley, owner of sports direct insisted his stores would stay open despite government restrictions. When he was forced to close stores, he simply raised prices online. Richard Branson asked for a government bailout for his airline. The Hinduja brothers, worth £22 billion, asked for a government bailout to pay reduced furlough wages to bus drivers in their employ. The current government doesn’t seem to mind rich arseholes though. Big companies in the United Kingdom have been offered nearly £100 billion in tax breaks by the Conservatives, whilst public services are squeezed and the British economy is in the worst state it’s been in for nearly a century
Not all of the super-rich are bad though, and not all of them are desperate to pay as little tax as possible. Billionaire British hedge Fund Manager David Harding has stated that the rich should also pay their taxes, and despite being a Tory donor, referred to himself as Britain's largest individual taxpayer. That honor now goes to Denise Coates, founder of gambling giant 365 who earned £323 million in 2020 and paid all of her taxes.
It seems like billionaires lead the pack when it comes to behaving badly, but some millionaires are doing their utmost as well. Whilst working in the city of London in 2012 I heard boasts from young English multimillionaires about how awfully they treated people, and like braying dogs, the young brokers around them all fantasized about being able to behave just like them. One story that sticks with me is about the time two of the young kingpins “had a bunch of absolute weapons (attractive women) in the back of the limo. We fucked the shit out of them. Slags! They were so smashed (drunk) we just opened the doors and kicked them out onto the street. Then when one of them couldn’t get up cos she was so drunk he (name omitted) ran back and took a piss on her.” All of the starry-eyed young wannabes roared with approval.
What saints! What role models!
Sometimes I feel sorry for the children of these people, the people who conduct their lives with their highest value being the accumulation of money. I first encountered such a person in university. She was from Surrey. A good friend of a good friend brought her to my room one night before a party. The rich girl looked around my room and even rifled through my wardrobe, without bothering to ask. A few days earlier I’d bought my first electric guitar, at that point, my most prized and valued possession on earth. She picked it up, strummed a few strings and asked how much it had cost. When I told her (I can’t recall the price) she said ‘Uh, less than £400, it must be shit” and threw my guitar on the bed like it was the most disgusting thing her carefully manicured hands had ever touched. The odious sense of entitlement and absolute lack of manners which she displayed comes from being raised by parents who teach you you’re better than anybody else because you have money, and anything which is not expensive, along with anyone who does not have at least as much money than you, is utterly worthless. The apple does not fall far from the tree. People like that, and their children, excel at arseholery.
I deliberately mentioned that the girl came from Surrey, because a lot of people with similar attitudes come from similar places, where the houses are large and expensive. Another area like that is a few miles from me. The youngsters in all their designer finery are practically feral, but if anybody should try to curb their idiocy, they will be met with something along the lines of ‘who the fuck are you anyway? You’re nothing. My daddy’s a (insert title of person with a large income).’ I’ve heard so many stories like that from teachers who have to put up with the offspring of these rich arseholes.
But being from a certain area does not automatically make you a certain way. One of the most down to earth multimillionaires I have ever met also lives in Surrey, and I’ve met his children too. They’re wonderful, down to earth, respectful people, just like their father.
One of the nicest things that happened to me recently was when my eldest daughter said “Daddy, if you become rich, you won’t be bad rich, you’ll be nice rich.” Even an 8 year old can understand that money alone does not make a person good or bad, and it is not to be pursued as the only thing that matters. If you have more money than God, but you’re an arsehole, what’s the point?
I don’t recall where I heard it or read it, but something that really resonated with me was “I feel sorry for rich people sometimes, all they have is their money.” That doesn’t have to be the case though. Money can let you do wonderful things. Look at the philanthropic work of people like Bill Gates. Bill and his close friend Warren Buffet are also famously pleasant and jovial. So being super rich doesn’t automatically make you a despicable butthead. But seeing money as the be all and end all usually does.