Wealth Inequality: Is It Fair?

The conversation on whether billionaires should exist has always a heavily conflicted and has seemed to be supported by many left-winged individuals. There is a stereotype that seems to define this 1% of people as greedy and unwilling to help reduce social injustice. So what purpose do they serve other than living a lavish lifestyle, desired by many?

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Billionaires generate innovation and encourage drive not only for themself but also aspiring entrepreneurs, therefore people questioning whether we should cap wealth or even confiscate it was surprising. A tax on wealth would discourage people from building wealth and encourage the already wealthy to use their wealth in less-productive ways, making the rest of us a little poorer than otherwise. You could consider a wealth tax as a potential solution to social instability however, this would discourage people from working towards excessive riches and in turn disadvantage the economy. Honestly, this idea is unrealistic and who is to say that the government would distribute these assets accordingly and to the right cause.

Even so, arguably billionaires are still spending excessive amounts on luxury goods, from cars to holidays and designer clothes, whilst there are children starving in 3rd world countries. Billionaires' philanthropy revolves around power and is criticised for donating to elite causes such as sports, healthcare and education, rather than poverty.

As much as we criticise these individuals they do still donate money to charities and so forth, such as former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has given some $10.5 million in Covid-19 related funding. But the ratio of these donations is minuscule compared to their net worth, questioning whether they can do more to help society.

This raises the question of whether or not billionaires can do more to help reduce the wealth inequality gap and improve the living conditions for millions. It's clear we need to be more open-minded to the fact that philanthropy is not just how much money you give but rather, the actions implemented in order to ameliorate social injustices.