No, Billionaires Aren't 'Self-Made' — Here's Why

‘We, as a society, make these billionaires possible’ — This corporate power expert says billionaires are not ‘self-made’ and enjoy their wealth thanks to hardworking Americans

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[joshdavis]

People need to keep in perspective the fact that every tax dollar that fills their coffers is _our_ money going into their pockets, no strings attached. The fact some people are ok with that reflects how necessary it is to prioritize education, not just as children, but throughout your lifetime.

[rcheliguygb]

Totally agree. Scary that a lot of this is at the expense of every day people in terms of wages and conditions.

[victorbeauvois]

WE THE PEOPLE MAKE THEM BILLIONAIRE'S NO SUCH THING AS SELF MADE MAN

[KJ-oon]

You can't be a billionaire if you are honest and caring about others wellbeing and concern about your society's further. There is no way.

[Labor_Jones]

*It's pretty simple... as the RICH GOT RICHER our Democracy became Weaker!*

[oliviasullivan]

Self made is always a lie. It is impossible for ANYTHING in the physical world to make itself because energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

[ZSimm]

Its actually 100% impossible to become a billionaire. The only way to become one is by having a combination of either family wealth, labor exploitation, or government assistance.

None of these billionaires would ever make it to the top if they grew up in poverty with a parent struggling to pay bills or any other common societal problems that 99% of us face.

[greenandgold]

The government makes them billionaires. And the government trillionaires.
It's like, if you don't spend it on employees we will take it.
Employees still get screwed..wtf

[liorschifrin]

This guy fails to saw why billionaires are actually bad. We’ve all benefitted from the companies, wealth, and innovation these guys have made. The reason Amazon became so big is because we all use and value it. It’s incredible that we now have the ability to buy almost anything and have it delivered within 2 days. Billionaires didn’t steal money from the poor - they created wealth and brought everyone up with them

[jessetorres]

I will never get tired of posting this: I once saw this image that said that if someone lived for 80 years and earned an average of $5, 000.00 every day of their life, they still wouldn't be a billionaire, but rather have about $150, 000, 000.00. At the bottom of the image was a line that said that no one works to become a billionaire. So yeah, we should be taxing multi millionaire and billionaire individuals and corporations in this country more then we currently are! And if you want to argue that taxes shouldn't be raised on the wealthy and corporations, how can you defend them when they send their U.S. dollars to other countries so they can't be taxed and help fund domestic programs to help poor people here in the U.S.?

[KootFloris]

Ubuntu: I am because we are.
We all stand on the shoulders of many people.
And we're here because of a living planet. Already millions die, because of frantic self enriching industries.
Thus they rob from our shared foundation to enrich themselves. And we think we need their products. :(

[valerierosario]

He's right! Someone is getting the money we spend on food, gasoline, electricity, internet, clothes-even entertainment!

[notrafael]

"We hold the wool, the farmer will freeze without us."

- a 🐑

[annefitz]

So true !!! I wish you could convince the billionaires about this !

[RiotSquad]

Don’t let them lie to you they put in 80 hour weeks to get to where they are they found a need of the people and made billions. It takes sheer intelligence to get to where they are. Everyone is self made but only the rich will admit it.

[GrnXnham]

What a ridiculous video! 

When we describe someone as "self made" that doesn't mean that no one else helped them with their success. Based on that definition NO ONE is self made and that would make the term "self made" completely pointless as a term. Obviously, to become a billionaire, you have sold a product to a lot of people. So, of course, all of these people helped you become a billionaire.

Self made just means that they weren't born with wealth and/or they didn't inherit the wealth. They accumulated their wealth throughout their own life.


And naturally the comments section is full of jealous/resentful people who love this video because it makes them feel better about themselves.

[arthursims]

Yet, our govt is doing the exact opposite of what is needed by stripping the BBB to nothing, while still giving more tax cuts to the wealthiest 10% via SALT.

[zippydodahquirk]

The income tax shouldn't even exist.

[usus]

I beg to differ in the argument that we people enable billionaires. It is ultimately the government's fault for the lack of regulation and proper provision of laws regarding taxes, wages, and labor rights. The people are exploited as a result.

[Mike-lvvs]

Before there was a Elon Musk and SpaceX there was a government trained employee named John Glen and a federal agency called NASA that got the whole thing started.