Wealthiest one percent ...

[marko]

The calculator is comparing me to [-]Rhodesia[/-] Zimbabwe. Then wants a bloody donation.

A slick attempt at laying guilt.

Reminds me of a story many years ago:

A local 'tax activist' was complaining about high taxes here in "Taxachusetts" and how the tax money is mismanaged etc etc.

She was ridiculed in the media as being an out of touch, rich woman who doesn't want to pay her fair share.

A bunch of people organized a protest, piled into busses and marched down in front of her house planning to wave signs in front of her large, extravagant mansion and call her out with a bullhorn. TV cameras, the whole thing.

When they got there, everyone was standing around looking at their maps wondering if they were in the right place. Turns out she was just a very, very middle/working class single-mom with a very modest home of about 1200 sq ft. on a quarter acre lot.

Ooops!

(but still a 1%-er according to how you look at it, I guess)

 

[NW-Bound]

I was 22,776,712th -

Smoley hokes - even adding in what I hope is the equity in our house, plus the purported "value" of pensions, we are only

63,549,207th

I don't even want to report what we'd be if it was just based on investments.

You guys are too rich for us.

Amethyst

I rechecked my numbers, and must have mis-typed something.
Come to find out I am only #63,549,208.

Midpack was joking about being ahead of the poster before him. I think he's a lot higher than that. Target2019 was also joking.

I do not know about Target2019 but remember that Amethyst lives in a very expensive Zip Code near DC. She might have entered in the wrong data if she was not kidding. It's easy to be off by one digit when your number has so many.

Come on, do not be so modest.

 

[Amethyst]

Well, whattaya know; I was using commas to separate all those HUGE numbers . Went back and entered just numbers, sans punctuation, and got a bit closer to you other Tycoons. See, punctuation does matter in the bigger scheme of things!

Amethyst ....might have entered in the wrong data if she was not kidding. It's easy to be off by one digit when your number has so many.

Come on, do not be so modest.

 

[NW-Bound]

Welcome back to the land of the rich and frugal!

 

[target2019]

Well, whattaya know; I was using commas to separate all those HUGE numbers . Went back and entered just numbers, sans punctuation, and got a bit closer to you other Tycoons. See, punctuation does matter in the bigger scheme of things!

In that case, I'm going back to the mis-typed numbers.
LOL

 

[2B]

If you look at some billionaires buying sports teams and other discretionary purchases which necessarily don't have an expected ROI, you have to wonder if they're not like the proverbial lottery winners who blow money on frivolous things.

You expect someone who's amassed such fortunes to be wise with money, always extracting every last cent out of the capital, but this is probably a bit of idolatry.

How many of them have lost money when they sold?

 

[2B]

A very large number of the poster here are in that 1%. Half a million British pounds is approximately $750,000. Past polls show this to be a low ball number for people that actually retire. If someone doesn't have $750k they probably have a significant pension which increases their net worth by its actuarial value.

In the US (and most of the developed world) you can be "living in poverty" but still be obese, live with running water, have a HD TV, a smart phone and high speed internet. Another advantage in the US is you can get the ACA subsidy!

 

[Tadpole]

I never know how one is supposed to feel about these things. Should you feel happy because you are in the top .3% of the world or sad that what you thought was your piddle of resources is not available to the other 99.7%?

 

[2B]

I never know how one is supposed to feel about these things. Should you feel happy because you are in the top .3% of the world or sad that what you thought was your piddle of resources is not available to the other 99.7%?

There are a lot of people that would like to take a big chunk of what you have and give it to themselves while sprinkling a little on the bottom 99%.

Most countries awash with poverty have corrupt governments if not outright dictatorships, lack property rights and face innumerable barriers to starting and operating businesses.

 

[powerplay]

While I may fall into the 1% worldwide there are still many millions ahead of me in "richness".

 

[explanade]

How many of them have lost money when they sold?

None that I know of.

NBA recently signed a huge TV contract but a couple of years ago, some NBA teams were said to be running an operating loss.

However, there's been an influx of tech billionaire owners, for Sacramento and the LA Clippers.

Steve Ballmer paid $2 billion for the Clippers. In comparison, the Warriors were sold a couple of years ago for about $350 million. Larry Ellison, who has more money than Ballmer, got outbid.

Will Ballmer get more than $2 billion if he chooses to sell? LA TV market allows for some lucrative local deals, like the ones the Lakers have. But $2 billion is more than any NFL franchise's valuation, including teams like the Cowboys, which have a fairly new $1 billion stadium.

Looks like Ballmer wanted to make a splash and he didn't care about overpaying.

The Sacto owner thinks he can turn the perennial losers with some data mining of NBA stats and some novel strategies. But in a small market like that, the ROI on whatever he paid may not be great compared to what he could have spent that money for. Plus when he tries to sell, it may be difficult without moving the team to a bigger market. The previous owners, who owned the Palms casino, wanted to move to Las Vegas or Anaheim but the NBA wouldn't let them.


NFL valuations have gone up but on an ROI basis, paying $1-2 billion for an NFL team doesn't appear to be a good investment. The league as a whole grosses like $10 billion but the 32 teams are worth over $30-35 billion.

 

[marko]

None that I know of.

Steve Ballmer paid $2 billion for the Clippers.

So, I'd say that the seller of the Clippers made $2BB minus what he paid, which I understand was about $12MM.

Buy high, sell higher!

The reality here is that the curve flattens out for the super rich. There is not a huge difference in lifestyle between someone with $300MM vs $2BB...there's just so many planes, yachts and houses you can have.

You stop worrying about your ROI at some point and start going "hobby" route as a measure of the game; its just a way to keep score.

 

[explanade]

That was my point, that not every transaction by the super rich are investments to produce jobs, great returns, etc.

Sports teams are one example but at least before the financial crisis, spending on luxury goods was up so companies like Gucci and LV were doing well.

But also private jet makers, yacht makers, submarine makers were recording record sales.

 

[marko]

That was my point, that not every transaction by the super rich are investments to produce jobs, great returns, etc.
.

Go down another level: sports teams, jet makers, yacht makers and such all have hourly people working there.

Even in the sports realm there are thousands of middle class jobs that are created. Maintenance people, PR, support, food, catering, drivers, grounds, trainers, equipment makers, vendors, etc etc etc...they aren't making millions, but they have a good job and benefits thanks to some rich guy who bought the team and pumped some money into it.

A friend of mine who was in a major rock band told me: "you reach a point where you realize that for every person you're in front of in the stadium, there's another person behind you on your payroll who'd supporting the endeavor"

 

[mickeyd]

I read a news account of the recent Davos meeting that 1700 private aircraft were used to fly most of these 1%ers to their meeting regarding global warming and looking out for the less fortunate of the world.

Hope that they all arrive at good decisions and figure out a way to divert our eyes from that carbon footprint out there by the airport.

 

[growing_older]

Will Ballmer get more than $2 billion if he chooses to sell? LA TV market allows for some lucrative local deals, like the ones the Lakers have. But $2 billion is more than any NFL franchise's valuation, including teams like the Cowboys, which have a fairly new $1 billion stadium.

Looks like Ballmer wanted to make a splash and he didn't care about overpaying.

Perhaps, but there are also reports that by structuring the deal correctly, he will stand to get a cool $1Billion tax CREDIT to reduce his taxes for the next 15 years. These are complex deals, but the very wealthy aren't in them just for vanity.

 

[2B]

The reality here is that the curve flattens out for the super rich. There is not a huge difference in lifestyle between someone with $300MM vs $2BB...there's just so many planes, yachts and houses you can have.

You are sorely mistaken dear marko. If you have $2B, you buy a yacht that costs $300MM.

 

[braumeister]

You are sorely mistaken dear marko. If you have $2B, you buy a yacht that costs $300MM.

Or even more:

The yacht's cost has been estimated at €340 million (approx. US$475 million as of September 2011).

Eclipse has two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools, several hot tubs, and a disco hall.[7] It is also equipped with three launch boats and a mini-submarine that is capable of submerging to 50 metres. Approximately 70 crew members are needed to operate the yacht and serve the guests.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(yacht)

 

[marko]

You are sorely mistaken dear marko. If you have $2B, you buy a yacht that costs $300MM.

Sounds like I need to change the super-rich that I hang out with...pikers!

 

[2B]

Sounds like I need to change the super-rich that I hang out with...pikers!

Think how embarrassed that poor $300MM-aire is at the party on the yacht.

 

[marko]

Think how embarrassed that poor $300MM-aire is at the party on the yacht.

There's a difference between old money and new money.

(BTW, it's always called a 'boat' regardless of size)

 

[2B]

There's a difference between old money and new money.

(BTW, it's always called a 'boat' regardless of size)

Where's nords when we need him?

The good boat Lollipop -- It just doesn't sound right. Whatever floats your boat.

 

[Rick_Head]

I think the 'boats' nords was on cost a bit more than the amounts discussed here.

 

[bingybear]

the paper dictionary I've used before defined a yacht as any boat used for pleasure... did not indicate size preference. I'll use that one... for my 14' yacht (canoe)

 

[Quantum Sufficit]

I am # 7,281,150