Because theme of this thread is to share how folks accumulate wealth. I read a story today that is very disturbing, but related to accumulating wealth. Some folks accumulate wealth by working hard and investing smart and some by inheriting.
Then there is a good chunk of folks who just use (or abuse) the system to grow their wealth, literally overnight. While blue collar workers and other workers in society are doing back breaking and soul crushing work to accumulate even $1million, others just do it the way as described in article below.
Bit depressed after reading this article. Already wealthy people accumulating more wealth by stealing from funds meant to help struggling local community on-stage artists.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/entertainment/post-malone-chris-brown-nickelback-091401077.html
Some snippets from article:
"Nickelback, Chris Brown, and other stars scored $200 million in taxpayer funds meant to keep arts groups afloat during the pandemic. They won't say what they did with the money"
"The program, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, was a lifeline for the live-entertainment business. Administered by the Small Business Administration, it doled out $14.5 billion to institutions like movie theaters, ballets, operas, talent agents, performing-arts venues, and museums. Unlike the Paycheck Protection Program, which many venues didn't qualify for, the Shuttered Venue program was a grant, not a loan. Qualified applicants were eligible for up to $10 million with no obligation to repay it."
"R&B artist Chris Brown got $10 million. Rapper Lil Wayne got $8.9 million. Nineties rockers The Smashing Pumpkins got $8.6 million. Nickelback — yes, Nickelback — received $2 million"
"Applicants needed to get the SBA's approval on a detailed budget to receive a grant and to submit documentation showing how the money was eventually spent. (The agency denied Insider's requests under the Freedom of Information Act for records showing how the artists spent the money, citing an exemption for confidential business records.)
"But after they had the money, recipients were permitted to shift it around to different authorized uses, the inspector general noted in a report last year. It called the practice "concerning" and out of line with how the SBA administers other gran
Moreover, companies that contract with artists to support tours were themselves eligible to receive SVOG funding, raising questions about whether some companies were paid from artists' grants while also receiving grants themselves. For instance, two of the biggest sound-system providers for touring, Eighth Day Sound and Clair Global — which merged in 2020 — each received $10 million grants.
Insider contacted more than 60 grant recipients, including Clair and Eighth Day, as well as all of the artists named in this article, to ask how they spent their grants. None of them shared detailed information, and most did not respond."