#wealth inequality

#wealth inequality

From gold-rimmed plates on gold-patterned tablecloths decorated with gold candlestick holders, they gorged on heirloom tomato panzanella salad, beef wellington and a dessert of roasted Anjou pears, cinnamon crumble and butterscotch ice-cream. On 15 October, Donald Trump welcomed nearly 130 deep-pocketed donors, allies and representatives of major companies for a dinner at the White House to reward them for their pledged contributions to a vast new ballroom now expected to cost $300m.

Billie Eilish may be soft-spoken, but she doesn't shy away from speaking her mind. On Wednesday evening in New York City, the Grammy-winning artist accepted the Music Innovator Award at WSJ Magazine 's Innovator Awards ceremony - andtook the opportunity to ruffle rich people's feathers during her acceptance speech. "We're in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark and people need empathy and help more than, kind of, ever, especially in our country,"

Chicago's mayor, Brandon Johnson, told the crowd the Trump administration had "decided that they want a rematch of the civil war", which the white supremacist Confederacy lost to the Union in the 19th century. "We are here to stand firm and stand committed that we will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower, we will not submit," Johnson said. "We do not want troops in our city."

Germany now boasts a record 256 billionaires, the highest number since records began according to Manager Magazin. The total wealth of the 100 richest Germans has nearly tripled since 2001, reaching €758 billion, while the combined asset value of the 500 richest stands at €1.16 trillion. More than half of those on the list now possess fortunes exceeding €1 billion.

Pope Leo XIV has voiced sharp criticism of corporate pay structures, singling out Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other business leaders as examples of the widening gap between executives and ordinary workers. The pontiff warned that excessive wealth concentration could erode societal values and fuel global polarization. Pope Leo XIV's comments seem to be guided by a misunderstanding of what Elon Musk's pay package entails, and the net positive it would result to TSLA shareholders and the world as a whole.

Dalio described a future where humanoid robots, smarter than humans, and advanced AI systems, powered by trillions of dollars in investment, could render many current professions obsolete. He questioned the need for lawyers, accountants, and medical professionals if highly intelligent robots with PhD-level knowledge become commonplace, stating, "we will not need a lot of those jobs." This technological leap, while promising "great advances," also carries the potential for "great conflicts."

Bribery is generally unethical and often illegal, but also quite effective. When my four-year-old is acting up and ignoring my increasingly desperate pleas for her to get dressed, leave the playground or do something else very important, I have, on occasion, resorted to desperate promises of ice-cream. Obviously, I know it's counterproductive to respond to suboptimal behaviour with sugar-based bribes. But sometimes you are exhausted and just need a short-term win. The ice-cream always delivers.

Daniel Currell's guest essay in The New York Times shows how Walt Disney World Resort has evolved from an accessible "all-American vacation" to a luxury experience targeting high-net-worth households. Wealthy visitors can pay for premium passes that let them bypass lines; one tech executive quoted in the article experienced 16 attractions in seven hours. Meanwhile, Scarlett Cressel, a bus driver who could not afford to pay for special ride reservations and other perks, managed nine attractions over 14 hours.

Penned by longtime economic researcher and campaigner Chuck Collins, a leading thinker and writer on inequality in America, "Oligarch Watch" will profile the plutocrats wielding their wealth and power to further enrich themselves at the expense of workers, our communities, and our environment. Crisscrossing industries and centers of power in the US, Collins will tackle oligarchy in action to spotlight the crushing monopoly power billionaires yield,

"I think that would absolutely crush because yes, we recreated, but we also rebuilt Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I have a chocolate company, and we gave golden tickets and brought people out, and people loved it."

Conant believed that American democracy was threatened by a 'hereditary aristocracy of wealth' and that capitalism risked becoming 'industrial feudalism.' He pushed for a merit-based system.

The Gilded Age is a period in the late 19th century characterized by extreme wealth and wealth inequality, progress, immigration, and ruthlessness from businessmen.

The rich will get obscenely richer. The poor will be hungrier and sicker, work more precarious, and the planet unrelentingly hotter.

Kate Hudson and Dakota Johnson were seen enjoying time on a yacht in Ibiza with Tom Brady and Naomi Campbell, celebrating a Saudi Arabian producer's birthday.