Sayeth Forbes writer Tim Ferguson:
“Any modern economy that does not produce at least one huge fortune is, almost by definition, not creating the kind of wealth that is the earmark of a prosperous society.” (emphasis added)
The article goes on to earmark the twelve largest countries which, as of yet, have “failed” to produce any billionaires (if you’re keeping track: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Congo, Ukraine, Burma, Poland, and Sudan). As far as I can tell, this “article” is simply fluff—nothing seriously thought-out (it’s only four paragraphs long), but it still manages to be grossly arrogant, infuriatingly presumptuous, and horrendously, absurdly flawed. Not that, coming from the Forbes.com site, this is particularly surprising. Nonetheless, virtually every sentence contains an insult to anyone who believes that we should strive for equality and understanding over heavily consolidated wealth.
(Actually, I checked— there are two sentences that don’t really insult anyone directly. Unfortuately, neither sentence has any meaning outside the context of the article, so the point is moot.)
Don’t bother reading the Forbes article, but take a stroll on over to the Global Rich List, instead, where you can find where you stand wealth-wise. It’ll be an eye-opening experience, I guarantee.
(via Forbes: ‘The Deprived Dozen’)