Who's Really The Richest Person In The World?

[James_H]

This follows from a conversation I had with @Krepostnoi when we met a few weeks ago. He said that he suspects that Vladimir Putin is actually the richest person in world. Of course, we usually hear Jeff Bezos quoted as such – however, some of the super rich may find it in their interests to hide the true extent of their wealth. For example, it was discovered after his death that Muammar Ghaddafi was much richer than Bezos. Also, wealth is very difficult to define or measure as a person may have access to many assets other than what is in their bank accounts.

Here's an article presenting the case that Putin is one of, if not the, richest person in the world:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2019/12/is-vladimir-putin-the-richest-person-in-the-world/

 

[James_H]

Online estimates put Xi Jinping's (salary: US$22,000 p/a) net worth as somewhere between a paltry US$1 Million and US$1.51 billion – the latter number would definitely put him up there above the tech tycoons as one of the richest people in the world, though I've no idea how they arrived at it.

Some Chinese government officials are extremely rich, due to a rich culture of corruption at a government level. However, as the country is nominally communist, even though ostentatious displays of wealth are popular it would not be PC for a leader to appear too wealthy.

 

[titch]

You are referring to mere material wealth, but in reality I am the richest person in the world, I love and am loved by some wonderful people.

 

[James_H]

You are referring to mere material wealth, but in reality I am the richest person in the world, I love and am loved by some wonderful people.

Putin has the same line, as quoted in the article above:

I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe but in the whole world… I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia. I believe that is my greatest wealth.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Not only Putin's immediate wealth or his 'soft wealth' by his apparent popularity with his people - Russia owns the largest area of land in the world, along with its massive resources. Until recent years, most of that resource wealth was not being fully exploited. One day, Russia will become a wealthy country.

 

[Yithian]

There is a non-trite point that wealth is not merely the posession of money and convertible assets but the ability to utilise those tokens to exercise will. Would, for instance, we judge a man trapped in his own bank vault truly wealthy? A starving man in a diamond mine?

Even in a more plausible scenario it's fair, I think, to say that beyond a certain point the additional zeroes on a screen become literally worthless as they cannot bring about any new object or additional state of affairs you desire. Few people ever reach this stage (and it may be linked with poverty of ambition and imagination), but I believe the point must exist.

And at this point the utility of money to acquire goods and enjoy services simply plateaus; from that point onward, it's the possession of ultra-financial power that replaces wealth.

 

[cycleboy2]

There is a non-trite point that wealth is not merely the posession of money and convertible assets but the ability to utilise those tokens to exercise will. Would, for instance, we judge a man trapped in his own bank vault truly wealthy? A starving man in a diamond mine?

Even in a more plausible scenario it's fair, I think, to say that beyond a certain point the additional zeroes on a screen become literally worthless as they cannot bring about any new object or additional state of affairs you desire. Few people ever reach this stage (and it may be linked with poverty of ambition and imagination), but I believe the point must exist.

And at this point the utility of money to acquire goods and enjoy services simply plateaus; from that point onward, it's the posession of ultra-financial power that replaces wealth.

You've got to love a final sentence with a semi-colon and a compound adjective! (The less said about the spelling mistake...)

 

[Mythopoeika]

...(The less said about the spelling mistake...)

Whatever possessed him to do that?