You Don’t Make a Billion Without Hurting Somebody

Just sayin’

Denise Shelton
2 min readApr 9, 2024
Photo by Jonas Allert on Unsplash

“Behind every great fortune is a great crime.” — Honoré de Balzac

History shows us the relentless acquisition of wealth erodes one’s character. It also shows that those best positioned to acquire vast holdings are those unburdened by humane principles. In other words, not giving a damn about your fellow humans is good for business.

Elon Musk recently demonstrated the lack of empathy the rich and powerful can possess for those whose lives are negatively impacted by their actions. In the transcript of court proceedings regarding charges that Musk promoted a conspiracy theory on the X social media platform falsely identifying University of California, Riverside, student Ben Brody as a federal agent posing as a white supremacist, Musk was unrepentant. He said he didn’t think Brody had been “meaningfully harmed.” Brody and his family, who have been the target of unrelenting harassment ever since Musk elevated the theory by commenting on it, beg to differ. A court will decide.

Want further proof of bad rich guy behavior? This Newsweek article provides a detailed example from someone who needs no introduction.

It would be mathematically impossible to amass a huge fortune without treading on someone’s tootsies. One might even argue that a literal…

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