Are Billionaires Ethical?

Although billionaires have the power to use their money for the good, they can create many problems as well. A billion dollars can be used to create services that improve our lives. For instance, Bill Gates developing Microsoft, or Jeff Bezos creating Amazon. While their wealth is well-deserved, not all billionaires have as much of an impact on our lives, wasting a lot of money that could be used elsewhere.

Although a billionaire’s money could ensure the “future wealth and security of [their] offspring,” it is “just sitting there and gathering dust in a vault somewhere while millions of people around the world are forced to live their lives without food, water, housing, and proper sanitation.” A billion dollars is more than anyone needs as it could support you, your children and a few more generations to come. It could instead be used for helping others; this is the essence of why people are trying to abolish billionaires. 

Individuals with immense wealth are often seen as the epitome of the American dream, as they embody the ultimate success stories of social mobility. Although the concept of a billionaire can incentivise hard work, many of them as “a total of 2,153 billionaires in the world today, worth a combined 8.7 trillion dollars,” do not. That 8.7 trillion dollars could be used for people who are struggling, and be reinvested into the economy, for struggling and new companies. A trillion dollars is hard to picture for most people, as it is a vast pocket of money. For example “with $1 trillion, you could buy a very nice apartment for everybody in [San Francisco].” With that much money is it a sin to not use it for the good of others?

The wealth billionaires have could potentially help struggling people, and many of them create problems, sometimes even while trying to help. For example, Jeff Bezos exploited Amazon workers and made them work many more hours than was healthy, this is an instance where billionaires exploit their power for the worse. Although he is trying to improve lives with Amazon and give ease to shopping, his exploitation of workers is not justified by it. Also, it should be a sin to not use their money for the better, as they are withholding that money from the rest of the population. That money could be used by others to help themselves if they are struggling. Although billionaires can help, only a small percentage does without abusing their power.

by WILSON WU