Most people are raised by their parents believing that the rich are greedy. The argument goes something like this: ‘If you make more money than you need, you are taking more than your fair share of the pie and, in turn, preventing the poorest people from earning a decent living.’
So, myth or reality? Are the rich greedy?
Rich Dad Poor Dad writer Robert Kiyosaki often talks about his parents’ differing opinions. His ‘poor dad’ complained about how greedy the rich were, while his ‘rich dad’ always insisted that ‘the poor were more greedy than the rich.’
How is it possible that the poor are more greedy than the rich?
This is a difficult concept to grasp, but once you think about it, you’ll see that it’s actually a pretty logical statement.
Think of the advantages a rich man has over a poor man.
- Money never gets in the way of what they want to achieve or give.
- They are no longer ‘forced to work’, but can spend their time working on exactly what they want.
Therefore, rich people have TIME AND MONEY to help other people and have a positive impact on the world. The poor, on the other hand, have neither time nor money. Instead, most of them are so preoccupied with material survival that they don’t even have enough time to take care of themselves, let alone help others.
The opposing argument I hear regularly goes something like this:
Most rich people give almost nothing to charity, or if they do, it’s just to gain popularity.
I can’t tell you how angry these comments make me feel. First of all, most of the people I hear this from don’t donate anything to charity, but instead say, “If I ever get rich, then I’ll donate a lot of money.” My argument would be that if you’re not helping other people now then you probably never will, no matter how much money you have. And secondly, giving to charity shouldn’t be about how much you give, but simply about helping people. I know several people who earn well below minimum wage and still manage to find the generosity to donate their money and time.
I recently received an invitation to a family friend’s 11th birthday party that specifically asked that people not bring gifts. Instead, he said if people wanted to buy him a gift, they could make a small donation to his favorite charity. That is what I call generosity. I agree that some famous people give to charities to boost their popularity, but I can think of worse things they could be doing instead.
Jamie McIntyre and Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) talk about how people should try to raise their goals. Instead of aiming to just pay your bills, why not aim to earn enough income so that you have the TIME AND MONEY to help as many other people as you can? The best lesson you can learn from Rich Dad Poor Dad is that you should let your money work for you, not work for money. This will allow him to spend his time doing exactly what he wants. Once he has the time and money, he can really decide how generous he’d like to be, who knows, maybe he could even start his own charity one day.
So, myth or reality? Are the rich greedy?
Well I think the basic answer is no and the complicated answer is that anyone can be greedy: the rich, the poor, the strong and the weak. In the end it is up to you to decide.
See mr coz when you’re rattling at heaven’s door
By then it’s too late
Because sir, when you get there, they don’t ask, they don’t ask.
what you saved
All you want to know lord is what you gave
So excuse me sir, but I’m a sir too,
And you’re giving Mr. a bad name Mr. like you
So I’ll take the lord across the street from your name
‘Cause it’s the lord like you that puts the rest of us to shame
BEN HARPER – Excuse me sir
