You're missing something critical here. A tiny fraction of US CEO's earn more than $5 million a year. Let's look at a bit of the statistical breakdown. World's richest man: Bill Gates. Annual Salary: $350,000. Extravagant? Yes. Anywhere close to $5 million? Nope. Let's look at Warren Buffet. Historically one of the five richest people on Earth. Annual salary: $0. That's right, he's not on anybody's payroll. Now let's look at some of the new wealth. Steve Case, AOL CEO, worth around $1 billion. Annual salary? You guessed it, less than $500,000. Extravagant? Yes. Extreme? No. Okay, now let's look at Ted Turner. Annual salary? About $300,000. Net worth: Over $1 billion.
Are we starting to see a lack of corrolation between net worth and salary? Yes, I think so. Do you have any idea why?
Its very simple. These people are smart. These people had vision. These people created companies or industries that fundamentally change the essence of America, for better or for worse. These people are rich because they created companies that made them rich, because the companies are either the best or the cheapest or simply the most convenient. It is us, the consumers, who make these people rich.
The point is, it doesn't really matter. People will be poor, and people will be rich, but past a certain point overall living conditions really depend on the economy. When the economy is good, everybody lives well. When its bad, the rich live and the poor struggle. But the economy is good! So why complain?
