Each year Forbes Magazine comes out with the list of Billionaires and that is when subscriptions and magazines sales skyrocket. Why, you ask? Well, I think you know why, because for some reason we are enthralled by the super rich; what they wear, where they live, where they go, what they eat, how they live and what they are like? But do you ever wonder about other things?
Let’s think in terms of inches. An inch is a very short unit of distance. How far away is one million inches? The surprising answer is that it is just over 15 miles. A billion inches would not even take you around the Earth.
First, there are many more millionaires in the world than there are Most Richest persons in the world. According to Forbes Magazine, as of March 2007, there are 946 billionaires in the world with 178 of them being newcomers. (I did the math for you: the world now has 23% more billionaires than it did a year ago!) And this compares to the 9.5 million millionaires in the world (Merrill Lynch & Cap Gemini, The 2007 Wealth Report).
Brian Tracy, renowned world class speaker and multi millionaire said that there is nothing that would make you more unhappy than to realize that there is somebody dumber then you earning more money than you.
The trend that is taking off by storm in the 21 st Century is on line education apart from the Wellness Industry. Forget million dollar thinking we are Youngest Billionaires talking billion dollar thinking.
However, I would disagree that the Pledge will encourage a general spirit of giving amongst individuals who are not exceptionally wealthy. If anything, I believe it will decrease smaller donations and giving by everyday people because it creates the perception that there are now billions of additional dollars pouring into nonprofits.
Alright, we may not all be emperors, otherwise who would be the servants? But you certainly can be a very well off butler. It certainly is well within your reach.