Yes that's what I don't understand about most of the ultra-rich. They keep wanting more despite having enough to spend millions every day for the rest of their lives. Tesla can't stop throwing tens of billions in bonuses at Musk. But what can he do with that money that he couldn't already?
I think the “wanting more” you describe is less driven by wanting more purchasing power but rather as an outcome of seeking the accomplishment of measurable goals. It becomes about the number rather than what the number represents.
Why does a track star strive to run faster when they can already easily a 4:00 mile and running a 3:42 would be of no practical difference in their life? It’s for the drive not the result.
Hmm yeah like gamification they put in everywhere these days. I don't really understand the attraction of that. I don't want my watch reminding me I'm halfway through my 'goal' which I only set because there was no way to activate the damn thing without setting one. Samsung also keeps switching notifications for it back on. Grrrr.
But in pursuit of these made up goals the industry ruins very real lives by widening the gap between the rich and poor :(
"Money is just a way of keeping score." - attributed to oil baron H. L. Hunt.
One might just as well ask why the person with the largest collection of toasters (https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-c...) wants them since there's a limit to how much toast he can consume. Soime people have passions and they work to realize them, whether it's something silly toasters or something crass like as wealth and power.
It's a selection bias, the ones you're thinking about wouldn't be ultra-rich if their greed had an end. And at this level of wealth, money buys you power, not things.
Yeah you may not want that - Musk’s plan to get to mars involves, not necessarily _intentionally_ but with no attempt to avoid, ruining the earth for everyone else. He and his billionaire friends that want to colonize space have said they intend to do it by any means necessary, including by walking on the backs of us poors, if it means their progeny can outlast the rest of earth.
I used to believe he was a good person actually thinking about the best for humanity (although going to Mars is not the way to do that IMO). But then he turned full nazi so yeah...
These people end up changing the world. Often for the better sometimes not. There happiness isn’t found by being content with what they have but the desire for total domination.
As these people drive progress forward and most of us benefit from the side effects. Just don’t get too close.
It is about keeping score with the other billionaires. Bigger market cap and bigger yacht = more status. Personally, I think you have to be some sort of sociopath to prioritise your billionaire ranking over all the good you could do by giving some of that money to good causes. But I guess being a sociopath is probably helpful if you want to be a billionaire.
