• RandomStickman@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    91
    ·
    3 days ago

    I’ll never understand why people think Trump is “less establishment”. He’s been a gazillionaire his whole life and backed by literally the richest man on earth. How more establishment can you get?

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      28
      ·
      3 days ago

      literally the richest man on earth

      friendly reminder that Musk is not the richest man on earth.

      he’s the richest man on earth dumb enough to talk about it.

      • kerrigan778@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        2 days ago

        I mean, not just dumb enough to talk about it, anyone for whom most of their wealth is in publicly traded companies (which is most rich people) has public record of how much.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 days ago

          You understand that most people with significantly-sized investments start using things like LLCs and trusts to invest instead of just holding it in their name? sometimes you know who owns the LLC, most times you don’t.

          And the LLC owns the shares; so that’s whose name goes on the ledger. the vast majority of even the modestly-rich spend a great deal of time, effort and money to ensure their privacy. Musk is one of the rare dumbasses that publicly broadcasts it. (probably because he’s an insecure little bitch.)

          • howrar@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            2 days ago

            Does that work when you also want to be in control of those companies? All the big CEOs I can think of directly own shares in their own companies.

            • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              2 days ago

              yes, it does.

              They may chose to not (for example, Musk,) but yes it does. And the LLCs offer a lot of other advantages. (like, if you split it into multiple LLCs, they technically have different reporting requirements. So. like. hostile take overs.)

              The shares held by LLCs are still voting shares. and since you control the LLC, they vote the way you want. One of the big advantages is location- siting the LLC in someplace that has favorable regulations (maryland,) or tax structures (Florida, texas,) lets you live anywhere you want.

              They also provide protection against lawsuits (for example, sachler family and purdue pharma.) and that protection goes both ways, (for example, Ruddie Ghouliani’s troubles. they’re used to hide assets. a forensic accountant might find it, but not before they get protected.)

              But as for privacy; if you were careful setting it up- and hired a service out of maryland to answer the phones as a ‘representative’- then all any one would know about the LLC is that number and that rep’s office as the adress. (fun fact, there’s like two addresses used for like… most… llcs because that service is useful.)

      • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        3 days ago

        Yup, Putin is probably richer and then you’ve got oil royalty as well whose wealth is unknown… Tesla is worth a lot, but how much is the Saudi’s oil industry worth you think?

        • grue@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          2 days ago

          Putin and the Saudis

          So what you’re saying is, RandomStickman’s “[Trump is] backed by literally the richest man on Earth” claim is true after all.

          • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            2 days ago

            Well, I don’t think that’s what OP had in mind since Musk’s financial involvement is a certainty and Putin’s is speculative (lulz)

    • gibmiser@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      40
      ·
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      He’s not part of that political elites circle, he’s part of the rich kids circle. Why anyone thinks that is a substantial improvement is a mystery to me

      E: the establishment political elite is allowing business to exploit people and take in billions! We need to stop electing them, let’s instead elect the people directly benefiting from those fucked up policies! I’m sure they will vote against what made them and their friends rich and feel special and better than the plebs!

      • spaghetti_hitchens@fedia.io
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        3 days ago

        I might argue the rich kids circle is even worse than the political elites’. At least a politician has to occasionally throw their constituents a bone here or there.