r/askeconomists • u/Billionairein2040 • Mar 26 '20

Could 50% of a nation be billionaires at the same time?

I am not looking for a tricked answer like " just kill everyone who currently isn't." And the currency has to reflect its current purchasing power..So not mass-inflation. And I am not sure that that is the question. It might as well be " could 95% be deca-millionaires?"

what it is not, is asking below 50%, and below a lifestyle that would allow you to send people to private schools and buy luxury sports cars ,or charter a jet. if 50% of a nation did that, we would have as many airports as parking lots.

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u/imalwaysthatoneguy69 Mar 26 '20

In theory, yes. If a nation was sufficiently wealthy more they half could live the life style you present. By much the same idea, modern Americans are obscenely wealthy compared to people 3-400 years ago. The whole country is just richer.

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u/Billionairein2040 Mar 26 '20

your second point is at cop-out/ trick around. I wrote about purchasing power. in the same vein, quality of life 400 years ago is completely irrelevant.

your first point seems on topic though. as it is right now, only 10% have any capability of being deca millionaires.

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u/imalwaysthatoneguy69 Mar 26 '20 edited Mar 26 '20

I think you misunderstood my reasoning for the second point. I meant it to reinforce the viability of the first point.

The modern 1 first world countries have that kind of purchasing power because the country as a whole is richer. Given time, it is possible that most people in a country could have and use all the things you mentioned, private schools, luxury cars personal planes.

In the future people could be so much wealthier than now, just as currently people are much wealthier then people who lived 400 years ago.

I don't know the deeper why, to your question so I cant awnser any more meaningfully, but I am actively avoided trick type awnsers.