🚀 «Millionaires make money. Billionaires make history.»
Back in 2020, I wrote a piece reflecting on this quote, tracing the evolution of extreme wealth from John D. Rockefeller (the first dollar billionaire in 1916) to the pandemic-era tech boom that supercharged the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy.
Fast forward to today, and we’ve officially entered a new era. We aren’t just talking about billionaires making history anymore. With Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire, the scale has entirely shifted.
Back in 2020, when the original post was written, I was concerned about seeing:
– Tech and industrial fortunes were accelerating at unprecedented speeds.
– The top fraction of a percent held more wealth than billions of people combined.
– The socio-economic system that hyper-concentrates wealth at the very top is fundamentally at odds with global sustainability and reducing inequality.
2020 seems like a faraway past.
As we cross the threshold from billionaires to trillionaires, the question shifts from how history is being made to who it ultimately serves.
Are we building a self-perpetuating system that leaves billions behind, or can this level of capital be steered toward solving our greatest global challenges?
I honestly don’t have a clue. But «a rising tide that lifts all boats» seems more of a flood than a lift.
If millionaires make money, and billionaires make history. What do the trillionaires do? And what good is that gonna do to nearly 9 billion not trillionaires?
Boris Matijas 