There is a great book “The Antisocial Network” that sheds interesting insights into the GameStop short squeeze, where some ragtag hoody investors took down one of the largest hedge fund managers on Wall Street. It’s a pulsating read, but more importantly it fired a first shot in a revolution that threatens to upend the financial system.
It all emanates from “financial exclusion” and the separation from the “have’s” and have “not’s” in today’s society. Hedge fund managers have been notorious in the news with outlandish earnings and bonuses being paid. Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, earned about $2 billion in bonuses in 2018. Wall Street bankers’ bonuses averaged $176 700 in 2022, down 26% from pre-pandemic levels. This is 2.5x the median US household income. More at home, Standard Bank CEO’s pay cheque was R55m, while the Group CEO for Capitec earns a package of R260 263 a day!
Since 2020, the richest 1% grabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth, almost twice as much as the bottom 99% of the world’s population. Furthermore, the billionaire class is $2.6 trillion richer than before the pandemic.
Is this what capitalism is all about? If so, count me out.
