[tomp]

Addressing the "wealth gap" sounds good but is ultimately misguided.

If you look 100 years back, Rockefeller was the richest man in history (and might still be...), yet 1 of his 5 children died in infancy of a bacterial disease. These days, such diseases are extremely rare for about 1bn people in the western world, all of whom are effectively wealthier than Rockefeller was.

Yes, you can "save" people from poverty by giving them money, but ultimately you're just condemning their children to the same fate (after your money runs out). The only real progress is technology. And billionaires spending on anti-aging is exactly the kind of technology that will immensely benefit billions of people in the future.

[simonebrunozzi]

> If you look 100 years back, Rockefeller was the richest man in history

Perhaps Mansa Musa [0] has that title?

[0]: https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/human-interest/richest-m...

[tomp]

John D Rockefeller is generally considered the richest person in history who earned his wealth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_historical_...

Of course, there are many others richer, who stole it (kings, tyrants).