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by lotsofpulp 1651 days ago
What does being a multi millionaire allow one to do? An old couple with a few million saved up for the rest of their life is protected against health risks and some inflation, but they are not likely going to be able to spend sufficiently to influence others.
1 comments
anshumankmr 1651 days ago
Using this information here [1](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/24/where-bernie-sanders-money-c...) and this calculator here [2](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/21/are-you-in-...),

>annual income of 1,100,000 U.S. dollars for a household of 2 is equivalent to $1,309/day per person in 2011 in purchasing power parity dollars, putting you in the high income group worldwide, along with 39.8% of people in advanced economies.

*2 since he has a wife.

And he doesn't have to pay much for insurance as per this [3](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/25/heres-how-much-members-of-co...)

He is a part of the "elite" class as per his income. And being a senator he does have a lot of influence over policy.

I don't hate Bernie but seeing the discourse regarding him, that often deifies him feels disingenuous to me.

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lotsofpulp 1651 days ago
Sanders does not have recurring annual income of $1M+. It was for a couple years due to selling a book at the height of his popularity. Having $1M+ in reliable, recurring income would allow a “multi millionaire” to have influence.

Certainly his position as US Senator and accompanying benefits is significant, but I was just commenting that being a “multi millionaire” is not indicative of much sway assuming multi millionaire also means having a few million in total net worth at retirement age.

Anyway, my point is, I would not qualify him as “elite” in the sense of being able to affect federal policy just by his regular income / net worth if he was not already a US senator. He would get outbid by many others with deeper pockets vying for political influence.

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sudosysgen 1650 days ago
He doesn't quite have a million dollar income. He made a million dollars from selling a book, which is a one-off. His normal annual income is more like 250 000$, which is still a lot.
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