You forget the other half of the deal: POWER.
A political career pays of in more than just plain money. If they play their cards right, they also get power and influence which is way more addicting than just money. Off course, they often forget the what Uncle Ben said, which is why some of the more careless ones end up getting hung out to dry.
ok power, but to what end?
whats with all this subjective reasoning? this is exactly why rich people continue to work -
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Because those people are doing something with their lives, instead of sitting in front of their computer, bitching about shit.
There’s a world out there, you guys too narrow minded to just see it.
Power to control everyone/everything is the answer.
You seem genuinely incapable of accepting the idea that people aren’t wired the way you are. We’re not Vulcans, not everything a person does can necessarily be rationalized on your personal “conducive to fucking about on the XBOX” scale of worth. I personally wouldn’t continue working past the 5mil mark, but it’s pretty easy for me to acknowledge that other people would and do? Shit, having a tower full of white people kissing my ass whilst I strut around in a 10K suit might not be a halfbad way to spend my time, I might even do coke in my office (instead of in a urinal like a fucking delinquent) like a proper Shinra executive.
This is the kind of value system you probably need to have to make so much money in the first place, wink/hint.
Also, there was a documentary made on the lives of some extremely rich people awhile back by some shitheel billionaire’s son.
I forget who addressed the question, but apparently, in so many words it came down to some funky social conditioning where the guy continued working to justify the fact that he had so much, he felt as if people would hate him if he spent all his time fucking about, partying like Bruce Wayne and such. This is why the TRULY rich people, the Rothschilds and such are all fairly low key, they’re trying to avoid getting French Revolutioned subconsciously.
mo money mo problems!
The bulk-history of civilized human beings paints a pretty distinct picture of the nature of what the OP is inquiring about. Which names of ages past and recent jump out at you? We’re they powerful, or influential, or both?
Answer to thread…http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Former-Celtics-star-Antoine-Walker-is-broke-and-?urn=nba,198509
Because being rich doesn’t mean you’ll stay rich.
I totally agree with all the reasons stated already. Millionare’s like Bill Gates work because they want to. Simple as that, but there are some other interesting tax and legal reasons I can think of. I’m going to simplify a ton of the facts I’m giving, so if anyone wants to elaborate or prove me wrong go ahead i guess. Again these are super simplified examples.
When people talk about super rich people getting salaries of millions of dollars every year, most of the time the salaries are exhaggerated. They are getting compensated a shit ton more than they deserve, but not with salaries per say. Businesses “the entities not the people” are generally taxed on the “profit” they make. Revenues-expenses = profit. Companies can consider salaries as a busines expense (money that’s not taxed by the business), but only up to a certain point. I wanna say $100,000 per person per year. So the business doesn’t pay tax on that money. Anything above the 100,000 is taxed at the corporate and the individual level. Most likely at the highest 35% tax bracket.
Companies are smart and they usually avoid those fees with things like stock option plans and crazy fringe benefits-that’s how people get filthy rich. Stock option plans only work out for the executives if the companies doing well. So if the companies stock price dropped, the executives might have to work lots of years before the stock option plan benefits them at all. Cases like Enron is when the company wasn’t doing well, but the executives were lying so that the stocks would sell for more than they were worth. Fringe benefits are things like “using company jets” and “golfing at company resorts” executives can’t use those benefits unless they’re working. Fringe benefits add up.
Another reason is because of recourse debt debt in partnerships. Partnerships under U.S. law, think of law firms like baker and solomon, are treated way different than corporations. Unlike corporations, partners in partnerships are liable for everything in their business. so if the partners of a business buy a sky scrapper, and they they’ve got a 1 billion dollar morgage, they’re responsible for the entire morgage. Generally if you’re a partner with a 1 billion dollar morgage you’re not transfering ownership any time soon and you’ll be working for a long time, no matter how rich you are. That’s one of the reasons the corporate form of business is so popular. Limited liability and you can transfer ownership so easily.
You keep working so you have enough clout to do things like make your dumb drunk son’s DUIs disapear.
Seriously though, I think family comes into play a lot. A lot of folks would like it so 15 generations of their descendants wouldn’t have to lift a finger.
Most of the successful people are successful because they have drive. Retirement is a boring scam they tried to push on us to artificially lower unemployment. I personally want to work a job I enjoy until the day I die.
In my humble opinion, when you have so much money that you’re set for luxury for life, more than any human should need, then all further currency aquired should go to good causes. By Law. 
It’s like MMOs and gamer score, humans really like watching numbers of how good they are increase, no matter how pointless the number. It’s all pretty hollow and sad.
I guess what I’m saying is… In gamer terms… Level cap this shit.
My gut tells me that those rich people continue to work because they are status climbers.
But lets look at another portion of the rich people population. Look at people who enjoy gambling. Look at poker players. I think that some of those rich people are in it because they enjoy the game. So there are two camps–the climbers, and the gamers.
You are still incapable of understanding this shit, net. You don’t want to accept the answers given to you. My friend, Charles, obviously has to work according to you but he doesn’t. He does it because he wants to. Yet you, a person who doesn’t know him, are absolutely sure he has to work because in your eyes he obviously does. For whatever reason. Which goes back to my original point of you being a fucking idiot.
Since you are incapable of seeing anything but your own views, I’m going to close this thread. Stop being an idiot.
You are still incapable of understanding this shit, net. You don’t want to accept the answers given to you. My friend, Charles, obviously has to work according to you but he doesn’t. He does it because he wants to. Yet you, a person who doesn’t know him, are absolutely sure he has to work because in your eyes he obviously does. For whatever reason. Which goes back to my original point of you being a fucking idiot.
Since you are incapable of seeing anything but your own views, I’m going to close this thread. Stop being an idiot.