Lifestyles of the rich & the famous

Forbe's magazine has come out with their newest survey of America's 400 richest tycoons. To make the list this year, you need over $1,000,000,000 net worth. No, my zero didn't get stuck, there are nine 0's there...$1bn. One man, Sheldon Adelson, who is in the news frequently in this part of the world for building a new $2bn casino on a Chinese island called Macau, has apparently been making $1,000,000 every hour...for two years!

Living where I live, seeing the things I see, working with the people I'm working with; this kind of wealth is unfathomable right now...indeed I'm sure it always will be. If Adelson could even give away one of those hour's wage each day he could bring entire villages out of poverty forever--each day. Now I don't know Adelson's (or the others save the top two) philanthropic efforts--but I do know that he's worth $20.5bn, and has plenty left to give away.

Now the rest of us may not have billions, and we may not be making a million an hour, but I think seeing the extravigence of some challenges me to be more giving with what I have. It's good to know the top two on the list (Gates & Buffett) have each given over half of their respective net worth's to bring hope in an otherwise hopeless world for many poor, disease ridden Africans. But those two can't do it alone. They need help! And even peons like us making fractions of a penny on the dollar of those ultra-rich can be the vessel that inspires hope in lives around the globe.