Display:
I don't think Tommy is a billionaire.  He's a toady and lickspittle to & for billionaires.  
by ATinNM on Fri Feb 9th, 2007 at 06:45:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
One of whom is his wife, who happens to be a billionaire.
by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Feb 9th, 2007 at 07:01:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It's only tangentially relevant, but BHL has one of the top twenty fortunes in France - heir to a timber empire he sold off.
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Feb 10th, 2007 at 02:01:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Their wealth is not relevant. They have one thing in common: an overinflated ego. However, they differ on one thing: Thomas Friedman is an utter ignorant idiot, whereas BHL is far from stupid.

I would like to see a book on Jean-Paul Sartre by Thomas Friedman...


"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

by Melanchthon on Sat Feb 10th, 2007 at 05:15:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh, I think class is absolutely relevant, as it informs an utter insouciance of the consequences of their bullshit. You know, it's easy to advocate certain things when the adverse effects they may engender don't impact your independantly wealthy pot-bellied self.

And, as we all tend to be self-interested, and getting beyond this (ie, altruism in the case of wealth) is usually an exception and not a rule, the organs which are written for and by them - Le Fig and Les Echos, FT, the WSJ, the Economist, et c., tend to be far more neo-liberal than the average. Wealthy folks tend to be far more neo-liberal in outlook than average as well, as neo-liberalism permits an even greater accumulation of wealth and power.

As for Friedman writing a book on Sartre, I'd pay top dollar for that too.

But I wouldn't read it. I can see it now: "Being-for-itself, this is sort of like me. I am for myself, and everything I write is a celebration of me". The quintessential Friedman.

Fai de bèn a Bertrand, te lou rendra en cagant

by redstar on Sat Feb 10th, 2007 at 07:15:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password
Occasional Series