The Paradox of Money

Yet another unsubstantiated pet theory of mine.

It seems to me that the really, really good capitalists... don't actually much care for money. They care about money, but they don't actually enjoy using it. Think Warrne Buffet, NM Rothschild, or James Sinegal, the CEO of Costco. They do it because they truly enjoy doing it. Buffet pays himself $100,000 a year- minimum wage by CEO standards. His biggest vice? Cherry Coke.

Conversely, money can really make you stupid:

Killinger, who once stripped companies of executive perks, was growing accustomed to them. He started using corporate jets, racking up $232,484 in personal jet use, not related to WaMu business, between 2003 and 2006, according to regulatory filings. WaMu’s board revoked the privilege in 2007, and said Killinger must reimburse the company for any future personal use.

You can read the Anakin Skywalker descent in the link above. Suffice it to say there was a lot more frill at WaMu in 2005 than it had in 1990.

And therein lies the paradox of money; the same incentive that powers capitalism at times causes it to be undone.