What percentage of 400 richest in US are Libs vs Conservatives?

9/24/2011 | Vanity

[airedale]

I forced myself to watch Real Time with Bill Maher last night (gag). He had 3 guests on his panel Micheal Moore, Jane Harmon and John Avlon. Marher and Moore went on a rip about how the richest 400 in the country control more wealth than 50+% of US and how terrible that was. It made me wonder what the split is among those top 400 conservative to liberal. Anyone know? I've heard this meme on other news networks (not MSNBC which I don't watch or Gores attempt at a news channel) so we need an answer. My guess is the majority are very progressive and liberal especially those who inherited the wealth like the Kennedy's. The top 20 is split pretty evenly 11 Republicans and 9 Democrats but 4 of them are Waltons and 2 Kochs.

Moore and Maher went on about how the American dream was dead and how you had the same chance to become really wealthy as you do to win the lottery if you don't enter it. That was really funny since Maher, Moore and Harmon are all millionaires and not from inherited money. Granted Harmon married it, but her husband made it on his own. Avlon and Harmon defended the American Dream. Granted Maher and Moore were pushing the standard as billionaire but what percentage of Americans become millionaires based upon their own work and not inherited money?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Most of them probably aren't liberal or conservative, they are whatever it takes to get the government contracts that got them rich.

There are notable exceptions, but Warren Buffet is not one of them.

[FromTheSidelines]

The top 3 are Democrats...

[cranked]

3/4 are progressives and/or libtards
1/4 conservative and/or middle of the road Repubs

[airedale]

The top 10 are: Gates, Buffett, Ellison, Charles Koch, David Koch, Christy Walton, George Soros, Sheldon Adelson, Jim Walton, Alice Walton Considering how hard the Democrats and Progressives go after the Waltons and Kochs you know they have to be relativity conservative. Adelson was a Democrat but when he got wealthier as a Vegas Casino owner he switched. Could have something to do with his many fights with the local unions.

I’m sure a lot of them are neutral as far as politics goes and will curry favor with which ever party or politician that will aid them in their quest for wealth and power.

[peggybac]

http://newsmeat.com/billionaire_political_donations/

[Sooth2222]

I'd say most are libs -- because many if not most managed to get on the list because tax laws and other laws are written -- often by their own lobbyists -- to make it possible for them to amass vast fortunes. Google "Buffett vulture capitalism" for example.

Conservatives tend to view this as changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game and feel it's cheating. My $0.02.

[originalbuckeye]

Very interesting list. Trump gave more to Dems than Repubs. Also, note to self-no more supporting Spielberg or Geffen projects with my money. Just sayin’.

[Argus]

All the rich people I know are liberal Democrats. It’s a form of protective coloration. They equate conservative with greedy (falsely), and do not want to be seen as greedy. So they espouse big government socialism for everybody else, while continuing to live their upper crust lifestyle. This is so much easier than following the Christian path - they get to have their cake and eat it.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

I read recently that only about 10 percent of millionaires (or was it billionaires? I can't recall) inherited their wealth. The rest had worked hard to earn theirs.

[AnglePark]

...but what percentage of Americans become millionaires based upon their own work and not inherited money?

I may not be recalling this correctly, but I saw a stat recently -- from a financial firm -- that said about 65% of "wealthy" folks (valued at $500K or more) earned their money through business or investments. About 25% was a combination of investments and inheritance, and around 10% through inheritance alone.

If that holds true today, and I don't see any reason it wouldn't, most wealth is generated through the creation of business or investments.

If I can find that article again I'll post a link.

[AnglePark]

OK, I was a little off on my numbers, but not by much. It was a study done by PNC Wealth Management, and the numbers are:

69% earned their money through work, business ownership, or investments

25% through inheritance or earnings

6% primarily through inheritance

[wardaddy]

Some of the Waltons are actually more liberal...the women in particular.

Gates is a moderate lib..by Soros standards.

Buffett...lib.

Ellison..sadly a lib...a Red Diaper Baby..shame..I like his spirit ..a tough guy for a rich Jew...old school..I like Larry Ellison for some reason

Koch brothers are righties...thank God for them

Soros...the archetype of liberal NWO sort

Adelson?.....fiscal GOP...not very strong on social issues like the Koch brothers

I have found most very rich people to be lightweight conservative at best, like too many freepers they are sensitive about appearing correct on race, gender, religion etc..

our local very rich here in Nashville tend to be GOP but not social conservative stalwarts...The Ingrams and Frists...reliable GOP but soft. Mike Curb...same thing. Charles Irby (Irby Electric)..serious conservative...former classmate of mine from MS but a few years ahead. Eskinds...Hospital folks...some liberal, some conservative..a split family. Music Row folks...the NYC label heads are often Jewish and lib, the women too. The known conservative singers...are just that.

the most conservative people in our culture tend to be more rural or southern and not super rich but comfortable...few in the private Jet class that are social conservatives I’ve found

what say u DC?

[FromTheSidelines]

Interesting!

On that list, 37 are Democrats (giving more to the Dems than the GOP), and 48 are Republicans.

Total Democrat donations of $13,476,780. Total Republican donations of $16,868,628.

Both are about a 45/55 split Democrat to Republican.

[airedale]

Just because they earned their own money though business ownership or investments doesn’t make them a conservative. Gates, Soroos, Ellison all earned their money and are very liberal and support progressive causes and didn’t inherit their money while those like the Waltons or Mars family who tend to be more conservative. Though a lot of trust fund babies are more likely to be liberals like Al Gore.

[AnglePark]

I was answering the last question in your original post, which was:

...but what percentage of Americans become millionaires based upon their own work and not inherited money?

That's why I led with your question in my first response.

[PieterCasparzen]

All the rich people I know are liberal Democrats. It’s a form of protective coloration. They equate conservative with greedy (falsely), and do not want to be seen as greedy. So they espouse big government socialism for everybody else, while continuing to live their upper crust lifestyle. This is so much easier than following the Christian path - they get to have their cake and eat it.

I concur - they think they are "protecting" themselves, trying to be seen as a "man of the people", etc. Of course, they don't give away all their money, so they are still rich. If a mob came looking for rich people, it's hard to see that ruse holding up to actually protect them.

It makes eminently more sense for them to actually be on the side of small business. Actually reach out to the "little people" and stand behind the right of everyone to have a go at it and try to build a better life for themselves. That position would not be a lie.

Instead, the rich getting in bed with big government is actually "making a deal with the devil", since the individuals who have most of the power in a big statist government are drunk with power and don't care that a "subject" is rich or poor, they just want control and more of the subject's money. When they run up against a temporary political wall collecting taxes from one class they simply move on to the next class.

The dumbest part of the rich supporting big government is simple arithmetic: government can only get it's money from taxes. Taxes, yielding only a very indirect benefit, are "overhead" on citizens. As this overhead increases, the economy slows down. Peter Schiff did a great piece on how the total tax outlay for citizens has grown tremendously since WWII. The ever-increasing overall tax burden is slowly crushing the economy. And what's the worst thing for a large investment portfolio: an economy that's slowly being crushed. When the "rich" tout big government, they are really touting the ideas that are ruining the very economy that keeps them rich and that provides a nice place for them to live.

If government could not borrow, it would not be able to overspend.

We can see the facts in front of our face: governments all over the world have abused their ability to borrow. They have spent money that they have yet to collect and won't collect for decades or even centuries in taxes. They got ahead of themselves in spending.

Government borrowing is an obsolete idea that needs to be phased out.

Likewise, government having reserves is a good idea, but not beyond a year's tax revenue.

Government should tax for a surplus, then adjust reserves at the end of the year and return unused surplus to taxpayers in the same ratio that they paid taxes.

[Mike Darancette]

like too many freepers they are sensitive about appearing correct on race, gender, religion etc..

So, what would "correct" be.

[wardaddy]

Realistic appraisal of minority culture....as a rule...and the appropriate response to it...practically, ideologically,culturally and politically
Those of us with some years that have spent most of our lives in minority "white" or close to that environs need no such primer
Freepers...a majority i’d wager....of whom live in largely non southern nearly homogeneous non Hispanic white areas simply are ignorant naive and self righteously judgmental of us who have to deal with problem that lecture us about but they themselves live apart from

[Travis McGee]

You can say that again. Live in SC, LA or MS for a while, then get back to us.