can you get away with anything as a billionaire?

[YUPPIE]

been reading into the palm oil corporations and nestle's illicit activities and I'm just amazed (in the bad sense). just like the mexican cartels, their money and the following private military corps and underworld connections they can afford essentially lets them able to do whatever they like. They're not bound by conventional laws and no amount of protesting seems to be able to stop them.

so if you're up to the wealth of a billionaire, can you just do whatever you want in a capitalist world?

[Gaidax]

Not anything, but you can sure get away with a lot.

And whatever you can't get away with you can stall for a long long time.

[RH92]

so if you're up to the wealth of a billionaire, can you just do whatever you want in a capitalist world?

Why do people think such is the case only in capitalist world? Corruption in society is old as the humanity itself, it's in us by default.

[Magical Mudcrab]

Why do people think such is the case only in capitalist world? Corruption in society is old as the humanity itself, it's in us by default.

Corruption can happen in any form of society, but capitalism heavily incentivizes it. For instance, I would advise looking at instances like Shell having so much control over Nigeria that they were able to mobilize their army against protestors, and were able to frame anti-Shell advocates for crimes and have them sentenced to death. Large companies are incentivized to be instigators of corruption because if they have a fine levied against themselves worth a few million dollars by killing some foreign nationals, but make billions in revenue by continuing to abuse their power, why would they ever stop? That's why some people advocate for significantly stronger social controls to allow heavier penalties to be levied against countries and individuals such that the penalties for their crimes are proportional to what smaller businesses and less wealthy individuals face.

[ProphetFlume]

Let’s name the things you can’t do as a billionaire.

The closest I can think of is Armie Hammer, who’s only the son of a billionaire, and apparently has a cannibalism and DA thing. When I first heard the rumors I thought they were beyond preposterous, but then was like “well if anyone can get away with cannibalism it’s a billionaire(s son.)”

And then, I guess maybe pissing off another billionaire can lead to serious shit, but that would go down on a different level than legally.

Buy a nuke? I’d say if sheikhs and smaller-but-still wealthy rulers can’t buy them there must be some real hurdles, but then again I don’t think any are billionaire level rich. I’m sure Ghaddafi and Saddam (ironically) would’ve been all too happy to have them as deterrents from interference.

Own an NBA team after being caught on video talking about black people as “those people?” There was an owner caught in that scandal years ago who was forced to sell the Clippers due to public pressure.

But as far as actual punishment I’m really stumped. Is there any record of it happening, And was it a real punishment? Enron kind of guys didn’t really get punished in any way that I remember, maybe a few got a light jail sentence and fined but I don’t think it actually did much, but again idk how many of them were billionaires.

[Biglog]

At least in the US and most of the West, the issue is that the legal system like politics can be gamed with money. DAs are often where lawyers start after law school, to get some experience before trying to join a firm or start their own practice and make significantly more money. Attorneys on the other hand are like free agents in sports, where you can buy the best of the best if you have enough money. So many times cases aren't really a fair fight. It would be like a high school player going against a professional star.

So because of that you see prosecutors that only pursue cases they are fairly certain they can win, because they know it's usually a David vs. Goliath fight if the defendant is wealthy. And a billionaire will pay to have about the best legal team in the world. In in a perfect world the facts would rule and the skill or lack thereof of the attorneys wouldn't of the affect the outcome that much, but it absolutely does. More often than not a star legal team will convince at least 1 juror to have enough of a doubt to win the case.

Lawyers do keep record of wins and losses, and that record goes a long way to determining if a DA gets a higher paying offer to join a firm or ends up on the budget end of an attorney career. That is the other reason they don't want to take on cases they might not win. So that also leads to cases not even being brought against wealthy defendants.

And just for an added bonus, star attorneys will often defend wealthy high-profile cases just for the exposure. Because they know if they are able to win, that exposure will move them even higher up the lawyer totem pole to bigger cases and paydays from wealthy people.

[RobertoCarlos]

You use mexican cartels as an example.

Money is not what gives them their "Freedom"

Its by threat/action of hacking off your limbs and decapitating you and your loved ones with a machete combined with money which makes them able to corrupt at the highest level.

[Kathranis]

Pretty much everything short of defrauding the government or people more rich and powerful than them.

Why do people think such is the case only in capitalist world? Corruption in society is old as the humanity itself, it's in us by default.

There can be corruption and exploitation in any economic system, but capitalism has fewer guardrails and is effectively built on a foundation of worker exploitation. The laissez faire neoliberal movement has been slowly removing guardrails since Reagan came into power in the 80s, resulting in our current "late stage capitalist" system.

They call it "late stage capitalism" because it's pretty much an inevitability that capitalist systems will eventually funnel wealth into the hands of a small group of amoral or immoral individuals who will use that wealth to tip the system into their favor.

Socialist or social democratic systems by contrast have more checks and balances in place and give more power to workers, making it difficult for that wealth to become concentrated. Still not foolproof systems, but absent fascist regimes, war, and foreign intervention, they can last a lot longer.

[Sorshen]

The likes of Musk and Bezos sure seem to be able to get away with slaps on the wrist.

[LilSaihah]

But as far as actual punishment I’m really stumped. Is there any record of it happening, And was it a real punishment?

Well Epstein committed suicide. I don't think many people believe he did it voluntarily.

[MCMLXXXII]

Conspiracy theories aren't allowed

[ProphetFlume]

Well Epstein committed suicide. I don't think many people believe he did it voluntarily.

I didn’t think he was a billionaire so I looked it up. Supposedly he was maybe one in terms of total net worth, aka if you counted him selling everything he owned, but I’m not going to be nit picky, it’s close enough for this purpose anyway. And I’m sure he had plenty of hidden offshore accounts like every person with hundreds of millions or more.

[CostinR]

A smart clever person who understands the system and knows how to play it will be able to do a lot things that other people can't a billionaire fundamental is generally a smart and capable person with a lot of resources available to be able to do whatever they want.

So the answer is yes unless it's completely obvious they've broken the law.

[cubby]

been reading into the palm oil corporations and nestle's illicit activities and I'm just amazed (in the bad sense). just like the mexican cartels, their money and the following private military corps and underworld connections they can afford essentially lets them able to do whatever they like. They're not bound by conventional laws and no amount of protesting seems to be able to stop them.

so if you're up to the wealth of a billionaire, can you just do whatever you want in a capitalist world?

Just about anything. Most crimes, including murder. Any and all financial crimes - if caught, negotiate a fine. Most people don't really understand what a billion dollars really is nor how and what it can actually do.

The likes of Musk and Bezos sure seem to be able to get away with slaps on the wrist.

Those aren't even small potatoes. Not sure why you'd those two as examples in this question.

- - - Updated - - -

Not anything, but you can sure get away with a lot.

And whatever you can't get away with you can stall for a long long time.

Exactly. Horrendous crimes are usually pled out or negotiated. Few if any billionaires actually end up in jail. At the end of the day, if all other avenues are closed, they just flee to a non-extradition country.

Money can buy you almost anything you want in this world. A billion dollars is more than 99.9997% of the population has. You can do anything with as a billionaire.

[RH92]

There can be corruption and exploitation in any economic system, but capitalism has fewer guardrails and is effectively built on a foundation of worker exploitation. The laissez faire neoliberal movement has been slowly removing guardrails since Reagan came into power in the 80s, resulting in our current "late stage capitalist" system.

They call it "late stage capitalism" because it's pretty much an inevitability that capitalist systems will eventually funnel wealth into the hands of a small group of amoral or immoral individuals who will use that wealth to tip the system into their favor.

Socialist or social democratic systems by contrast have more checks and balances in place and give more power to workers, making it difficult for that wealth to become concentrated. Still not foolproof systems, but absent fascist regimes, war, and foreign intervention, they can last a lot longer.

I don't think that's entirely true even though I perfectly understand your point and there is nothing wrong with what you said.

I believe a corruption is a matter of ethics and morale, not of a specific system. Humans create systems that seem good and just on paper, but our nature seeks to bend rules for our own profit.

Being born in a country that was once part of Eastern Bloc, the people that were in power back then, they or their children are still in control of large portions of businesses. They are overshadowed only by foreign megacompanies that came here, it's really hard to create something big from scratch.

I would say Capitalism is better because it gives everybody equall chance to be a corrupted asshole, rather than having selected few with too much power.

[Al Gorefiend]

You pose the question as singular but your OP talks about corporations and cartels.

Corporations can get away with anything because corporate law is a whole different beast. Chiquita banana has incited genocides and mass destruction throughout history but still maintains a healthy number of billionaires running it.

Individual billionaires get away with shady shit and are still given lengthy court sessions and still deliberated on by a jury of peers. They can't get away with anything but they are able to pay restitutions to avoid criminal punishment is what goes on in the background, either to victims or whoever is suing them that weekend.

[Antipathy1018]

Just use the old adage of "Money talks, Bullshit walks". There is a reason this idiom came into being.

[Fencers]

Yes. Money isn't everything, it's the only thing.

[RobertoCarlos]

Yes. Money isn't everything, it's the only thing.

Not really.

WW3 goes off, couple EMP's and society crumbles as we know it, Money is essentially useless compared to tangibles like food/water and tobacco/alcohol which would become the trading currency.

[ghotihook]

Not really.

WW3 goes off, couple EMP's and society crumbles as we know it, Money is essentially useless compared to tangibles like food/water and tobacco/alcohol which would become the trading currency.

Ok...So money is everything except during the apocalypse.