You don’t always pay in cash.

I remember the first time I flew on a private jet. On the return trip I was told not to sit in a certain seat. That’s when I learned, he or she who pays, or owns the jet, determines the seating policy. And believe me, you’re thrilled to be on board, so you just shut up.

I’m not going to tell you the circumstances of that trip, but I will tell you I’m not going to say anything negative about the people involved. Oh, I could, but then I would have broken the code, I’d never have access again, they might not even speak to me again.

You see I know these billionaires. To be in their orbit…let’s just say there’s a lot of largesse. But it’s clear that they go first. And if you want to have access to all the perks, you’ve always got to be upbeat and nice, get on their wavelength, and I O.D.’ed on it.

I hate rich people, because they think they’re entitled.

And by the way, those are two different sets of people in the above examples. You see it’s about access. Something that the hoi polloi don’t have. You can get it, but you’ve got to earn it, even though so many of these rich people have not.

Then again, there are those who have. And my belief is if you start the company, you’re entitled to the riches. You must pay taxes, but if you make a lot, more power to you.

But if you just work for the corporation?

How is it when Michael Eisner retired he was the largest shareholder in Disney? You work for the company, and then you own the company?

And then there’s Michael Rapino. Very talented and very skilled, a good guy, and I have a good relationship with him, he’s always been open and honest. But I must say when I read yesterday that Live Nation shareholders disapproved of his $139 million 2022 compensation…

Yes, the shareholders can censure you, but they have no power. The board can do whatever it wants. And the board is made up of club members…talk about not going against the code. And they’ve all decided that they’re He-Men of the Universe and entitled to these riches. And if one person is getting paid all this money, another person should. But it’s an especially bad look at Live Nation. Bottom line…Michael Rapino makes more money than almost all of the acts Live Nation promotes. Think about that, think about how hard it is to make it as an act. And don’t be confused by the grosses, the net is much smaller, after costs and commissions and the split if there’s a group. Like I said, Rapino is very skilled, but he could be replaced. Can you replace Elton John or U2? We’ve been waiting for sixty years for a new Beatles and they’ve never arrived. Ditto on Dylan. But think of how many people have run entertainment companies.

There’s Lucian Grainge, who made triple-digit millions. Believe me, Universal Music would not go out of business if he suddenly retired. Once again, Lucian is skilled, and affable to boot, and he brought the company to market, however… Universal is ultimately based on what the artists generate. And as one big exec legendarily said, the business model of the major label is theft. If you think you get honest, forthright accounting, you’re delusional. And you have to sue for your money and you never get a hundred cents on the dollar, even if you deserve it.

But Rapino and Grainge can just point to their contemporaries, the CEOs of public companies. They too are handsomely paid. But traditionally, entertainment executives are disproportionately compensated.

And believe me, it’s hard to make this money. Not only as an entertainer, but an executive. Rapino comes from Thunder Bay, a place most Americans can’t pinpoint on a map. And he worked his way up from the bottom. And most people are not willing to work that hard, are not that driven, but should this huge income gap between not only the haves and the have-nots, but between the comfortable and the super-rich, exist?

So if you’re just wealthy…

Well, what is wealthy. Some might say 450k a year.

But let me give you perspective, that’s chump change. The “Wall Street Journal” said today that lawyers now make more money than bankers. Managing directors at banks make between $1 and $2 million a year. Partners at law firms? $3 million. Some make $15 million.

May sound like a lot, but it’s not. You can’t own your own jet with that money. Maybe if you’re doing really well you can get a NetJet account.

But you want to hang with the people with the private jets. And even in that there’s a pecking order. You own a G6, right?

Believe me, it goes up and up.

You see those prices in Aspen, in Malibu.

And you’re competing against all those tech billionaires.

So…

If you know these people… Most of them want to hang with their contemporaries, those equally rich. But they do have civilian friends. And when you’re offered the perks, can you say no?

Most people cannot. It’s a matter of character.

I now say no. I mean if we’re really friends, maybe. But ask if you’re really friends with these people to begin with. Especially the idle rich, who don’t work, who drink and party much of the time. You’re a hanger-on, a little buddy, how does that make you feel?

Now I’ll never have their money, but I do have a modicum of power. I’m exercising it right now, by typing. But the more truth I tell, the fewer perks I’m offered.

I’m slamming doors left and right. I’m willing to lose the perks. I don’t want to lose my ability to speak the truth. Power is more important to me than money. 

But that is not the case with most people.

Alito. Clarence Thomas. They want to live like rich people but they don’t make enough money. So they trade favors. Do you think Paul Singer would be taking Samuel Alito on a fishing trip to Alaska if Alito wasn’t a Supreme Court Justice? It’s not like they grew up on the same street, played ball together. Ditto Harlan Crow and Clarence Thomas.

In truth, Alito and Thomas are chumps. They’re so caught up in their self-righteousness, their status, that they can’t see the truth. How do you think these billionaires make this money? Not by going to law school and playing by the rules. They’re looking for an edge. They’re business sharks. They want to know everybody in power and be able to lean on them and trade favors.

And it’s not an obvious quid pro quo. It’s not like I’ll do this for you and you do this for me. No, it’s an investment, that is cashed out at some indeterminate time in the future. And you can’t say no. Oh, you can say no, but the door is then closed. And it’s not only that door, these billionaires are connected, have friends.

But they don’t have to say anything. You see you’ve been bought and paid for and ultimately you realize it. You can’t say no. They were so nice to you, and they took you on this trip!

And the height of hypocrisy is when Alito says it didn’t affect his judgment. Believe me, I’ve been in these situations numerous times, AND IT ALWAYS AFFECTS YOUR JUDGMENT! It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there.

You see almost everybody is beholden to the buck. That used to be the essence of the rock star, he was independent, did what he wanted to, was beholden to no one. Threw TVs out the window and had the road manager peel off hundreds to pay for the damage.

Rock stars used to be amongst the wealthiest people in America.

No longer.

And this pisses them off. They want more. So many play the venture capital game. Or they too live off the largesse. Believe me, the billionaire will let you use his jet for a price, and it’s not in dollars.

You see income inequality is not about raw cash. It goes much deeper than that. Money buys influence in ways most people can’t see. It’s subtle.

And it ain’t easy to say no.

I started saying no because I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Hollow, like a second-class citizen. Always needing to be a sycophant.

But I can’t say most people are like me.

And having said that don’t think I turn down all offers. Because those people, the rich people, they run the world. Especially those who earned it as opposed to inherited it. They know where the bodies are buried, how the game is played. That time in the air on the private jet? Pays more dividends than a year of business school. You can get the owner, the provider, to tell you their story, they love to wax rhapsodic. You can’t convey the information you’re told to the public, but you can use it personally. You see you now have perspective.

As for using your relationships, asking for favors… WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO OFFER?

Most people ain’t got much. Oh, you’re a musician, you can give a private concert. Big deal. They get this kind of favor all day long. Everybody has a price. But for some the price is much higher, and once again it’s not paid in cash. What have you got to trade?

If you’re a Supreme Court Justice you’ve got much.

Just by going on the trip, being the beneficiary of the largesse, you’re in the reality distortion field, do you really want to hobble these people, tax them, hold them back?

I mean we can’t even get rid of the carried interest rule.

And most people have no idea what that is, which proves the point, they’ve got no idea what is really going on, they’re not even aware of the game, never mind how to play it.

But whatever faux pas Alito and Thomas have committed, it doesn’t matter, because they’re supported by their team. And the team is not the general public, the justices are above the public, they care about those who can offer the perks. They don’t want to live like hermits. But isn’t that the essence of being an arbiter? To be alone and unswayable? Doesn’t that go with the job?

So it doesn’t matter what the blue team says, because the red team supports you.

Trump appears to have committed crimes, but his support remains strong. And if the world is really this topsy-turvy, why should you have scruples, why should you leave money and opportunities on the table. Everybody else is doing it, why shouldn’t you?

They do.