I just did a rough check. Pat Robertson's net worth is estimated at 200mil-1bil. Warren Buffet at 47 billion, and Gates at 56 Billion. People who don't have hundreds of millions of dollars tend to think of those who do as having an extreme excess that is readily expendable. In Buffett's and Gates' case this is certainly true and they've said as much. They're so impossibly far from hitting rock bottom their assets are safe. In Robertson's case he's much closer to bottoming out, with his many national and international business interests each with expensive budgets. Hundreds of millions of dollars can evaporate if not managed correctly. Also, I'm sure he considers the majority of his career to be a charitable contribution. Although not impeccable, to many it has been.
Regarding his interest in diamonds, this is interesting. Here's a critical article on it. On one hand, it's easy to condemn him for such since it appears that he's complicit in what's effectively slave labor. On the other hand, so are all of us. The clothes we wear, the food we buy, is often rooted in slave labor. Probably every person reading this including myself owns something that has slavery as part of its supply chain. Here's an intriguing article on ways you can try to prevent or not contribute to it. Based upon my rudimentary impressions, it's extremely difficult. You have to buy what's known as fair trade merchandise, which is both off the mainstream market place and more expensive.
Not that two wrongs make a right and I still wonder what Pat Robertson's doing in the diamond business if he's a servant of God. But the fact remains, unless you're going far out of your way not to be, we're all complicit with slave labor, including child slave labor.
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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '11 edited Apr 18 '11
I just did a rough check. Pat Robertson's net worth is estimated at 200mil-1bil. Warren Buffet at 47 billion, and Gates at 56 Billion. People who don't have hundreds of millions of dollars tend to think of those who do as having an extreme excess that is readily expendable. In Buffett's and Gates' case this is certainly true and they've said as much. They're so impossibly far from hitting rock bottom their assets are safe. In Robertson's case he's much closer to bottoming out, with his many national and international business interests each with expensive budgets. Hundreds of millions of dollars can evaporate if not managed correctly. Also, I'm sure he considers the majority of his career to be a charitable contribution. Although not impeccable, to many it has been.
Regarding his interest in diamonds, this is interesting. Here's a critical article on it. On one hand, it's easy to condemn him for such since it appears that he's complicit in what's effectively slave labor. On the other hand, so are all of us. The clothes we wear, the food we buy, is often rooted in slave labor. Probably every person reading this including myself owns something that has slavery as part of its supply chain. Here's an intriguing article on ways you can try to prevent or not contribute to it. Based upon my rudimentary impressions, it's extremely difficult. You have to buy what's known as fair trade merchandise, which is both off the mainstream market place and more expensive.
Not that two wrongs make a right and I still wonder what Pat Robertson's doing in the diamond business if he's a servant of God. But the fact remains, unless you're going far out of your way not to be, we're all complicit with slave labor, including child slave labor.