10/30/2010

Turning greed on its head

Half a billion is small change to him. When people are buying fast cars as a hobby, he is buying football clubs. That is what money can do when you have enough of it. Peter Lim did not get his Liverpool Football Club. It could be a blessing in disguise. He has just acquired Thomson Medical Centre for half a billion bucks. This in all sense is a much more meaningful buy. And he could make it more meaningful to himself and to the people in the streets. Peter Lim is getting close to a state like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, though still far away, but he could still uttered, huh, another $500m profit, what shall I do with it? He is comfortable enough that another half a billion is not going to make him a different person or to excite him. So what is he going to do with his new acquisition? To make more profits, to live the Singapore ethos that profit is everything, or to live the Gecko mantra that greed is good? Could he turn the Medical Centre into an institution to benefit the people at large? Medical cost is spiralling up like housing prices. Of course it need not be if there is less greed. Here we have a man who does not need any more small change of half a billion. He could be another philanthropist in the making. What Singapore need is a no frill hospital to serve the people without breaking their bank account for every admission. We need a hospital to make a point that medical and hospitalisation fees need not keep going to the sky. Would Peter Lim answer to this higher calling, that making money and more money is not the only reason to live? That money shall be made to good use, that one’s good fortune can be share with the common folks and the less fortunate. No one is going to begrudge him should he take the conventional path, to turn it into another successful business enterprise, and making more money for himself. And one day he will join Gates and Buffett, to give the money away because he just have too much of it.

10 comments:

Wally Buffet said...

Money is a means to an end, not the end itself.

Buy this, buy that, what the fuck for?

At the end of the day we all go in our baby suit, same way we came too.

Instead of sitting and negotiating endless deals with concomitant stress, I rather spend more time with my family, laze around, walk around, jet around and..........fuck around.

Hehe.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

What a laughable article: redbean "advising" people how to use their money so that he, redbean, can be "happy".

And he brings in "religion" mentioning "higher calling"? WTF is a "higher calling" apart form being a bunch of nice sounding words.

Is a "higher calling" like "hire call-girl"? Some sort of weird sexual-religious integration which leads to questions like If you have a higher calling, could you also have a second coming?

And of course, the tired old "catholic" greed argument is there.

Wally inquires:

> Buy this, buy that, what the fuck for?


Many possible reasons:

1. Because he can
2. Impress the ladies
3. Feel good
4. Network -- attract "fans"

etc.

At the end of the day we all go in our baby suit

Exactly. That is why this life is precious and you should "go for it" -- whatever it is you're gonna do.

You can't take it with you -- so enjoy it to THE MAX RIGHT HERE and NOW.

In dog-shit cuntries -- the ones spit on by Singaporeans, where it is ironically illegal to spit, there are many hungry, driven ambitious young folk sick and tired of being poor and having no smokin' - freedom-based-western-style "fun", and some of them will end up extremely wealthy -- by global standards.

You already have wealth. So you can tell other people "why chase the dollah?"

Anonymous said...

To people like Bill Gates, money is meaningless to them. When they can well afford anything, it surely must come to the stage when they will start to ask the question - what does all this money mean to them and can they live on forever to enjoy what they have accumulated?

Unfortunately, immortality cannot be bought with money, otherwise that could be what they all want with such wealth to look after.

Anonymous said...

First, shall I say I wont be right, 100% correct that is, but it shall not be far off.
All the sinfully rich buggers in the worlds are rich simply becos they know how to exploit their workers and the people, manipulate the markets and scheme all their live.
Unfortunately for them, as they age they WILL REALIZE that wealths buy them no health, joy, virility and they cannot even keep thir beauty and good looks. They slowly feel the breakdowns of their bodies and spirits. Soon, they realize the futulity of achievement, some will regret having to lose all that they have, even though many bequeath all they had to their next of kins.
Even when giving to ones' own successors could cause heart pain, what the hell is wealth when some passed them to dog and cat and not ones' offspring?
If they suffer heart pains to give to their offsprings, why would they want to let strangers to partake their wealths?
Mr Redbean has not been realistic lately, he knows that greed has just been accepted as the most practical way to live and yet he thinks that greeds can breed generosity and compassion. Joker Supremo even god and goddess cannot compare.

Anonymous said...

We have one case today in the papers about two daughters suing their father for some shares.

Yeah, Wally is right. Money is the means to an end - end of a father and daughter relationship.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Matilah, I am not telling Peter Lim what to do with his money. Gates and Buffett have shown the way.

With so much money and not knowing what to do, it is better to return to society and do something memorable and meaningful. It is time to seek wisdom and rise from the level of mundane human activities and mediocrity.

Anonymous said...

Everyone has one life and can only sleep on one bed in one room. So What if he makes another 500 million ? Can he brings along with him when he passes on ? Why not use his wealth to open nursing or old folk homes and do noble things in lifes where people can benefit and will remember his good deed.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anon 12.19.

Will there be another as noble as Tan Kah Kee?

Anonymous said...

Even if philantropists were to build hospitals, old folks home and or schools.

So what? The managements of the above will still be charging very much the minimum rates prevailing. What difference will they make?

Lee Kwong Chian, Tan Kah Kee, Tan Lark Sai, Kwong Wai Siu and Tongchai were hardly as filthy rich as present day tycoons and politicians. Kindness was their natural culture, not glory or vanity.

patriot

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