Gone are the days of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” No one wants to be a millionaire…when they can be…a billionaire!

Fast forward to now: There are over 400 American billionaires. Russia comes in second place with 87, and India and Germany tie for third with 56 billionaires. Forbes Magazine does an annual list of the wealthiest people in each country, which is where one can learn this information. I quote them here: “Two years ago, half of the world’s 20 richest were from the U.S. Now only four are. India wins bragging rights for having four among the top 10, more than any other country.”

But because money is great at making us think only about ourselves, let’s focus on individuals rather than countries. The number of billionaires in the world is now 1,125, the first time it has ever reached four figures. Fifty of these people are under the age of 40, which might not sound like a lot, but is actually record-breaking.

Consider Mark Zuckerberg: the founder of Facebook, who is just 23 years old and has a net worth of 1.5 billion dollars. Should he be the role model for others among his generation? An innovative Harvard student who dropped out of school to pursue his new business? Is his creation worthy of such a fortune?

Some people say we are in the age of the internet, the time of the computer. TV addicts have been replaced by Web addicts. Perhaps so, but my hope is that people realize the physical limitations of the internet. I believe one of our biggest mistakes in attempting to “modernize” would be to concentrate all of our creative energy, time, finances, and efforts into forms of entertainment technology. Facebook does not allow you to maintain your friendships. YOU USING Facebook allows you to maintain your friendships. When I see children who only care about computer games, it genuinely frightens me. That may sound somewhat hypocritical, as I have played computer games, video games, use an IPOD, probably spend too much time surfing the web, etc. But wouldn’t it be great to see us using the computer/internet as a tool for sharing ideas, for creating new inventions not necessarily related to the computer/internet? Which brings me to the point of this blog…

Original ideas. Good ideas. These are important. These are essential. In addition to learning, to absorbing information, people need to think of creative ways of spending their time and their money. Let’s take Madonna as an example. She’s had a very long-lasting career and must have made a fortune from it. Towards the end of her life, what should she do with all of this money? What if she donated it all to a charity for homelessness or victims of rape or towards Cancer research? Wouldn’t that be an amazing ending to her career? Imagine the effect and potential influence on young people. Suddenly, becoming famous and wealthy has a more noble purpose, a more selfless and thoughtful purpose.

When you turn on the TV, or go online, or open a magazine, or see a tabloid headline in the grocery store, what do you see celebrities or wealthy people spending their money on? Cars, private jets, boats, houses, clothing, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, etc. To be honest, this image of a millionaire or billionaire looks more like a cardboard cutout or an advertisement. It gives the impression that those with money are: stupid, attractive conformists with no independent thinking or any thought of others. An argument against my view: “I earned this money myself, so I deserve to spend it on myself.” If you really feel that way and there’s no way I can convince you otherwise, then at least…be more creative with your personal spending.

I grew up with the image of a millionaire/billionaire that I saw in books, movies, and cartoons. These were generally little old men with lots of time and very crazy, eccentric ideas. Example: Willy Wonka (who did give away his entire fortune as well, I might add). So why not have some real life Willy Wonka’s? Someone who builds a house completely out of chocolate, fills an Olympic size swimming pool with lime jello, builds magnet shoes to walk on metal walls and ceilings, trains a small army of highly specialized agents to project panda bears from poachers, builds a 40 feet high statue of the Dodo bird (now extinct), gives all mannequins ID tags with names, makes the harmonica a mandatory part of all orchestral performances, or creates a national holiday to honor the Frisbee, the slinky, or the whoopee cushion.

They might sound like crazy ideas, but hey, wouldn’t they add some extra spice to life? Instead of reading “blah-blah lost 30 pounds in 2 weeks” or “blah-blah says the wedding is off” you could read about how “blah-blah has created a talk show hosted by Giraffes who don’t really speak any human language…ratings surpass Oprah!”

And who, you might ask, would do such crazy yet ingenious things if they had a billion dollars?? Why, Christian H. and James G. of course! (Naturally I would tell their story through the medium of film).

So this Christmas, consider donating to future eccentric millionaires.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas,

Your Mildly Funny Friend,
Andy