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How do billionaires and multi-millionaires feel about spirituality?
I am a financial advisor to multi-millionaires and two billionaires.Most range from slightly religious to extremely religious. But certainly not all.Warren Buffett (not one of my clients) is a fascinating example.In this photo, Warren is 12. His father was Congressman Howard Buffett. He was very religious — a straight arrow. He was the only Member of Congress to give back a 25% pay raise: I was elected at the lower rate and I’ll serve my term at the lower rate.Howard Buffett gave this speech on the floor of Congress:Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns. Persuasion and example are the methods taught by the Carpenter of Nazareth, and if we believe in Christianity we should try to advance our ideals by his methods. We cannot practice might and force abroad and retain freedom at home. We cannot talk world cooperation and practice power politics.Although Warren was extremely close to his father, he never believed. In fact, Warren rejected all his family’s religious beliefs. He told a crowd of 31,000 people in Omaha:I am agnostic. I do not know whether there is a God or not. Maybe when I die I will find out. But I do not know.Bill Gates attended church every Sunday with his family as a youngster. During the early years of Microsoft, he stopped. He told an interviewer: I can think of better things to do with my time than sit in church on Sunday morning.Then he fell in love with Melinda. She was educated in religious schools in Texas. Melinda is a lifelong Christian. They now take their kids to church on Sunday.Bill’s views have changed over the last 35 years. He now says:“The mystery and beauty of the world are overwhelmingly amazing, and there is no scientific explanation of how it came about. To say that it was generated by random numbers seems like an uncharitable view.It makes sense to believe in God. But exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don't know.”Among the G20, the U.S. is a clear outlier in religiosity and belief in God. This also holds true for our wealthiest citizens. Americans in the Top 1% are much more likely to believe in God than their overseas counterparts.According to New World Wealth, 51.5% of worldwide billionaires identify as Christian.There are 13,074,750 millionaires on Earth. 56.2% identify as Christian. (Please see source at bottom.)Barack Obama infamously said: Ignorant people cling to religion.Whatever you may think of his politics, Mr. Obama’s facts are simply wrong. College graduates are more likely to attend services than non-graduates.This insulting and arrogant worldview is common in tiny enclaves in California and New York. Our prospective clients in these areas are often newly rich, cynical, stressed, angry, and hostile to religion. Many work in High Tech.Is this correlation or causation? Maybe a sociologist can study these people someday…On the other hand, many wealthy prospects in the South are more interested in your church membership than your Ivy League MBA. Some of my colleagues find this off-putting. To me, it is quite sensible.It is illogical to entrust your fortune to an atheist. In other words: just plain dumb.Over the last 60 years, organizational psychologists have refined “Honesty Tests” for potential employees. Religious employees are clearly the most honest employees. Agnostics are sometimes excellent employees, sometimes bad.Atheists are a disaster.Atheists are more likely to steal, more likely to defraud, more likely to use drugs, have higher absenteeism, have higher medical expenses, have more psychological problems, have less stable relationships, are less loyal, are more likely to commit suicide, less likely to engage in prosocial behaviors, etc.The list goes on and on. By the numbers, atheists are a disaster. Please see statistics in Addendum 4.Atheists do have two positive characteristics:They are more entrepreneurial than the general population.They are less likely to be racist.Most of my rich and highly-educated clients believe in God. Some of my clients go further and say: Without God, I would not be wealthy.While some clients eagerly discuss religion, a few consider it private and off-limits.I had a client worth $57 million. He was also a dear friend.He owned a mansion situated on a huge estate. He started accumulating art just after college. His art collection may have been worth more than his stock portfolio.He contracted ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). His disease worsened at a slow and steady rate. Each time I met with him, his physical function had degraded. Mentally he was still brilliant.I started talking to him about the Bible and what might come next. For years, he said: I know I should study up. Maybe we could talk about it later.In the last year of his life, he was admitted to a special facility that cost $35,000 per month. He was now completely immobile, although his face was still expressive.His football bets had always been $5,000 per game. Now he was betting $30,000 per game. Fortunately, we had done a good job with his investments and he had plenty of money.At each meeting, I mentioned God and the afterlife. He was never offended. But he was never interested either.In the last week of his life, he fell apart. He knew the end was near. He begged his wife to take him home to die. She coldly refused. Not exactly a sweetheart...He suddenly became very interested in the Bible. Obviously, he could not read it himself. I did everything I could. But the end came within 24 hours.He held two advanced degrees and was very successful in business. Most people thought he was a genius.Why did he wait?Surely he knew his spiritual life was more important than bond yields, IPOs, and football.Did he have a deathbed conversion? Or is he now in a very dark place?Only God knows.Let me offer some friendly advice: Do not wait!Even if you ultimately choose atheism, do not wait to delve deeply into your spiritual beliefs. Tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone.In the next 24 hours, 6,000 Americans will pass on. An additional 140,000 people will die in other countries around the world.Do not delay your spiritual quest because you need to finish a project, pay the bills, and feed the kids.In the end, my friend’s $57 million meant nothing. Zero. His fortune could not buy him another day of life — not a single hour.On Warren Buffett’s final day, his $82 billion will become completely unimportant. His father understood that.Now is the time. This is the hour.Even if you are highly skeptical or even hostile to religious teaching, start your spiritual journey today. As my friend used to say: Study up.Life is short.Four addenda are below:1 of 4. Book Recommendation2 of 4. Christian Billionaires3 of 4. Well-Known Christians4 of 4. Statistics About Atheists1 of 4. Book RecommendationI am not Catholic. But this is an outstanding book. Highly recommended.2 of 4. Christian BillionairesMore at this link: BillionairesJohn D. RockefellerHe was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry. Rockefeller revolutionised the petroleum industry and set the standard for modern philanthropy.He was a devout Christian who taught in Sunday school and supported many church-based projects throughout his life. Rockefeller was quoted as saying, “God gave me money.” He never apologized for being rich.He followed John Wesley’s principle: Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.From his very first paycheck, Rockefeller tithed ten percent of his earnings to his church. As Rockefeller’s wealth grew, his giving also increased, with most of his giving going towards educational and public health causes, as well as basic science and the art.He became the world’s richest man and the first American worth more than a billion dollars. After taking into account inflation, he is often regarded as being the richest person in modern history.Tyler PerryWithin a few years, Tyler Perry went from being homeless to selling out theatres. Tyler Perry is an outspoken Christian who credits his success to God. In 2006, he established Tyler Perry Studios and in 2008 it moved to its current location – a 200,000 square foot studio facility situated in Southwest Atlanta, USA.Henry HeinzHenry Heinz was a nineteenth century Christian businessman who founded the Heinz company 1869. Heinz based his business on Christian principles and proclaimed that his success was a direct result of his faith in God. Heinz was committed to bringing out the best in people and his company was credited for its fair treatment of workers and for pioneering safe and clean food preparation.Today the Heinz company is worth around $12 billion. It’s most famous product is tomato ketchup, with 650 million bottles of Ketchup being sold every year.Cher WangCher Wang is a Taiwanese entrepreneur who co-founded smartphone maker, HTC Corporation. Her late father was Wang Yung-ching, who was one of the richest individuals in Taiwan.Wang is a devout Christian who was quoted as saying that the Bible is “the best book about management practice”. One of the most important things she has learned from the Bible is that a person must have a vision, otherwise he or she will be destroyed.The vision for HTC Corporation came during her early career whilst Wang was working for First International Computers. As she dragged bulky, heavy computers to client offices, she knew there must be a better way,She wanted to design a computer that could fit in the palm of your hand. In 1997 she acted on that vision and HTC Corporation was born.In May 2011, Forbes ranked Cher and her husband, Wen Chi Chen, as the richest people in Taiwan. After a recent sales slump, Forbes ranked them as Taiwan’s 13th richest people with a combined net worth of $2.5 billion.Sam WaltonSam Walton was an American businessman and entrepreneur, best known for founding the Wal-Mart retail stores. With his strong Christian background based on ethics and hard work, Walton excelled in school, college, and business. Early in his career, he worked as a management trainee for J. C. Penney.In 1998, Walton was included in Time’s list of 100 most influential people of the 20th Century and Forbes ranked him as the richest man in the United States from 1982 to 1988. Interestingly, Bill Gates only topped the list for the first time in 1992, the year Walton died.Strive MasiyiwaStrive Masiyiwa is a Zimbabwean born businessman who founded Econet Wireless.South African based Econet Wireless is now a global telecommunications group with operations, investments and offices in more than 15 countries. A born again Christian, Strive Masiyiwa was quoted as saying that he reads his bible for at least 4 hours a day.He tithes 10% of his annual income to his church. Together with his wife, he personally pays the school fees for over 22,000 Zimbabwean orphans.According to Forbes, 2015, he has an estimated net worth of $600 million.Mary Kay AshMary Kay Ash retired in 1963 after being passed over for a promotion in favor of a man that she had trained. She intended to write a book to help women in business. The book soon turned into a business plan.She began Mary Kay Cosmetics with a $5,000 investment.The founding principle of Mary Kay Cosmetics was the “Golden Rule.” The company’s marketing plan was developed to allow women to advance by helping others to succeed.She advocated “praising people to success.”Her slogan was God first, family second, career third.Mary Kay believed the women in her company should keep their lives in the right balance.David GreenDavid Green founded Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts chain with 520 superstores in 42 states.Green and his family own 100% of the company. He ranks number 79 on the list of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of $4.5 billion. He said:If you have anything or if I have anything, it’s been given to us by our Creator.I have learned to say, ”Look, this is yours. God, it’s all yours. I’m going to give it to you.”Green keeps the total amount of his giving private. But Forbes has estimated his total lifetime giving at $500 million, making him the largest individual financier of evangelical causes in America.Green sponsors the YouVersion Bible app for mobile phones, which has been downloaded over 50 million times. He also plans to give 90% of his wealth to ministry work when he dies.He is the owner of the largest private collection of biblical antiquities in the world and recently opened the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.Green recalls the memory of his parents’ putting their last dime on the collection plate. His father was a poor preacher.Despite their financial state, Green’s mother regularly gave to the church. He attributes his blessing to his mother’s giving and the fact that he continues to give today.Jin Sook and Do Won ChangJin Sook and her husband Do Won Chang rank No. 79 on the list of the 400 richest Americans, in joint place with David Green. They are the founders of fashion retail outlet “Forever 21”. In 1981 they immigrated to America from Korea. Do Won held three jobs to survive, doing janitorial work, pumping gas and working in a coffee shop.They soon opened their first clothing store in 1984. Today Forever 21 operates 480 stores with an estimated annual turnover of over $3 billion. Jin Sook and Do Won Chang make a point of printing John 3:16 on the bottom of every Forever 21 shopping bag.Truett CathyTruett Cathy is the 91 year old founder of food outlet Chick-fil-A and ranks No. 89 on the list of the 400 richest Americans. He opened his first Chick-fil-A outlet in Atlanta in 1967. Forty-five years later, the devout Baptist is the CEO of the second largest fried chicken chain in the country, with KFC being the largest. All Chick-fil-A stores are always closed on Sundays so that employees can attend church services.Henry Parsons CrowellHenry Parsons Crowell was an extraordinary Christian business man and founder of the Quaker Oats Company. He brought oatmeal to the mainstream, revolutionised marketing and merchandising methods of his time and advanced the Gospel through the Henry Parsons and Susan Coleman Crowell Trust. The Trust states that its purpose is to fund the teaching and active extension of the doctrines of evangelical Christianity.Henry had no high school diploma or business qualifications. At a time when the Quaker Oats Company was struggling, he brought his business problems to the Lord. An idea soon came to him to package the oats in individual cardboard containers. Up to that point, oats were presented for sale in an unhygienic manner in big barrels or boxes on the grocery floors. The idea was a success and demand soared.During the depression of 1893, 15,000 other businesses went bankrupt but Henry decided to make bold investments in advertising. He put billboards on trains and adverts in newspapers and magazines promoting “Quaker Oats, the World’s Breakfast”. He pioneered the use of celebrity endorsements and wrote the ads himself. At a time when others were failing, Henry’s business was a huge success. Instead of the usual method of approaching stores and convincing them of why they should stock his product, he advertised straight to the consumer. The consumer would in turn make a request to their local stores that the item be stocked. In so doing, Henry turned housewives across America into his sales people!Many business people and corporate giants came to Christ as a result of their association with Henry and his wife. The more money Henry gave to Christian causes, the more he prospered. He became hugely wealthy in various other businesses. He believed that all things were a stewardship from God. Towards the end of his life, Henry had given away 70% of his wealth. He went to be with the Lord at the age of 82, while riding the commuter train back to his house with a Bible in his hand.A book was written about Henry titled “The Cereal Tycoon” by Joe Musser.Folorunsho AlakijaAlakija started out her professional career in the 1970s as a secretary at the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria, one of the country’s earliest investment banks.In the early 1980s, Alakija quit her job to study fashion design in England. She returned to Nigeria to start Supreme Stitches, a Nigerian fashion label which catered to an upscale clientele.The business thrived. Alakija quickly made a fortune selling high-end clothing to society women.In May 1993, Alakija applied for an Oil Prospecting License (OPL). The license to explore for oil on a 617,000 acre block. OPL 216 was granted to Alakija’s company, Famfa Limited.Many wealthy Nigerian businessmen who had been allocated oil blocs by the military administration at the time had no clue as to the technicalities in operating an oil block. So many of them typically acquired OPLs, and then flipped them off to international oil companies for substantial profits.Alakija had no expertise or experience in running an oil field, but she decided to keep her license. In September 1996, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum (subsidiary of Texaco).She appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the license, transferring 40% of her 100% stake to Star Deep.Folorunsho Alakija is the founder of the Rose of Sharon foundation, a Christian-based charity which gives out small grants to widows.In 2013, she replaced Oprah Winfrey to become the richest black woman in the world with a $1.9 billion net worth.Sources: CNBC , Life By Design, Edify Empower, Ventures Africa3 of 4. Well-Known ChristiansQueen Elizabeth IIBonoChuck NorrisGeorge ForemanPeter ThielStephen BaldwinLenny KravitzStefan PerssonReese WitherspoonMark WahlbergRoss PerotJennifer GarnerCatherine, Duchess of CambridgeNaguib SawirisMatthew McConaughey4 of 4. Statistics About AtheistsHere is a guaranteed way to start an argument…Tell atheists they are more likely to be poor employees, unfaithful spouses, and bad citizens.The issue is not hard work. In fact, by some measures atheists work harder than those who are highly religious. And they are certainly more entrepreneurial!Here is the real problem: most atheists are moral relativists. This has been found in studies and surveys for the last 100+ years. This is a robust finding across cultures.Why is that important? Because moral relativists cheat. They cheat at work, home, leisure, etc. They also cheat on their taxes.Do Christians cheat? Absolutely. But the rates are much lower. And for some strict religions, the rates of cheating are nil.This meta-study was conducted by Professors Henrich, Slingerland, and Norenzayan. They teach at Harvard and the University of British Columbia. Their journal article was later published in The Evolution of Prosocial Religions.They found prosocial behavior correlated with religious belief in *every* academic study they reviewed. 100%.By extension, antisocial behavior was correlated with non-religious beliefs in *every* study reviewed. 100%.But the findings are even more robust!There was a high correlation (R-squared) within the deciles of those who believed. In other words, those who were extremely religious were the most conscientious and honest. Those who were moderately religious were slightly less so.Those who were barely religious were less conscientious and honest (though still above the average citizen).And so forth…In other words, the statistical results are *exactly* what one would expect.Bottom LineThose who believe in objective morality and God … engage in more prosocial behaviors and are better citizens.Those who believe in relative morality and no God … engage in fewer prosocial behaviors and are worse citizens.This ain’t rocket science, folks.If you employ atheists in jobs where they can cheat people, do not be surprised if that is precisely what they do.Background Data & ChartsI highly recommend this book. Pay special attention to this survey question:Would you kill another human being for $100,000?For $1 million?Read the book, then consider this claim by atheists:Moral relativists are just as ethical and moral as churchgoing Christians.This claim is just plain crazy. It is akin to saying…Vegans are just as expert at grilling steaks as steakhouse chefs.The academic data are clear, robust, and overwhelming. If you employ atheists, you are asking for trouble…
What offends you most about Hollywood celebrities?
I have a very different take on this question. What I am offended by are people who love to criticize other people (in this case movie stars) who they’ve never met, or people they have had no more than momentary brushes of contact with, or people who they have only seen on a screen or heard or read gossip about.I was a stage and film actor for about two decades, and had the pleasure of working with dozens of the world’s biggest movie stars. I can say from my experiences spending days or weeks working, sitting around doing nothing, and eating and drinking with great character actors and movie stars, that stars are simply people — no better and no worse than extremely successful people in other professions. In fact, I encounter more unfriendly, rude and dismissive people at the supermarket where I shop, than I ever did on a movie set – and I now live in the foothills of the mountains in North Georgia – in the heart of the legendarily friendly South.Contrary to the answers I’ve read here, movie stars are no more hypocritical, egotistical, or ill-mannered than very successful scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors, CEOs, or lawyers I’ve worked with over the years. Movie stars are simply elite professionals who work in a field that many who work outside of that field are under the assumption that it is the most glamorous of all professions. There is glamor within the industry for sure, but the work itself often takes place in inhospitable weather and in uncomfortable, remote locations, and twelve or fourteen-hour days are exhausting no matter what you are doing. I remember standing in a dark field in ankle deep water rehearsing a scene with Kevin Costner at about three in the morning. It was so cold that our lips were getting numb – which made it hard to talk – and snot was running from our noses – which made it hard to remember our frigging lines. And I remember shooting a scene in Long Beach, California in the hold of a Coast Guard cutter that was over 120 degrees, and the scene called for me to chew handful after handful of jelly beans throughout the scene. Try chewing, swallowing some, and spitting out mouthfuls of jelly beans fifty or sixty times as they shot the scene for over two hours; that’s pretty glamorous, eh? Of course, that is extremely easy compared to the grueling and dangerous work that electrical power-line installers and repairmen and women do during and after thunderstorms, tornados and hurricanes.In my lifetime, I’ve been a gerontological researcher, an actor, writer, director, producer, a teacher, and a legal consultant – a trial strategist. Acting in movies was – by far – the easiest job I’ve ever had. But it was absolutely the hardest job to begin to earn a living doing it.After graduating from college and years of working as a stage actor and comedian in nightclubs, I moved to LA in 1979 to become a movie actor. If you care to visit my IMDB page http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891203/ you’ll see that it took me about ten years before I was able to secure steady work in movies and make a nice living doing so. I had ten years of struggling and then did about thirty movies and television shows over the next six or seven years or so, and then I quit. [But for various reasons, I did do five movies after I had essentially retired.]So why did I quit? Well in my opinion, movie acting was not glamorous, it wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t romantic, and it sure as hell wasn’t intellectually challenging. The truth is that – for me – film acting was sometimes great fun and I enjoyed working with loads of great people, but most often, it was simply boring.Years ago I was working on a movie with Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Kevin Spacey. Also in the cast was perhaps the greatest actor I ever worked with, E.G. Marshall http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550855/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t6 Prior to the film shooting, I had the privilege of sitting around a big table in a soundstage, reading the script and rehearsing with Kevin, Mary Elizabeth, E.G., and the spectacular writer/director/producer Alan J. Pakula. During lunch one day, E.G. turned to me and said, “Judson, how long has it been since you did a play?” I replied, “It’s been years and years.” He was almost indignant. “Good god boy, how do you stand to be an actor without doing plays? Movie acting is so goddamn boring.”E.G. was a remarkable actor with over 150 film and television credits over fifty years, and he continued doing plays at theaters around the country between movies. E.G. was a legend on Broadway. And he was right about movie acting.Acting is not hard work – coal mining, logging, and commercial fishing are hard work. Anyone who says that acting is hard has never had a hard job, has limited intelligence, and/or lives in a bubble.So, speaking of bubbles, can we all please just give Gwyneth Paltrow a break? She was born beautiful and rich – the daughter of a famous actress and famous producer/director. She attended exclusive, expensive private schools and dropped out of college to become an actress. And her first job? It was in a television movie her father directed. Movie acting is literally the hardest job she’s ever had. Therefore, should we be shocked that some of her comments sound like she lives – and has always lived in a bubble? Of course not! It is only a shock when people who grow up beautiful and rich with famous parents and famous and powerful relatives don’t sound like they live in a bubble. Let me remind everyone of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous quote: “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand.”Contrary to the suppositions held by some people who are not actively involved in the movie business, from my interactions with the movie stars I worked with who were lucky enough to work consistently, year after year, they absolutely knew and appreciated how fortunate they were and are; because every actor – I mean every actor – no matter how big they get to be – goes through dry spells. And every single actor I ever met knows that a career can end in a flash. A movie star can go from Box Office Gold to Box Office Poison faster than you can say Adam Sandler.There is a joke that you often hear on the final day of a movie shoot. An actor and film technician will give each other a hug after weeks working together. One of the other is liable to say, “It was great working with you. We’ll never work again.” Both actor and technician will smile, but the hidden (serious) emotions behind the joke are real. As an actor, for all but a rare few, you never know when you will work again. If you are supporting a family, that’s extremely stressful. And if you are a big star, you never know when you will fall out of favor with the public and your agent’s phone will simply stop ringing. If you are a female movie star and beautiful, you can be absolutely certain that your agent’s phone will ring less and less as you move past thirty-five. Why do you think Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Charlize Theron, and Drew Barrymore started producing movies and television? Yes, they started producing because they are smart, creative women. But also because they are smart enough to know that unless they assume the reins, their careers can end as quickly as that of a thoroughbred racehorse – all it sometimes takes is one stumble.Acting – the skill itself, is not hard. Making a living as an actor – and doing so over many decades is extremely difficult.In the fall of 2002 as my wife and I were having a late dinner, the phone rang. It was a buddy of mine named Ace Cruz who was directing a low-budget feature called Fate. One of his actors got sick and was unable to shoot a scene that was scheduled to shoot the next morning, so Ace asked if I’d be willing to do the role. I told him it would be my pleasure, and asked my wife if she’d like to go to the set with me the next morning. “Who’s in it?” she asked.” “Ace said some guy named Michael Pare.” My wife practically squealed. “Oh my god, Michael Pare! Eddie and The Cruisers.” I had never heard of the actor or the movie … and there was a reason why. Michael had landed the role of Eddie at the age of twenty-five and at the time, it looked like he was on his way to major stardom. The New York Times review stated, “Mr. Pare makes a fine debut; he captures the manner of a hot-blooded young rocker with great conviction.” That was his second role in a movie, so with his good looks and talent certainly he was on the road to becoming another Harrison Ford type hero and heartthrob.But between that auspicious debut in 1983, and when I met Michael (nineteen years later) on the set at 5:30 the next morning, he had done over forty movies and unfortunately they had mostly been low-budget and not very good, and only a few of which I’d even heard of. Michael never landed a role in a Star Wars type hit. He never got the meaty roles in serious, big-budget films like Witness, Working Girl, or Presumed Innocent where he could show his acting-chops like Harrison was able to do.Here’s the point: For every Brad Pitt who becomes a movie star relatively quickly, there are hundreds of working actors out there who never achieve that level of fame – despite being good looking, charismatic, and good actors such as Michael. And there are thousands of blue collar character actors (like I was) out there who make a good living and no one ever knows their names.Michael Pare has made a very good living with over 135 credits on IMDB. But as I said, many of those roles were in low-budget movies, where the scripts are lousy, the directors are often first-timers, the food on the set is nothing to write home about, and ten-hour days can stretch into fourteen-hour days. Is this hard work compared to firefighting? No. But it is sure as hell not glamorous. And it’s mindless. And it’s boring. And for actors like Michael, it’s like punching a timeclock to get a paycheck. I just looked at Michael’s IMDB page. He’s done sixteen movies in the last ten months – all of which were low-budget and few of which you are likely to see. But wait, sixteen movies – shooting in sixteen different cities within ten months; all that traveling must be so glamorous! Oh, yes indeed! He got to spend a few days or a few weeks in romantic places like Lajitas, Texas, Bezdan, Serbia, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.But let me get to my main point: I simply don’t understand why so many people love to criticize people who have become successful in the most competitive profession in the world – in which it is extremely hard to continue to make a living over an entire adult lifetime. Why do so many people love to jump on the bandwagon and criticize people they don’t even know? Is it jealousy, is it envy, or is it just plain, petty meanness? Why must the standards of conduct of a movie star be judged so harshly?And finally, at what point do movie stars in this country lose the privilege of free speech – including fee speech about political issues they believe in? Are actors allowed to voice their political or social opinions only prior to becoming famous, and then once they have a voice that people recognize, should they then only able to employ that voice on the screen or when promoting movies of television shows?Lastly, what on earth does anyone get out of publicly criticizing other people on a site like Quora or any other online site? I simply don’t understand it. Nor do I understand what sort of emotional or intellectual gratification anyone would get from asking a question like, “What offends you most about Hollywood celebrities?”
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