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people who have too goddamn much money
Dec. 10th, 2005 04:23 pmon a day when i'm borrowing money from friends to cover my rent, it's nice to read a story like this: David Duffield, founder of PeopleSoft, announced plans recently to build a 72,000 square foot home (with an additional 25,000 feet of outbuildings and amenities including two swimming pools, a horse stable, and a 20-car garage, making for a total of 97ksf) on the slopes of Mount Diablo.
think about it: 72,000sf. i've got 670sf myself. that comes out to about 1.65 acres. the house i grew up in sat on a quarter-acre lot. even![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gooley's dream house plan only requires 10ksf or so. Bill Gates' famously fabulous mansion is "only" 40ksf (66ksf with outbuildings), and he intentionally built it to harmonize with the landscape. this 5-story office building has 78ksf -- 15,600sf (more than 23 of my apartment) per floor.
now, i know he's rich, and he probably has a lot of friends, and he can afford all the toys he wants, but what the hell did he think he was going to do with all that space? will the second pool be filled with champagne, or just hundred-dollar bills?
well, it doesn't really matter, because the rest of the neighborhood said no fucking way and are forcing him to scale back his plans. way back.
okay, admittedly, the rest of the neighborhood is pretty damn loaded too, but i'm all in favor of anyone who smacks down such an egregious display of obscene wealth. and this is why i think the very rich should have to pay more taxes than the rest of us -- because anyone who can afford to build a 72ksf house obviously has more money than they know what to do with.
think about it: 72,000sf. i've got 670sf myself. that comes out to about 1.65 acres. the house i grew up in sat on a quarter-acre lot. even
gooley's dream house plan only requires 10ksf or so. Bill Gates' famously fabulous mansion is "only" 40ksf (66ksf with outbuildings), and he intentionally built it to harmonize with the landscape. this 5-story office building has 78ksf -- 15,600sf (more than 23 of my apartment) per floor. now, i know he's rich, and he probably has a lot of friends, and he can afford all the toys he wants, but what the hell did he think he was going to do with all that space? will the second pool be filled with champagne, or just hundred-dollar bills?
well, it doesn't really matter, because the rest of the neighborhood said no fucking way and are forcing him to scale back his plans. way back.
okay, admittedly, the rest of the neighborhood is pretty damn loaded too, but i'm all in favor of anyone who smacks down such an egregious display of obscene wealth. and this is why i think the very rich should have to pay more taxes than the rest of us -- because anyone who can afford to build a 72ksf house obviously has more money than they know what to do with.
