#if anything Bezos is probably similar to an 1800s slave trader

[bethanydelleman]

Someone tagged on my inflation calculator post about if they should think Darcy is similar to Bezos or Musk and it made me think. The answer is no and I'll tell you why:

People who are "self-made" (they never are) and reach extreme wealth in their lifetimes tend to have a certain type of personality and it's not one I admire. They don't care who they maim or crush on the way to the top. They are single-mindedly devoted to their goal. It may bring them wealth but I wouldn't want to be within 500 feet of them. There are rare exceptions, but you don't get to that level of wealth by being kind. And I'm talking about the extremes, you can have a good idea, become a millionaire, and not be a terrible person, but a hundred-millionaire or a billionaire? I don't think that's possible.

On the other hand, people who inherit massive generational wealth like Mr. Darcy have a different problem, which is that they never have to strive for anything and therefore can be lazy and directionless. We see this with Henry Crawford, for example, who without any purpose to his life has fun manipulating people's feelings. Jane Austen seems to admire those landowners who make a real career out of their inheritance (Mr. Darcy & Mr. Knightely for example), but, at least in her novels, this is pretty rare. And that makes sense, because inherited wealth is random. You have all the access to education in the world, but you can't change a person "in essentials". There are those trying to get richer, but mostly by concentrating other generational wealth. It's those trying to get in who are more vicious.

Additionally, there was a different view towards the morality of the wealthy compared to what we have now. The gentry in Austen's time were expected to be involved in charity and to contribute to society by acting as a magistrate (for example) for free. It wasn't just something they did for a tax break and good PR, it was thought more as their obligation, as far as I understand. They were also expected to show a good moral example to the lower classes (which... um... lol).

So I don't think Mr. Darcy and our modern day billionaires are comparable, not in personality or the way that they are perceived in their respective societies.