Wealth became an evil word. Much of what we saw the last 15 years in the developed world shows this.
The Great Financial Crisis was the apex. During that time, more than 30 years of wealth admiration was smashed. Wall Street was suddenly viewed in a completely different light. The best and brightest no longer were destined there. It became fashionable to head elsewhere.
Excess, greed, and bailouts caused people to get fed up. The division between rich and poor was leveraged by political establishment. This continues to this day.
Unfortunately, due to the pullback, the working class suffered even more. Economic growth has dropped another level, taking the participation rate down with it.
All of this is going to be challenged in the 2020s. There is a new game in town and it is going to be very profitable.
Shunning Wealth
Symbols of wealth changed rather rapidly. After the GFC, many of the well off started to hide it. No longer were country clubs the in thing. Expensive automobiles were relegated to the extreme upper end. In fact, driving a Prius become a hip thing to do.
Art became more popular. For some reason, having obscene amounts of money handing on a wall was permitted. This caused a new generation of investors to enter this market.
The wealthy became the target for all that is wrong in the world. As stated, politicians latched onto this for their own gain. By stirring the pot, they caused a great deal of animosity towards not only the likes of Musk and Bezos, but the local attorney or business person who attained success. Never mind the fact that politicians themselves end up becoming multi-millionaires while earning $150K per year (in the US).
By making wealth a dirty word, the entire economic system took an even greater downturn. Instead of looking to solve problems, people became activists. Unfortunately, no matter how much anyone complains about it, our world is still driven by money and finance. Try to accomplish much in any industry without either. It is ironic how people who frame things in this manner still want to be paid.
The idea is that everyone deserved the same. This, too, is having an impact. In the quest for this, we see economic conditions across areas such as the EU entering into a dire state. Dependence is close to having a boomerang effect.
We have a system that is one economic collapse away from wiping out a large number of countries. When that happens, a lot of promises go out the window.
Wealth Reimagined
A funny thing happened along the way. In our distaste for the situation during the Great Financial Crisis, we had something quietly spring up that few noticed. The introduction of Bitcoin started the process to change the world.
Unknown at the time, we saw a monetary innovation that would start to unleash the Age of Abundance. More than a decade later, we are starting to see how some of the ideas we shunned are suddenly becoming popular again.
A cryptocurrency millionaire is applauded. These are people who became wealthy with turning their backs on the establishment. In fact, the renegade attitude many have towards the present banking and financial system made them stars. The Bitcoin HODLers have become superstars for their dedication to the formation of this industry. People such as Vitalik Buterin are the new Steve Jobs of the world.
One of the appealing characteristics to cryptocurrency is the inclusiveness of it. Bitcoin, along with other innovations, started to provide powers that once were relegated only to the bankers of the world. Now anyone can create money. This is a major step forward in the establishment of a new monetary and financial system.
It is allowing for it to spread wider and faster than anything we saw. People in third world nations are able to get rewarded for activity done on a smartphone. This is casting new light into how the global economy will look in the future.
No longer is geography the most important criteria. With this are going to be entirely new outlooks upon those who are successful.
Massive Wealth
Wealth can be reimagined because it is going to be massive. The numbers will get truly ridiculous by the end of this decade. What is exciting is the fact that billions of people can be involved with this.
The digital world increases rapidly. Here is the key component. Acceleration in wealth is occurring because it is not concentrated solely in the physical realm. The last 30 years showed up some of the potential albeit underscoring what is truly possible. Progress throughout the 2020s will highlight have much quicker things are.
In short, everyone is able to achieve life changing money. This is something that is available to anyone who is online. Digital organizations are starting to spring up. People are realizing the capabilities of tokenization. New business structures such as the DAO is going to generate sums that make the Robber Barons of the 19th century look like paupers.
Crypto Millionaires are going to be a dime a dozen. In the near future, it is not going to be difficult to make vast sums via cryptocurrency. We will see millions of gamers reaping huge rewards. Content creators, infrastructure providers, and passionate people will all be incentivized. Financial tools that were the hallmark of the banking industry could allow anyone to maximize their holders, putting the dormant value to work.
As stated in the past, we are looking at numbers that will move into the quadrillions.
This is aligning with an era where automation is starting to accelerate. Throughout history, it was only the wealthy who were afforded the opportunity at recreation. For everyone else, that was considered laziness.
We are quickly moving into a period where many of the basic needs of society will be automated. This could have a serious impact upon jobs, ones that most people hate anyway. While many fear the loss of these, it is a net benefit to society. Fortunately, cryptocurrency is gearing up to be a solution. The ones who will benefit the most, naturally, are those who are most tech savvy. That means the younger generation is going to be able to close the financial gap in a short period of time.
By the end of the 2020s, wealth will take on a new meaning. No longer will it be shunned like it is today. It will not be Wall Street leading the charge or earning insane sums of money. Instead, we are going to see people who threw a few thousands dollars in some Meme coin become worth tens of millions of dollars. Those instances, however, will not be rare.
The traditional symbols of wealth are not going to carry the same weight. Instead of showing up in the physical world, it is going to be which network one belongs to or what NFT one has in his or her wallet.
As digitization spreads even further, not only do we see acceleration in the pace of things, but social norms change. Cryptocurrency is going to change things on many different levels. In creating vast fortunes, it will reimagine wealth along with society.
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