Indian Man buys $230,000 Solid Gold Shirt

~capitalism~

 

Speaking from my observations (as an Indian myself) Indians really do love their gold... idk what it is about it but every Indian wants gold and calls it an investment. Like my mom has gold coins and buys gold when she goes to India and just a few weeks ago she was bragging to me how much gold she has... I'm just like =|

I understand why he would... but a shirt? idk

 

Agreed.

 

Rich people can do anything that they can.

 

It is an investment though. You may not get dividends but gold is one of the safest investments you can make given the climate of today's market. This guy went a little overboard but at the end of the day, there's not really a difference between storing your gold at the bank or wearing it as a shirt (aside from the risk of being robbed while also looking like a douche bag).

 

i would so wear that shirt tbh

 

This reminds me of a similar story - Local fan pays $175,000 for buried Red Sox jersey

I actually worked for this guy for a couple of years....he loves to flaunt his money.

He puts on a HUGE Christmas display at his home every year. He has a road that goes through his property and you drive through it. There's always a line of cars so it actually takes almost an hour just to drive through. It's a nice display but of course throughout the display you see signs advertising his car dealerships....which makes it a 'business tax deduction'.

[YOUTUBE]Whe06E8ofCw[/YOUTUBE]

This video was taken in 2006 before it got very popular and his display has a lot more now.

 

He employed two dozen skilled craftspeople for two weeks. Why is that a problem for you? In order to help a bad economy it is much better that he spend his money, rather than just keeping it in the bank or something. Now those craftspeople all had money to spend on their families over the holiday season--and all the money they spend will employ more people, etc. The reason that government people talk about "stimulus," and that basically being spending money on stuff, is that the thing that needs to happen for the economy to improve is that the people who have the money spend it on stuff so that money can do it's job and circulate through the economy. In fact, by storing his wealth in gold instead of currency, he frees up the currency to move through the economy.

Rich people spending money on luxuries is much better for the economy than rich people sitting on their money and it not circulating.

Incidentally, if he had just bought the gold as an investment, and hadn't had it made into a shirt, you would never have heard about him--people are buying up gold like mad. You heard about this because he decided to wear the gold--and he employed a bunch of people in the process. Despite people buying up all the gold, I don't think goldsmiths are particularly well-employed--people buying gold as an investment usually don't have it made into anything.

---------- Post added 5th Jan 2013 at 10:29 AM ----------

Awesome, free Christmas display, surely employs a bunch of people to create and set up decorations, he advertises his business (which presumably also employs a bunch of people)... what exactly is bad about that?

Spending money is not always the best decision for an individual's long-term financial needs, but it's GOOD for the economy. People with money living frugally does not help the economy unless there is a shortage of resources at the heart of the economic problems, which is not the case in the US today.

And honestly, most people would prefer to have their needs met by being employed rather than through charity. Just in case you are thinking the rich people should just give all their money away. And anyway, it's better that people work for their money. This way, there was an awesome Christmas display, AND all the people employed had money to spend on their own needs, AND the self-respect of knowing they earned it.

Charity is important for people who can't work, or who can't earn enough by working to meet their needs. But the best way to help working people who are out of work is to give them work. That way, something is added to the economy when the money changes hands--the work creates something, in this case the awesome Christmas display. Had the money just been distributed by charity, the Christmas display would not have existed.

 

What bothers a lot of people is how he earned his money. That's all I'm going to say on the subject.

 

I fail to see how this is an inherently bad thing. The man worked hard to get his money. He has a right to spend it however he wants. Hate on him all you want, he probably doesn't care. And as for ~capitalism~ being said like it's a bad thing, well that just bothers me because capitalism enables someone to be able to work hard and smart and if they want they can start a business or earn money however they so please and if they want to buy a $230,000 gold shirt then they have every right to do so.


However, if I had an insane amount of money, I'd buy a solid gold Bentley before I bought a solid gold shirt, I mean, come on.

 

b/c people working hard is impossible under any other system :rolle:

 

Whatta Pimp

 

Capitalism is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it is freedom and fairness, because hard work is rewarded. On the other, morality must also be incorporated. The only reason I can earn this sort of money is by being lucky enough to be born into a country where I can be nourished, educated, and take part in the infrastructure where the job resides. I feel a certain responsibility to help those who don't have such opportunities.

The moral of the story is: You're free to do what you want with your money, but don't be a dick.

 

If that's the case, then that should be what we are talking about, and not the gold shirt. The fact that he is a "lender" has not been mentioned previously in this thread at all.

 

I feel that people should do what they like with their money. In fairness the shirt isn't even that nice....

 

There are plenty of businesses that offer incentives for their employees to further their education or get specialized training to move ahead within the company. For some it is a standard requirement. That could be anything from advancing to higher positions, to receiving profit sharing, to full shares or partnership. I'm not saying that you are wrong, just that not all companies operate the way you described.

 

I would never buy that shirt my family is very wealthy and I'm not stupid enough to buy that shirt. 1 that I not an investment as once you wear that shirt like a car or any other designer brand the price goes down like half so no it's not an investment at all

---------- Post added 5th Jan 2013 at 02:55 PM ----------

Platinum Is better

 

The article mentions that the shirt weighs about 7 pounds. My parka weighs about 7-10 pounds and if it can be be somewhat cumbersome. I can't imagine wearing a shirt that weighs almost as much all day long.

I have no problem with him spending his money how he wants. It employed 24 people and the raw material is a good investment.