this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 74 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The thought of running around with a 5 million dollar ring gives me heart palpitations.

[–] Daft_ish@lemmy.dbzer0.com 79 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

The fact that a ring can be worth more then it would cost to provide financial independence for hunderds of people, is kinda jarring.

I know, I know, pretty rock and metal worth paper value notes.

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 42 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

So really that ring is pure loss.

No one owned that gem when it was just sitting in the ground. It took millions of years to create.

Some capitalism claimed it when one of his workers mined it. Calculated how much energy and labor it has costs to obtain it.

Then sold it for a massive markup compared to their own costs.

The machines have spend energy to get it (loss)

The workers spend life time and life energy to get it (loss)

Bezos his works spend their life time and energy to make him the money he now loses on this ring. (Loss)

The planet lost one of its rare gems. (Loss)

No lives are going to be saved using that rock, its not going to be used for breakthrough science, its not in a museum where we the people can admire our planet and learn from the its amazing processes. (No profit)

Instead its to decorate a hand so one person can be perceived as having value. Ironic.

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 19 points 1 day ago

Do you HAVE to be so unromantic? It obviously proved his NEVER-ENDING LOVE for his wife! Does that count for NOTHING?! /s

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's literally every wedding ring regardless of value

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 day ago

All materials obtained just to turn it into jewellery is loss yes.

Mine is a gold alloy rather then pure and i am very fond of it. I derive pleasure from it everyday while the total loss was significantly less than the one in Bezos marriage.

We also had an engagement ring which has an industrial rock because no way where we going to waste our limited money on a real diamond.

All rings combined costs less than having a birth in a US hospital.

Both rings were still a loss to the planet, just like almost every novelty i own and many things i consume. Staying alive is a destructive action and all humans cause loss. That is normal and ok. What is not ok is not being aware/inconsiderate of it.

We should all strive to create the least amount of loss we are aware off and my older self having grown significantly then when i married would love a ring made from recycled computer metals which now often end up on a landfill.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 13 hours ago

depends if they got a lab created diamond, and the manufacturer /jewelry stores just gouged the price.

[–] borf@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 1 day ago

Yes, that's the entire point of it all. If you don't want humans to send expensive signals to each other, you need to remove their incentives to do so. As long as billionaires and the institution of marriage exist, human happiness and wellbeing will forever be ground up and burned in service of demonstrating that some people are more special than everyone else

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 4 points 23 hours ago (4 children)

Hundreds?

That's enough for like 1.5 households to retire on. That's it. A million is not as much as it used to be.

[–] Daft_ish@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

I think you could get a good amount of people out of debt. Maybe less so in america but elsewhere for sure.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Sure. But being out of debt is different from being financially independent.

[–] Daft_ish@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Its a start. My point was, generally, 5 million could do a lot to help people and you wouldn't see me keeping people's lives tied to my finger.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 7 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Ehh. If you divide it into 10 chunks of $500k, and each of those invest it in a middling risk thing like vanguard and get a 10% return, that's like $50k/year without doing any work. That's well above the poverty line.

Side note: Rich people sort of have basic income because of stuff like this, and that's fucked up.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

The problem is that's not a sustainable withdrawal rate. Also it's 10% average before factoring in inflation, so I'm real dollars it's close to 7% on average, but some years are a negative return, where you're eating into the principle, and require a portion of the up years to make up for those.

An indefinitely sustainable withdrawal rate is closer to 3.5%.

Also the federal poverty line is horrendously out of touch.

And that's literally how retirement accounts work, so it's not really that fucked up a concept

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 1 points 18 hours ago

Sure, it wouldn't be an easy live starting with $500k, but I think with strict budgeting and low costs you could stay in the black and grow your principle. And if you get any job at all on top of it, it's even easier.

Anyway, yeah, was just spit balling how much a difference the money could make.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Well, it depends on where you are. It doesn't go as far in the US as it would in many other places

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 1 points 54 minutes ago

Sure... But given that we're discussing things in terms of US currency, the assumption is the US.

He'll, you could fuck off into the woods and live on next to nothing in the US, too. But the standard of living is very different

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

im actually surprised he went super cheap on his wedding which was on 20mil, cheap for a billionaire that want to flaunt his welath. unless he bought that yacht before his wedding.

[–] arandomthought@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's enough budget for a whole ass R&D project and team. Can this ring shoot lasers or steer a helicopter or something?

[–] bobs_monkey@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No, but it can checks notes impress other rich people.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I doubt they're impressed, just disdainful if you don't have one.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemmy.zip 1 points 17 hours ago

Keen observation