
OPM-Not
Opium: Where Most of the Richest Are 133
It'
s fashionable to skewer these
OPMers
for their super-sized
incomes. (If the media's
hot
over some group's pay, you know
you've found a righteous road to riches.) Mr. Kravis unexpectedly
found himself starring in a
mockumentary-
The
war
on Greed,
Starring the Homes
of
Hem)
Kra
vis-supposedly
a "light-hearted"
look at the "excesses" of private equity. It juxtaposes Mr. Kravis's
homes against the modest abodes of "Average Joes" while detailing
Kravis's earnings.
Mr. Kravis is
mega-wealthy-no
crime there.
(If
you see wealth
as a crime, you need a different book. Try
Free to
Choose
by Milton
Friedman.) Robert Greenwald, the film's director, said "I saw the
numbers of what the guys make, I truly did
not
believe it. I
thought
they were a mistake.
I'm
a
New
Yorker and this sort of egalitarian-
ism is built into many of
us.,,1
8 Folks like Greenwald who object
see big earnings as "unfair." If
Mr
. Greenwald wants "fair," he should
check
out
Cuba or Venezuela to see how "fairness" really works.
Just
working at these firms isn't a bad career.
There
are lots of Alex
Brockman
equivalents-and
lots of rich ride-alongs (Chapter
3)-
and those just making fat salaries who take the Road
More
Traveled
(Chapter
10).
DON'T
BREAK
THE
LAW
With
OPM
it's crucial to get that you never break the law.
OPMers
sometimes forget. Cheaters may get rich,
but
they don't stay rich.
Some
OPMers
may get wealthy legitimately, then cheat.