I just found this out about Michael Bloomberg: He is a "self made billionare"

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59. confusing a few concepts.

first, there's what the market price is. "people in the finance industry are well-paid" basically just means that the market price in that industry is better than the market price in other industries.

second, there's whether bloomberg pays above market price for the industry. my guess is, on the margins, probably yes. at least that was my perception based on the offer i got, though that was about 25 years ago.

third, there's whether or not the market price itself is "adequate". this question goes to the structure of our economy and the way businesses are run, with a hierarchical arrangement that usually boils down to one person at the top with enormous authority, with compensation often far more dependent on station within the hierarchy than actual achievement. it also goes to the role of ownership in business compensation, as ownership allows uneconomical rents to be extracted from businesses.

he was part of a team that produced a lot of value. he was able to extract over a billion out of it because of his role at the top of the hierarchy and his ownership. i don't object to him getting more than anyone else on that team. my point is just that it's a bit absurd to think he contributed, say, 10,000 times as much value as someone else on his team who only was paid $100,000.