Friday, August 19, 2011

A Very Materialistic Man Indeed

Good morning folks! It's going to be another scorcher out there today!
We finally finished Aiden's bedroom yesterday, all that's left is hanging the new doors for the entryway. He's such a happy camper! And just in time for first grade to start! Can't believe my oldest grandchild is starting first grade Monday! Abby's in Kindergarten, wow, where has the time flown? But I'm enjoying every single second of it! Thanks be to the "Big Guy" for allowing me to be a part of it all! And, only 9 weeks left until grandchild #8 comes into the world! Can't wait!
I gained a new wrinkle in my brain last night. Jerry and I were discussing money and numbers last night and somehow the conversation turned to who the most wealthy individual in the world was. The man I'm about to chat about is not the wealthiest man in the world, but he's extremely close. The country is Brunei, located on one of the Malaysian islands. It's a very small country. The sultan of this country, Hassanal Bolkiah basically has all the money in his country. For more info on Brunei, check Wikipedia or Google it. This man obviously is an extravagance hound. The palace he lives in, called Istana Nurul Iman has 1,888 rooms, 290 bathrooms,  and a floor area of 2,152,782 sq ft (200,000 m²), undisputedly the world's second largest palace after Beijing's Forbidden City (720,000 m²).  He has 531 Mercedes-Benzes, 367 Ferraris, 362 Bentleys, 185 BMWs, 177 Jaguars, 160 Porsches, 130 Rolls-Royces And 20 Lamborghinis, bringing the total number of his cars to 1,932. I just don't get it. Who needs all that? And why? This man could sell 2/3 of his cars and feed, house and clothe lots and lots of people in the world. And over 2 million square feet of living space? Really? Who needs that?  I was simply astounded at the fact that one man has that much and can actually be fine with the fact that there are tons of suffering humans in the world when he has the means to help. I realize his perspective is nowhere what mine is but goodness. That just seems ridiculous to me. Something I found interesting about him and Brunei: (taken from Wikipedia)  Despite his personal extravagance, he has attempted to share the country's oil wealth. In Brunei, mockingly dubbed the "Shellfare State", a reference to the significant influence of the Shell Oil Company,[4][5] Bruneians have free education and medical services. There are neither personal nor corporate taxes in Brunei. I found this to be an interesting fact. I am going to learn more about this country, just for my personal knowledge. I was just overwhelmed at what this man has and how much good he could do with it, if he was so inclined. 
I hope everyone has a great day, full of blessings and peace! Love to you all!

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