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Forbes Media Chairman Steve Forbes and BB&T Bank Chairman John Allison explain how rich people can be champions of freedom.
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But let me being contrarian here you guys are both.
Absurdly rich.
And here we are celebrating so go -- my kids don't think so yeah.
As champions are your -- certainly by the protesters out there as as that rich.
How are you -- and to what how can rich people be champions of freedom.
John go to you first.
Well John I think our earn the money I have when I start working for -- -- Citi.
It was a very small bank with you employees on my 600 I have a graphic of that let's just put that up when it when you started it was when I'm beginning CEOs four and a half billion dollars.
A doing my career when it's the only one half 1000000253.
Billion dollars.
Let's have wealth you create we -- 1000 employees when I started we had jobs have been created dobbs we created.
And and what's interesting John.
People think that rich people have their money I don't know sit around some where my money's totally invested without the capital people like me and an instinctive -- businesses could mean my opera so I part of the money and have invested it to create more wealth and more jobs and I think that.
-- that take take billionaires on our list.
They're not sitting like Scrooge but stuck in a money been just sitting on cash and his father that they're putting that capital to work and who would you trust putting it to work.
A Warren Buffett despised political views or the federal government bureaucrats -- trust people who know how to create wealth know how to create jobs create opportunity.
More than a bureaucrat response to politics not the needs of the marketplace.
And religious people markets are people keep that in mind and you both -- you.
Six year.
On the list of top ten givers to politicians you fought for what you believe in a year now trying to spread the ideas of -- it.
I am -- Extremely strong advocate of -- philosophy.
VBT is sponsored programs -- the moral foundations of capitalism which include rain and lots of other authors -- ending.
Free market ideas only university campuses and yes a very important endeavor I think with you look at what happened to America how we got from life liberty.
In the pursuit of happiness of the re distribute -- basically the left took over our universities particularly our league universities and we need to be.
Represented by the ideas it might American right in the first place back on our campuses.
But this makes people -- comfortable.
It makes people on comparable when you have a stagnant economy.
-- -- because of government who created crises where people think feel things are not fair that's what happens in the -- the money.
Undermines the bonds between effort and reward.
That's what gets people upset.
When you have a vibrant economy people don't care what Bill Gates makes what they want to know -- to do it honestly yes the -- have an opportunity increases Abraham Lincoln put it.
My lot in life.
And so for a rod.
No Rodriguez on the Yankees gets a 20/20 five million a year.
He performs well great if not too too bad for -- Yankee fans and yankees but that's a free market it worked you're always taking a risk you hope the thing works out.
Doesn't always work out but that's how you -- move ahead and failures are not all failures is we know it's what -- learned.
From those failures that enable progress in the future.
Say thank you -- -- John Allison.
They've agreed to stick around and take questions from you know and our studio audience.
