IMHO, this is proof that an aggressive wealth tax on the top 1% would be well deserved, assuming that the tax is structured in a way that fully pays off the national debt faster than the debt can grow.
This might be less ostentation than assumed. There is a California startup named Monumental Labs who have recently developed tech to enormously reduce the cost of statuary: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-26/the-startup-behind-the-viral-marble-statue-at-the-stripe-conference" rel="nofollow">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-26/the-start...</a>
This really opened my eyes to some historical context I never thought of before.<p>My initial gut reaction was judgmental about the way billionaires spend their money; thinking it might involve some amount of hubris.<p>Then I realized I have no idea of how sculpture that are now show in museums as treasured historical art pieces were judge in the time they were created. Today we treasure them. But what did the general population think of them? I have no idea.<p>I imagine that at the time of their commissioning they were also paid by affluent people that could afford such luxuries. People that probably mirror today’s billionaires in influence and access. So what’s different about these?
The Internet Archive got there first: <a href="https://www.getty.edu/news/clay-sculptures-of-archivists-show-the-human-face-of-big-data/" rel="nofollow">https://www.getty.edu/news/clay-sculptures-of-archivists-sho...</a><p>Full disclosure: There's a statue of me at the Internet Archive.
I wish billionaires were spending more on beautiful public places with cool sculptures.<p>Better than hiding wealth with art in storage centers that will never be seen again.