How to get rich scaring people about global warming
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How to get rich scaring people about global warming
The idea of making money by selling what people want is one we support, so
we begrudge no one his fortune for satisfying wholesome market demand. Then
there's this:
"Within eight years of leaving politics, (Al) Gore had reportedly become
worth well in excess of $100-million. Many expect him to become a
billionaire
through his stakes in a global warming hedge fund, a carbon-offset business,
a renewable energy investment business and other global warming related
ventures," writes Lawrence Solomon.
How did a mere Tennessee lad, who had hardly ever earned a private dollar
in his life, amass such wealth? After all, hadn't he left public office
with barely a couple million in the bank?
Writes Solomon: ". . . Gore was a laughing stock in investment circles for
his lack of financial sophistication, which, the press said, explained why
Gore's net worth had been declining during the booming 1990s."
Moreover, the inventor of the Internet even "had failed to understand the
significance of the new Internet economy that had so transformed the world,"
says Solomon. The New York Times found "most of his money was in checking
and passbook accounts or tied up in property." SmartMoney.com found: "the
vice-president is without anything with a P/E, let alone an IPO: no stocks,
no funds, not even a bond." As Fortune magazine said in a 1998 story, "The
Vice President's Financial Acumen 'Ain't Worth a Bucket of Warm Spit."
Solomon concludes: "Gore's societal plan and his investment plan are
indistinguishable and straightforward: He wants to make fossil fuels
uncompetitive and renewable energy competitive by convincing governments to
punishingly tax fossil-fuel technologies through mechanisms such as cap and
trade. In the process, Gore intends to make money at every stage of this
transformation."