The super-rich | Still room for improvement

I can neither confirm nor deny whether the booklet (7.5 by 11 centimeters) really has the 160 pages stated in the publisher's announcement: It lacks pagination, nor does it explain why the title is in English: Yes, yes, most billionaires speak English—but is that the target audience? And yes, yes, both the color and the format were inspired by the Mao Bible, those "Words of Chairman Mao Tse-tung," which were very popular in the 1960s. In 2015, Eulenspiegel.Verlag published a similar collection of sayings to mark the departure of the Left Party's parliamentary group leader: "Words of Chairman Gregor Gysi." The font was smaller, though, and perhaps the content was smaller, but at least there were page numbers. Enough of the superficial nitpicking. Perhaps the publisher wanted to use the format to create a punchline that the whole thing lacked?

Matthias Duderstadt has taken 75 quotes from the super-rich and offers his commentary, which has already served as both a source of entertainment and edification. According to the preface, the text was distributed at a secret meeting of billionaires "as a basis for informal conversations." It caused "great hilarity among the illustrious group." Well, my hilarity was dampened while reading it, which was probably not only due to the fact that my bank balance differs considerably from those of the billionaires. We also seem to disagree on the notion of what constitutes hilarity.

Unfortunately, I read everything as seriously as the author probably meant it. He took a saying—let's say this one by Hasso Plattner: "Social justice doesn't mean redistribution, but allowing everyone to share in prosperity"—and responded: "The privatization of prisons opens up a profitable business area. However, the rate so far has been extremely unsatisfactory..." Then follow a few more sentences about prisons and the conclusion: "Because of the pleasingly low wages for prisoners, this sector of the economy must not be overlooked by internationally operating companies."

Want another one? "Compared to other forms of energy production, nuclear power is safer." Duderstadt reacts to this remark by Bill Gates as one would expect from a university professor with a doctorate: "The nuclear industry worldwide must not only be maintained, but expanded. There is currently one (!) nuclear power plant on the entire African continent, and just five in South America. There is an urgent need for action here." You can see the principle: The comments are fact-based instructions to his peers, i.e., from pseudo-billionaire D. to Gates and his associates. It's meant to ring ironically in the ears of "normal" people. But is sarcasm already satire? I simply lack the lightness, the humor. Instead of the foil, they're fencing with a raised index finger.

The idea is good, but the execution… The same applies as for my bank balance – there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Matthias Duderstadt: The Billionair's Bible. Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 160 pp., paperback, €10.