One thing noticeably absent from the coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement and its associated offshoots is much discussion about what the world’s rich really think of it.
But in the last week, one member of the “1%” under attack by the Occupy movement has been brave enough to put his head above the parapet and have his say.
Jeff Greene is a Florida-based investor who ironically became a billionaire (he’s worth $US2.1 billion, according to Forbes) by buying credit default swaps as the US housing market crashed in 2007.
The investor and real estate magnate was also a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in 2010, so he’s no stranger to the media.
But he deserves some credit for being the only billionaire willing to take up an invitation from Forbes to go “undercover” and actually visit the protest.
His report is actually pretty amusing.
“It looks like a street fair to me,” Greene says.
“If I had been dropped off not knowing what it was, that’s what I would think. People are buying cookies, musicians are singing, people are eating. I talk to people about what they are protesting, but they can’t say. If I had to guess, I’d say that 10% are protesters, 10% journalists, 10% musicians and 70% are tourists.”
Perhaps his most telling observation is the lack of organisation, which he sees as a missed opportunity.
“If this were my demonstration, I’d be pulling people aside and trying to talk to them. To me it’s much ado about nothing. I thought there would be at least one or two booths of highly educated people with information and ideas of what should be done. I am not seeing anything intellectual coming out of this.”
But Greene is sympathetic to the Occupy Wall Street protestors, who he described in a Wall Street Journal article as “mainly educated, middle-class and completely sincere”.
“While individual protesters may not have the data at their fingertips, many of us in the 1% do, and much of it supports their case. According to data compiled by the Milken Institute, Americans devote a huge portion of our household income to housing (32.7%) and transportation (18%), while we spend just 2% on education.”
“In today’s global economy, our future depends not on subdivisions and cheap gas but on education and training people for the skilled trades that still command good wages. For individuals and families, the ‘new normal’ requires answering tough questions. Do you have children? Are you paying a big mortgage on a McMansion or saving for their education?”
“As they ask us to recognise their fears and resentments, the Occupy Wall Street protesters are giving us a chance to address our problems before they grow worse. We should be grateful for their tie-dyed, peaceful methods and their commitment to remaining in place until they receive a constructive response.”
For Greene, engaging with the Occupy movement is a matter of some urgency. While he acknowledges that the movement is unfocused, he fears the penalty for not addressing the movement’s issues could be a shift away from peaceful protest towards something uglier.
That theme was taken up by another self-style billionaire, Lynn Tilton, on a rather oddly timed US television special on how billionaires lives.
With the Occupy Wall Street movement gathering pace and sympathy across America, you might think that the last thing US viewers want to watch is a long and detailed look at the how the 1% live and spend.
But last week on current affairs program 20/20, US television network ABC presented an episode entitled “Lessons from Billionaires”.
The program, hosted by Barbara Walters, interviewed four self-made businesses who have had long and challenging roads to the top, including Tony Hsieh, founder of US online giant Zappos; the creator of Cirque du Soleil, Guy LaLiberte; the owner of venture capital fund Patriarch Partners, Lynn Tilton; and John Paul DeJoria, who founded hair care products group Paul Mitchell and the Patron tequila brand.
While there was some discussion of the bling these billionaires enjoy (LaLiberte owns an island in French Polynesia, Tilton has four homes around the world and DeJoria owns a luxury railway carriage) the key message was that with a bit of luck and lots of hard work, anyone can make it to the top.
Hsieh’s story may be well known to many Australian entrepreneurs who have heard about his obsession with employee engagement.
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Similarly, the story of LaLiberte’s rise from street performer to international entertainment billionaire (and space tourist) has been explored in some detail.
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But the really interesting story here was that of venture capitalist Lynn Tilton a controversial figure known as much for her flamboyant dress sense and her aggressive management style as for her business acumen.
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Tilton claims to own more companies than any other women in America. Many of the 75 firms owned by her private equity firm – which have combined revenue of $US8 billion – are turnaround efforts, rescued from bankruptcy or close to it.
Tilton gets close to addressing the implications of the Occupy movement and like Greene her big concern is the long-term impact of long-term unemployment.
“We must create jobs in this country or we will have violence in the streets of America.”
However, her solution hints at another global problem that many fear will be a symptom of the great deleveraging – protectionism.
“If you want to sell it in America, you need to make it in America,” Tilton says.
It seems to me that Greene and Tilton understand one of the major problems of the Occupy movement in the US – unemployment. What Greene says about the need to engage with the problems raised by the movement makes sense.
Are he and Tilton representative of the wider billionaire population? That’s less clear.
I imagine many of the “1%” will continue the tactic of staying as small targets for some time to come.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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