When Donald Trump blurted out that not paying his taxes “makes me smart,” he was revealing a truth about the American narcissist. Senator Lindsey Graham was being equally arrogant when he stated, “It’s really American to avoid paying taxes, legally…It’s a game we play.”
The game has become very popular, with an incomprehensible three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies stashing profits in offshore tax havens, avoiding over $700 billion in U.S. taxes.
Who Are the Narcissists?
They are people who don’t feel any responsibility to the society that made them rich, largely because they believe in the “self-made” myth. Their numbers are growing. For every 100 households with $100 million in assets in 2010, there are now 160.
Some of the super-rich care about average Americans, and some are well-intentioned philanthropists, but in general, as numerous studies have shown, super-wealthy people tend to be imbued with a distinct sense of entitlement. They believe their talents and attributes have earned them a rightful position of status over everyone else.