Who wants to be a billionaire? Me!

tftnosrl7o! Howoanr.raBy! Accordingtosomeof usin the99Vo,the lTrpossessmostof I the country's wealth. lay off millions, pay no taxes, don't care about anyone else, and are basically a blight on society. They are the enemyl They need to pay more to fund the healthcare reforms, the unemployed, and the bailouts, which have made them richer, while the rest of us lose our jobs and our houses, and pay our fair share of taxes. Really?

I am both a small business owner and a working employee (although, in truth, with a few more perks). But like most who read this column, I work hard to achieve business success, which allows me to provide for my family. Financially, I've experienced both good times and bad, but have always recognized that I live in a country that offers me with the opportunity to be who I want to be, one that has given me the freedom to pursue the life I'd earlier only dreamed about.

There has been much debate in the press, instigated by the Occupy Wall Street movement, filled with "us" vs. "them" rhetoric. I must say that I'm not one of the lVo by a long shot, but sure would like to be one. While that will never happen now, that aspiration has motivated me to succeed all my working life, starting in the U.K. back in the '60s. Then, I was motivated by wanting more than my parents had. I never expected to be handed anything. I knew I had to work hard and be better than the next guy. I wanted to live and work where there would be rewards for what I achieved and if there was not (as has happened), I could move on and try something else (including changing continents three times).

The OWS movement suggests that we are heading for a class war. Yet it is complete nonsense to suggest that a gap between rich and poor is any different than in any other country or at any other time in history-although some could argue the gap is getting larger. Wealth (and sometimes obscene wealth) has existed from time immemorial, from the pharoahs in Egypt to the capitalist railway barons, the Communist elite (where all was supposed to be equal), and today's tech inventors. Every country that has had wealth has had the wealthy and not-so-wealthy. The difference in the U.S. was that, if you came from nothing and were smart or, even better, had a great idea, you could succeed here like nowhere else. And, you were typically applauded for being a winner. Sadly, the tide is changing. There is an ever-increasing sense ofentitlement.

Yet, it is that go-go entrepreneurial spirit that made this country so great. It's why I made the decision 35 years ago, like many before me, to move to the USA, the international poster child for opportunity. Ironically, the likes of the late Steve Jobs, who 30 years ago might have fit in with the OWS protesters, went on to become one of the world's richest men and no doubt enjoyed every dollar he eamed. That's America!

I have never regretted my own decision and take great pride in what I have achieved here. I do not believe I could have been more successful anywhere else. And though I'll never have the wealth ofthe lVo, I don't begrudge them their success. I have worked directly for billionaires. I've seen how they spend-and sometimes waste-their money. I've even shaken my head at their lifestyles, Dzt in most cases they earned it, along with the right to spend it how ever they want. They had the guts to risk everything, sometimes after losing everything and coming back fighting, to risk it all again and again.

Many of today's super-rich were just like "us" in times past. Isn't it great that we live in a country that gives us all that opportunity instead of the elite few? How many of rts 99Vo drink coffee from Starbucks, helping to make its founder a billionaire? Or purchased Microsoft Windows? Microsoft has made over 10,000 "Us" employees millionaires, while enriching thousands of investors and allowing Bill Gates to become a very generous philanthropist. Successful companies benefit not only employees and stockholders, but the rest ofus as well.

Its rags-to-riches stories have made America the most unique-and prosperous-nation in history, despite its warts. Take that away and who do we become?

I am not blind. I know there is abuse-at all levels. There are too many tax loopholes that should be closed at a personal and comorate level. But the view that all millionaires and billionaires are cheats and not paying their fair share is disingenuous. I suspect the bigger issue is that many of us have become totally disillusioned, after so many people losing their jobs and homes I know a number of "millionaires"-including in this industry-who have also lost everything these past few years. Do not let us change what made this country great!

Alan Oakes, Publisher ajoakes@aol.com

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