Okay. So, uh, you've been reading about Elon Musk, right?
Mhm.
Smashing through that $400 billion net worth ceiling.
Yeah.
First person ever to do it.
Crazy. Yeah.
447 billion to be exact.
Which, if my math is right, is something like 68 trillion yen.
Wow.
It's hard to even grasp, isn't it?
Yeah. I can't even imagine.
But you started thinking, you know, it's not just about the zeros,
right?
It's about what that wealth represents how it's even possible.
Yeah.
And then you took this incredible leap thinking about totally different systems for valuing contribution.
Yeah.
Right. Here in our communities, you were mulling over thank you points.
Oh, interesting.
And even you scratch my back, I scratch yours points.
It's like, how do we capture that same energy of creation and impact but locally?
It's fascinating how your mind went there because at first glance, Elon Musk's world seems galaxies away from say getting your neighbor to help with a community garden, right?
But that's what we're going to do. in this deep dive. Connect those seemingly impossible dots.
I'm all in because honestly I get a little lost with the whole stock market unrealized gains thing.
Yeah,
it feels like a different language sometimes.
It can be. Absolutely. So, let's translate. When we talk about net worth, especially with someone like Musk, we're talking about a snapshot in time. A huge chunk of that 447 billion is tied to the estimated value of his companies, primarily SpaceX, which aren't tangible assets like cash or real estate. It's based on stock prices and those can swing wildly.
So, it's not like he's got a Scrooge McDuck vault full of gold coins.
Not quite. And this is crucial to understanding the connection to your community ideas. See, if Musk suddenly decided to sell a massive chunk of his SpaceX shares, he'd flood the market, likely crashing the price, and that 447 billion would plummet. It's like a scorecard where the points only matter if everyone agrees on the rules of the game.
So, even at that level, it's theoretical in a way.
Precisely. It highlights the between unrealized gains, which is that paper value, and realized gains, what you actually get when you sell.
Okay, so that's unrealized wealth,
but companies do make actual profits, right?
How does that work for folks who own stock? Are they just along for the ride?
Not necessarily. Some companies distribute profits to shareholders as dividends, kind of a thank you for investing. Others, like Tesla, which you know, Musk is heavily involved with, prioritize reinvestment. They pour those profits back into growing the business, hoping to drive the stock price higher, which in turn benefits shareholders.
This is making me think about that city budget analogy. Do you give residents a cash bonus or do you invest in building a new park that theoretically increases property values down the line?
A perfect parallel, and this feeds right into your community stock idea, which is where this deep dive gets really exciting. What if instead of just abstract financial markets, we tied value to the well-being of our community itself?
Okay, I'm with you so far, right?
But walk me through this. How would community stock actually work?
Imagine a system where positive actions within the community, things we often take for granted, actually earned you something tangible, like stock in the success of your neighborhood.
So, helping out at the local school,
organizing a neighborhood watch, even just consistently supporting local businesses.
Exactly.
These would all earn you community stock.
Exactly. And as the community thrives, as crime rates decrease, new businesses open, more families move in, the value of that stock increases, it becomes a direct reflection of how well the community is doing, fueled by the very actions of its residents.
Wow. Okay. But what would you do with this community stock?
Right.
Is it like playing Monopoly or is there a real world benefit?
