Is Being a Billionaire Ethical? An Inquiry

A few weeks ago, I stayed up much too late doing a web search on John D. Rockefeller, the oil tycoon. I had just finished watching a YouTube video that documented his rise as the man behind Standard Oil, the company that profited billions in the booming oil industry during the late 1800s and early 1900s, making Rockefeller filthy rich in the process. By the time he died in 1937, Rockefeller’s assets equaled 1.5% of…