In the past year, Trump's wealth landscape has added a significant weight - an eye-catching growth of $3 billion, and market voices generally point out that this increase mostly comes from the liquidity extraction of the crypto market. Some even bluntly state that the current crypto bull market is essentially a 'exclusive market' led by the Trump family.
Tracing the rise of the Trump family is more like a century-long history of class mobility. Starting from a barber of German immigrant descent who once evaded military service, three generations have taken over for over a hundred years, gradually breaking through class barriers and ultimately pushing family members to the pinnacle of power as the President of the United States. This accumulation journey hides too many unknown games and sediment.
Trump's personal path to wealth strongly reflects the 'power dividend'. In his early years, he struggled in the real estate sector, later ventured into shopping malls and the entertainment industry, but the wealth accumulated over half a lifetime is far less than the 'returns' from his years as president. The intertwining of power and capital is vividly displayed in his case.
However, even with enormous wealth and having stood at the pinnacle of power, Trump ultimately cannot escape the ultimate fate of ordinary people—aging will come as scheduled, and death will eventually arrive. No matter how special one's identity or how substantial one's wealth, time is always the fairest judge and will not pause for anyone.
This inevitably leads to contemplation: if humanity could truly achieve unlimited lifespan, even if just living to 150 years, the world might fall into an extremely distorted state. Health resources would become highly concentrated among a few, the wealthy could maintain their health through cutting-edge technology, while ordinary people could only struggle with aging; the wealth gap would be infinitely widened, and the snowball effect of capital would spiral out of control; even more frightening would be the solidification of power and resources, with the 'longevity class' that holds core resources firmly occupying the top, leading to a complete loss of fluidity in social classes.
Upon reflection, it is clear that what truly drives society forward is not the 'immortality' of a few individuals, but rather the natural metabolism of life—where the older generation leaves the stage with their experience, and the new generation steps in with vitality. Ideas are renewed through this exchange, and resources are balanced through movement. The longer a person lives, the more likely they are to fall into rigid thinking, becoming resistant to change in order to protect their vested interests, ultimately becoming a 'stumbling block' to social innovation. Perhaps accepting the finiteness of life is the invisible code that maintains social vitality.
