I know a guy who this applies to. Not a billionaire, but a multi-millionaire.
The product is probably made in China these days and the licensee has long retired as an inventor but retains the patents. He has nothing to do with the pricing, or where the product is made. Companies (more than one) simply pay him a fee for every unit they make. He is just the genius who invented the product. I used this example, because I encountered the guy and his story when we were both in Florida in the 90s.
His invention is used in virtually every car that has been made over the last 60 years He has since died and depending on how his IP is classified, it might now be expired or in effect for several more decades. It is so ubiquitous that most people don't realize there was a time when cars did not have his invention.
So, who was he gouging to become so wealthy? And who did he gouge?
Another example is I had a very good compensation package when I ran a company of 42,000 people. Probably five times higher than people who ran smaller agencies with 200 people.
So say, an owner running a business earned $150K by managing an operation of 200 people and I earned $750K, who is taking advantage of the workers... the small company CEO or me.
If I as CEO earned $750K managing an operation 210 times bigger but only earns five times as much... then I am only earning $1.49 per employee per month for running a company that gives them enormous earning potential. Am I gouging them at $1.49 per month?
What about the guy running the smaller agency, who is making more money on each working employee but only $150K a year (not much more and in some cases less than his top employees. Is he gouging them?
If the owner of the smaller agency earned the same per employee as the highly paid CEO, then his annual salary would be $3,571.43. I doubt, the owner of the smaller agency would bother to run a company full time for that annual salary... don't you?
Generalizations like the ones you are making are rooted in some concept of equity based on the idea that everyone's time is worth about the same. But deep down, you know that isn't true. You would not expect an open-heart surgeon or professional athlete to work for the same rate as a payroll clerk. All three do important jobs, but not all three have equally valued skills.
Likewise, when I go to the grocery store and buy beef for dinner. The various cuts vary by more than the three times even though they could all come from the same cow and weigh the same. In both labor and grocery stores many factors go into determining the price.
