God Bless the Insanely Rich

God Bless the insanely rich.

I listened to an interview with Mark Cuban tonight where the topic was his company Cost Plus Drugs, and it was a case study in why some people think he should run for president (and also why I’m sure he won’t).  It also reminded me of another venture, launched by one certified rich guy a few years ago and somewhat co-opted by another certified rich guy in 2025 – the Invest America Initiative, launched by Brad Gerstner then re-branded as “Trump Accounts” (what a terrible name – regardless of how you feel about DJT).

The topic of the Cuban interview was how to fix healthcare and specifically Cost Plus Drugs, his mail-order drug startup (one could reasonably argue that I’m oversimplifying the concept, but that’s basically what it is).

The line that got me – the discussion turned to why Cuban got involved in the prescription drug business.

Q: “Why did it have to be you guys coming in to do this? Why not somebody else?”

A: “Because I’m rich as fuck and I didn’t care about the money. My next dollar is not going to change my life.”

The message Cuban was sending is that he has so much money that he can take on the “the system” in a way that very few people can, and so he’s using his substantial bank account for good.

Now, I’ve heard Cuban make similar comments before, and I’ve also heard the criticism that he’s much more focused on the bottom line than he wants you to believe, and that he’s just playing up his populist persona.  That criticism may well be accurate – and so what if it is?  Two things can be true at the same time.

Everyone knows the healthcare system in the US is broken.  But Cuban is actually taking concrete actions to hack away at the issue, however large or small an impact it ultimately has.  His focus on cost transparency one of the best ways to make forward progress – no industry in the US thrives as much on price opacity and misdirection as the insurance/PBM industry (the two verticals are rapidly converging – I don’t consider them distinct industries).

So if an insanely wealthy individual wants to aim his money bazooka at a problem that helps all of society, why exactly would we criticize that and why would we care if he makes money?  One of the best features of capitalism is that if you solve a big problem you get a big paycheck.

Similarly, Brad Gerstner, a VC investor (among other things) has been working on an idea to create and fund investment accounts to all kids, regardless of their economic backgrounds.  Gerstner didn’t invent the concept but was the first to actually get traction on a national level.  And boy did he get traction - he also got Donald Trump onboard early in his 2nd term and, in a move that should surprise no one, Trump branded the concept the “Trump Accounts” which unfortunately made half the country immediately dismiss a great concept when it was passed into law as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act.  The nature of the “Trump Accounts” is still evolving, but at least one billionaire (Michael Dell) announced this past fall that he will be contributing $5 billion into these accounts.  Dell’s announcement highlighted a unique feature of these accounts – anyone can contribute to them.  This presents a great opportunity for the ultra-wealthy (and regular-wealthy) to contribute dollars directly into the accounts of some or all kids across the US.  Undoubtedly there will be unintended consequences, but this could also lead to the largest case of voluntary wealth transfer in history as billionaires who tire of swimming in their money “Scrooge McDuck” style instead elect to contribute to these accounts. 

Both of these guys – Cuban and Gerstner – are capitalists, no doubt.  But both are also examples of how the ultra-wealthy use capitalism as a tool to improve society.  These guys didn’t even feel the need to slap their names on their creations.  I love it.