- Who is the wealthiest person you know? How did they make their money? Are they generous with their wealth?
- There are currently around 2,700 billionaires worldwide. Name one who has been in the news recently. How old are they? Which country are they from? How did they become so wealthy?
- Why were they in the news?
- If you were a billionaire, what do you imagine your life would be like? Where would you live? How would you spend your time? What would you do with your money?
- If you were a billionaire, how could you use your money to make your city, country or even the whole world a better place?
- Do you think that people with billions of dollars have an obligation to help those less fortunate than themselves, to help better the planet for everyone? Or do you think that billionaires have the right to spend their money as they see fit?
Question 1
I don't really know any wealthy people. I know quite a few people who seem to have better finances than I do but I don't know that I'd call them "wealthy". Most of the people I know are generous with the money, resources and time that they have to share. I like to think I can include myself in that group.Question 2
Bruce Wayne, the secret identity of the superhero known as Batman. It's hard to say how old he is as he is a fictional character who has been played by many different actors. However, Batman was first created in 1939. If we say he was "born" then, that would make him 82 years old today. He is American, living in Gotham City. He inherited his wealth from his parents and is worth an estimated $80 billion dollars today.Question 3
Batman is yet again being rebooted. Robert Pattinson will be playing him in the upcoming movie "The Batman", which is scheduled to be released in 2022. He looks pretty good for an 82 year old!Question 4
I like to think that my life would carry on in much the same way it does now. No fancy mansions. No private jets. No trips into space. I would like to build my own home; two actually – one in Japan and one in Australia and I would divide my time between the two countries. I would make sure my family is well taken care of. Take a nice holiday every now and again. And I'd hire a team of professionals to manage my finances for me, to make sure that I never have to worry about money again. Other than that though, I hope I'd still be the same old me.Question 5
I think the idea of trying to save the planet is a noble pursuit to be sure but I think it's a little too ambitious. I think it would definitely be possible to make a difference on a smaller scale though. It would probably mean getting involved in local politics, making sure I knew the right people who were also interested in making a change for the better. I'd want to help the unhoused people in the area and make sure that the schools were not underfunded. I'd sponsor local clean up programs to go out and pick up trash in the area. Basically I would let people come to me with ideas and if I thought the ideas had merit, I'd give them some money to make it happen.Question 6
I do. I think there comes a point when a person can have too much money. At that point, you need to give some of it back. After all, you can only spend so much and you can't take it with you when you're gone. You might as well try to leave the world a better place than when you found it.Tough Vocabulary
| - English - | - Japanese - |
|---|---|
| finances | 財源 |
| I like to think so | 私はそう思いたい |
| secret identity | シークレット・アイデンティティ |
| inherit | 継承 |
| reboot a movie | 映画の再起動 |
| divide my time | 私の時間を分ける |
| the same old me | 昔のままの自分 |
| a noble pursuit | 崇高な追求 |
| unhoused people | 住居のない人 |
| underfunded | 資金不足 |
| to have merit | 使える |
| you can only spend so much | 使っても使っても |
| you can't take it with you | 持っていけない |