Everyone has a different journey climbing the ladder to success. Some journeys are short, some are still in transit, while others require no climbing of any sort for anyone to accumulate their status and wealth.
So how hard must one work to become billionaires?
Work ethic became the subject of a hot debate when Twitter user Thomas Violence made a bold statement.
"No billionaire has ever worked harder than anyone that cleans toilets for a living."
no billionaire has ever worked harder than anyone that cleans toilets for a living— thomas violence (@thomas violence) 1548890868.0
He added a followup tweet indicating that the term "work" was subjective.
every mega rich person has an origin story like "at the start we were working 20 hour days, 6 days a week" but that… https://t.co/t3OB74H9ZX— thomas violence (@thomas violence) 1548891244.0
The responses were overwhelming and many of them put things into perspective.
@thomas_violence @pixelatedboat If hard work was all it took, we've got some future billionaires here... https://t.co/wFFRb1YR90— Matthew Wright (@Matthew Wright) 1548892819.0
@thomas_violence @pixelatedboat if there were no garbage men, society would fall apart. if there were no billionaires, not so much— thaddeusXmachina (@thaddeusXmachina) 1548893497.0
But what's more important here?
@Sam_Stick @thomas_violence @pixelatedboat Uh, you’re forgetting one thing: Who would we name all the buildings after?— Greg Karber (@Greg Karber) 1548895151.0
One comment reflected on how companies tend to place value on profit potential over effort.
@matthew01wright @thomas_violence @pixelatedboat Such a dumb argument, society has never paid ppl based on how hard… https://t.co/6aspiV8Fhi— Conor Dowdall (@Conor Dowdall) 1548924809.0
The debate hit a nerve, and people starting defending billionaires as huge contributors to society.
@gregkarber @Sam_Stick @thomas_violence @pixelatedboat This is such an ignorant thread. Billionaires were the ones… https://t.co/aQoz79eMFW— Aaron (@Aaron) 1548945113.0
@thomas_violence Toilet cleaners don't TAKE RISKS, except the risk of contracting hepatitis.— Horseshoe Terry (@Horseshoe Terry) 1548891017.0
No thread is complete without a dose of sarcasm.
@thomas_violence extremely centrist voice: i'm sorry but i once met a billionaire at a party and they were very humble and down to earth— Kagenzo (@Kagenzo) 1548894792.0
@thomas_violence okay, more than a few people think I’m serious and that’s horrifying— Kagenzo (@Kagenzo) 1548927300.0
@gregkarber @Sam_Stick @thomas_violence @pixelatedboat Comic book characters— 🏳️🌈 Curt Clark 🏳️🌈 (@🏳️🌈 Curt Clark 🏳️🌈) 1548899169.0
@gregkarber @thomas_violence @pixelatedboat pokemon— thaddeusXmachina (@thaddeusXmachina) 1548895302.0
Speaking of toilets, nobody toils harder than these professional scrubbers.
@thomas_violence Idiot. What about Toileto, the toilet-cleaning billionaire, who cleaned a billion toilets?— Naaman Zhou (@Naaman Zhou) 1548894781.0
@naamanzhou @thomas_violence Or Flushles, the toilet cleaning clown?* *This reference may or may not be obscure. Sorry.— Holly Golightly (@Holly Golightly) 1548896312.0
@naamanzhou @thomas_violence Toileto Georg is clearly an outlier and should not be considered part of the statistic— Ben (@Ben) 1548903193.0
@naamanzhou @thomas_violence a dollar per toilet, 30 toilets a day? Toileto is 45 years old he's a Billionaire! https://t.co/IxHX0FBdbD— Ben Mc (@Ben Mc) 1548896416.0
An argument was made for billionaires by comparing statistics.
@thomas_violence Here is the larger point that sailed over your head: 100% of all workers are able and qualified to… https://t.co/XAvcpHJNA0— David Nihipali (@David Nihipali) 1548897121.0
@first_man_alive @thomas_violence As a billionaire I agree. I took the risk KNOWING if I failed it meant relying on… https://t.co/blq2Xgf8AO— Coastal elite who wears Allbirds & drives a Tesla (@Coastal elite who wears Allbirds & drives a Tesla) 1548907182.0
But let's talk about qualifications.
@first_man_alive @thomas_violence literally every person on earth is qualified to sit around and do nothing while a… https://t.co/rb2UutLIU6— alex (@alex) 1548903910.0
@thomas_violence I dunno...I think it’s kind of interesting that the mythical toilet cleaners in your mind are all… https://t.co/KP63VjboM1— Chrysanthemumbler (@Chrysanthemumbler) 1548894619.0
@maudletov @thomas_violence Cleaning is the worst-paid work as there are always desperate people who'll do it. You… https://t.co/sTmbP5tE9v— Rosy Tubbocks (@Rosy Tubbocks) 1548950460.0
Props were given to those who truly are hard workers.
Here's to the heroes!
@thomas_violence Honestly anyone who's working @ a gas station n has to clean the bathrooms ? Hats off (I only had… https://t.co/eJ5IXlP0WH— shilha cutie (@shilha cutie) 1548901158.0
@ursamonroe @thomas_violence Seriously. This lady yesterday is the restroom what wiping her menstrual blood EVERYWH… https://t.co/3qf57yys8f— jay (@jay) 1548943159.0
@ursamonroe @thomas_violence Once worked at a convience store & a woman complained our (outside access) bathroom wa… https://t.co/ZTFezlWrMZ— Wyllomy Greene © (@Wyllomy Greene ©) 1548944085.0
@ursamonroe @thomas_violence I cleaned the university pub bathrooms on weekends for $8/hr. That was very hard, esp… https://t.co/XFH7AZJhtv— Krista D. Ball (@Krista D. Ball) 1548937727.0
@ursamonroe @thomas_violence I once found a goldfish in the bowl when cleaning out the toilets of the service stati… https://t.co/TD4H1uyGhY— Stephen Roddy (@Stephen Roddy) 1548949313.0
Which side of the debate are you on?