Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bankers, Billionaires "Going To Vomit" If They Keep Hearing This 1% "Crap"
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 20, 2011
Modified Dec 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 20, 2011
Modified Dec 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It's easy to get caught up in the moment and forget about those who are hurting the most this holiday season: old, rich white men, who have suffered the slings of the 99% despite being responsible for all that is good in the world. Thankfully Bloomberg News was able to track down these noble creatures to find out what they think about the legions of Americans who believe in greater income equality. "Who gives a crap about some imbecile?" 82-year-old billionaire and co-founder of Home Depot, Bernard Marcus says. "Are you kidding me?"
Sure, the 1% may make 36 times more money than the median household, and most Americans support raising taxes on Americans who make more than $250,000. But look how many people don't owe any taxes at all!
Let Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who once paid Patti Labelle and the Abyssinian Baptist Church choir to sing him a song about himself, explain the need for more sacrifice using the not-meanacing-at-all metaphor of bodily harm. "You have to have skin in the game. I'm not saying how much people should do. But we should all be part of the system." Except these companies that all made massive profits and didn't pay net income taxes. Their skin is sensitive and can't withstand all that exfoliation.
All the criticism is even affecting the health of these men. Former New York gubernatorial candidate and tax-dodging billionaire plutocrat Tom Golisano says, "If I hear a politician use the term 'paying your fair share' one more time, I'm going to vomit." At the time of the interview, Golisano was celebrating his 70th birthday "with girlfriend Monica Seles." If there's one thing that doesn't want to make anyone vomit, it's the thought of Tom Golisano and Monica Seles.
Home Depot's other co-founder, 76-year-old billionaire Ken Langone, loves cats and therefore doesn't mind being called one.
“I am a fat cat, I’m not ashamed,” he said last week in a telephone interview from a dressing room in his Upper East Side home. “If you mean by fat cat that I’ve succeeded, yeah, then I’m a fat cat. I stand guilty of being a fat cat.”
Fat cats should probably remember what "on the record" means when trying to rehab their image. "Too big to fail" is never too big to quote.
Tagged
1%
99%
bankers
banks
billionaires
Bloomberg News
hedge funds
income inequality
occupy wall street
rich people
stupid rich people on record
wealth
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Bronx couple starved their 3-year-old to death, indictment says
Their son was was also malnourished and hospitalized for a month, according to prosecutors.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 21, 2026 at 2:10 p.m. ET
Marble Hill protester accused of attacking federal agent faces assault charge
Prosecutors say a Bronx man grabbed and ripped the clothing of a Homeland Security Investigations employee.
By
Samantha Max
News
Marble Hill protester accused of attacking federal agent faces assault charge
Prosecutors say a Bronx man grabbed and ripped the clothing of a Homeland Security Investigations employee.
By
Samantha Max
NYC’s subsidized childcare waitlist is moving, starting with 3K families
By
Karen Yi
Elon Musk drops $500K on NY Rep. Mike Lawler's re-election bid
By
Jon Campbell
Early Addition: If you catch a mouse, there are meaner options than feeding it to a bird
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .