Letters to the Editor: What’s O’Neill’s problem with straight, white rich men?

Some of them have, arguably, revolutionised the world with their products. There is nothing to stop a black, lesbian, transgender woman from doing the same

Those like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) possess enormous wealth, which our letters writer says Irish Examiner columnist Louise O'Neill suggests makes them bad when combined with their pale, heterosexual maleness. Yet all of them have, arguably, revolutionised the world with their products, so do they now return to O’Neill’s good books? AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

The column ‘Should billionaires exist,’ by Louise O’Neill, (Irish Examiner, ‘Weekend’, Saturday August 14) could have been an excellent starting point for a discussion about a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Instead, she seems more obsessed with identity politics and her disdain of “straight, white men”. It is ironic that, while she deplores the wealth of these billionaires, she asserts: “If anyone is particularly brilliant, talented or has developed something that will revolutionise the world, they should be rewarded lavishly for it.” These positions are fundamentally opposed. Those like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg possess enormous wealth, which makes them bad when combined with their pale, heterosexual maleness. Yet all of them have, arguably, revolutionised the world with their products, so do they now return to O’Neill’s good books?