Steve Wynn Expresses His Contempt For Poor People

French queen Marie Antoinette was known for her lavish spending during a time of great poverty, but her disregard for the underprivileged came to a head after her purported comment that her starving citizens should “eat cake” if they couldn’t find any bread to sustain them. As a result, she was guillotined by her disgruntled subjects in 1793 during the French Revolution.
Fast forward almost two and a quarter centuries, and casino and hotel magnate Steve Wynn seems to have taken a page out of the former queen of France’s book, and has also been expressing some pretty similar sentiments on the subject of poverty. According to the 74 year-old billionaire:
“..rich people only like being around rich people. Nobody likes being around poor people, especially poor people.”
Steve Wynn made his snooty comment whilst holding an investors day for Wynn Resorts’ in which he revealed details of several upcoming projects, including ones in Macau, Boston, and Las Vegas. Blowing his gold 24 Carat trumpet further, Wynn commented:
“..we cater to people who have discretion and judgment, and we give them a choice, and we are consistent in that, whether the economy is up or the economy is down.”
Needless to say, even if Wynn is being honest in expressing his insensitive views, his contempt for the unprivileged classes is unlikely to do much favors for a businessman living in a country in which over 45 million people, or 14.5% of the population, live below the poverty line. That is why Michael Weaver, senior VP of marketing and communications, felt compelled to try and clear up the gaff by later stating:
“Mr. Wynn’s comment was made in the context of a discussion that the company creates luxurious resorts which have an aspirational appeal to a broad range of guests.”
Either way, the damage has still been done, and Wynn’s comments will continue to hang over his head for some time to come. In the meantime, it is interesting to note that his father, Michael Weinberg, ran a number of bingo parlors in United States, but was a compulsive gambler who when he died left $350,000 in gambling debts behind.