IBTs need to stop idolizing billionaires

If you were to talk to an IBT student at our school, you might notice a surprising number of them praising billionaires, with some even saying that it’s their goal in life to be exactly like them. The very same people who wouldn’t even glance over in their direction. Yet for some reason, these same individuals become quick to defend the ultra-wealthy the moment a single criticism is directed toward them. Why is that?

“Billionaires work hard for their money,” said Binuka Fernando and his grade 10 IBT friends. But is hard work really all it takes to reach the top tier of global wealth? These are the same conversations you would expect to hear only in business classes, but it is mildly concerning when you realize that many say this in civics classes as well.

Yet in a world where millions of people struggle to afford basic necessities, let alone the luxury of post-secondary education and the ongoing situation about the cutting of OSAP grants, a small group of people still possess more wealth than entire nations. According to Forbes’ 2026 billionaires list, the world's billionaires are estimated to hold about $20.1 trillion in combined wealth. If hypothetically that money were used to fund post-secondary education, it could pay for roughly 650 million separate four-year degrees.

When people hear the word ‘billion,’ it's difficult to grasp how much that truly is. If you were to spend $10,000 every single day for the rest of your life, it would take you 274 years to reach a billion in debt.

But even after putting all this into perspective, I still haven’t even touched on the surface of the problem. The ethical concerns surrounding billionaires were never about how much wealth they hoard, but about what it’s built on: a system rooted in exploitation, inequality, and silence. No one would be able to become a billionaire without a structure that allows extreme inequalities to exist. So how can a system justify such vast concentrations of wealth? But most importantly, how are people still defending billionaires even after knowing the truth?

It’s ultimately because we are often fed the idea that success is a result of hard work and this idea is especially reinforced in business spaces like IBT, leading people into thinking that if they worked hard enough they’ll reach this level of ‘success.’ In reality, this belief ignores inherited wealth, education and connections. Inequality becomes glamorized, seen as motivation rather than a flaw which over time begins to feel natural rather than injustice, when it comes at the expense of others.