We read at https://www.cambridge.org/ that “Over 11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought political office,” which is a remarkably high statistic. The fact of the matter is that most people would be surprised that any billionaire would even consider running for office, when they already have all the money that they could possibly ever imagine and have more than a fair use for; yet they go ahead and run, perhaps for the betterment of society, but probably because winning public office, permits them to more readily consolidate their wealth, along with providing them with another form of influence and persuasion, which is power.
Similarly, numerous famous athletes and actors have ventured into the political arena, with a significant number achieving success, such as becoming mayors, Governors, Senators, and even Presidents. This signifies that superrich and famous people definitely not only get elected, but there has to be something that they have in common, for having that collective success with the people, and that would have to be the fact that people love backing a winner, and in particular, those that don’t have a whole lot of success in life, seem to especially favor voting for someone that is perceived to be a winner, for apparently the vicarious reason that because they voted for that candidate, or favored that candidate, that somehow their candidate’s success and prestige thereby rubs off on them.
Indeed, name recognition as well as the usage of a lot of money in politics, serves those candidates that have an abundance of such attributes, quite well, because a lot of candidates so running for election, don’t have a particular high name recognition, and some of those that do, have perhaps been around the block so long and done or said certain things, that their name recognition is not favorable, whatsoever. So then, a candidate that is running for office, who, because they are famous or superrich, but don’t have much of a track record when it comes to political views, may very well have an advantage over more seasoned candidates because they don’t have any of that negative baggage that would apparently hold them back.
The fact that the superrich and famous are able to get elected is a reflection not of their political views or experience, but simply because people like them, or admire them, or wish they were them, which is probably not so good for America, because those who run for political office really ought to be people who know their stuff, can debate well, and are people of principle, that stand for something of value to the general public, as opposed to simply being likeable or extremely wealthy. One of the things that the general public doesn’t really comprehend is that those who are inexperienced in the political arena aren’t going to be skilled at all the interplay, compromises, and the give and take that politics typically consist of, and will find to their dismay, that just because their candidate has been elected, does not necessarily mean that their desired mandate will ever come close to coming to fruition, which is why superrich or famous elected politicians, don’t seem to ever really change a thing