Those who seek those things -- money for money's sake, power for power's sake -- often tend to see their success as somehow making them "above" others. They derive perverse pleasure in seeing just how much they can flaunt society's rules. 'The rules don't apply to me' is like a drug in itself.
I grinded fairly well enough in my 20s, just as many other people I know who did. We're much better off than 99.99% of the world. That doesn't make us think of sexually abusing children and adolescents one bit because we need to "flush that shit out of our system" and "recapture our lost youth". I have better ways of recapturing my lost youth, by computer games, more time for hobbies and fucking closer to my age like rabbits.
PS:- being in the upper echelon does mean you have a somewhat easier access to the circles that engage in these vile activities, and yes you'll be completely excluded if you say no to them. Many are okay with that, while those who aren't are the ones in the files.
people who miss out on life experiences often try to overcompensate them or live vicariously, or never find out how to do it naturally. people who have much leisure time in college and 20s come to understand their demons, discover their true character... as opposed to silitron vale or wall st types
guy who never made football team bullies his kid into football
guy who never dated in his 20s makes tonnes of money by working 100 hours a week and in 30s fumbles into bad relationships created from status flexing with no depth, never experienced adolescent loves with womans his own age
woman who grew up poor gorges herself on mcdonalds binge once a month due to repressed trauma of always missing out on mcd as a child
you see this with extravagant childrens birthdays a lot too
> guy who never made football team bullies his kid into football
That is much less of a think you are making it to be. A guy who values football, was good at it is significantly more likely to force kids into football.
> guy who never dated in his 20s makes tonnes of money by working 100 hours a week and in 30s fumbles into bad relationships created from status flexing with no depth, never experienced adolescent loves with womans his own age
You made up that guy!
> woman who grew up poor gorges herself on mcdonalds binge once a month due to repressed trauma of always missing out on mcd as a child
Not a thing either.
> you see this with extravagant childrens birthdays a lot too
Those are status competition among adults.
The thing that perplexes me is that these people aren't in poverty or victims of some violent trauma. They are among the elites of the country -- and yet this is still how they behave -- are these people a niche group or am I?
Why not both?
A lot of middle class and wealthy people are victims of trauma. If you grow up in a house with violently racist and hateful authoritarian parents you will be deeply traumatized, and likely end up just like your parents. Wealth does not protect people from emotional trauma.
Ah yes, no one else has ever tried to ingratiate themselves into the world of the rich and famous. It's spies all the way down!
> i'll bet your entire net worth x 10. the anaconda is the worst kept secret of silicon valley...
I think the truth is probably that insecurity does not prevent success. Some argue that it might be the source of it. But probably the truth is there are secure billionaires and insecure billionaires and the latter are very obviously insecure because despite their success they do things like this.