Sometimes I think this very question sums up human existence.

Now wait, I know what you’re thinking – Cripes! Another philosophy major babbling about ‘existence’ after too many bong hits.

Hear me out.

Neither Lex Luthor nor Batman have any superpowers per se, both are merely exceeding rich individuals dedicated to their particular causes. Lex, in his present manifestation, is a ruthless CEO of a major corporation secretly bent on the destruction of Superman. Batman, or Bruce Wayne, is much the same, except a tad more physically active than Lex; he too is the head of a major corporation. But he uses his money and resources to transform himself into a technological superhero. Later on, Bruce Wayne grows old and uses his wealth to support and assist another, younger Batman (Batman Beyond).

Now granted, some of the things these two characters do are quite impossible in the real world. But do you doubt that a major corporate conglomerate, say Time-Warner/AOL, couldn’t create a reasonable, real-life version of Batman if it really wanted to? Today’s technology might not be up to Batman's standards, but many of the original Batman devices could be made. And I’m sure one of the world’s top robotic/cybernetic R&D teams could come up with some innovative original gadgets as well. The cost, of course, would be exorbitant. But what else are you going to do with $50 billion dollars?
Answer -
1) Make even more money (because $50 billion isn’t enough)
2) Sit on your ass, Caligula style. Which is exactly what Luthor would do if Superman didn’t exist.

And what does the richest men in the world do?

According to the Forbes 400 listing, the following are the three richest men in the world:

1. Bill Gates – The Microsoft mogul bent upon integrating everything into his computer empire. He’s also the defendant in the most publicized anti-trust lawsuit since the robber barons.
Batman or Luthor?

2. Warren Buffett - An aging finance geek in charge of Berkshire Hathaway, which likes to draw its profits primarily from shares in big name corporations, such as Coke and Gillette. Basically, he dips into the very corporations that define our lives, making ridiculous amounts of money off of what we see, eat, smell, drink, and smoke.
Batman or Luthor?

3. Paul Allen – Another Microsoft co-founder and now owner of the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers. He made headlines last year with his “charitable” 10 million dollar donation to ... fellow Seattle-area billionaire Craig McCaw, so he could win America’s Cup in 2003.
Batman or Luthor?

So what does it say about human existence? What am I getting at?

Simple: You never see any superheroes in the real world, but there’s always lots of rich creepy guys.

Yes, I realize that wasting $50 billion dollars to create a single superhero to fight crime in a single city is an enormous waste of money. It could benefit so many more people if it was spent in other ways. However, the point is that it isn’t. The gulf between the world’s rich and poor is staggering, and only seems to be growing – the rich are sitting on their money and getting richer.

The answer to this question is simple.

Becoming super-rich requires devoting your life to becoming a great corporate leader. This means being too busy to worry too much about other things (like being a superhero). Most of the World's richest men are self-made corporate bigshots. Lex Luthor himself is a self-made man.

Batman on the other hand, was born into his wealth and position. This means although he carries the title of CEO, this is largely a token title. After all, Wayne Enterprises was obviously being well managed by someone else between the time that Batman's parents died and the time he turned old enough to run a corporation right? Batman is really just a millionaire playboy with too much time and money on his hands.

So there you have it, the reason why rich men resemble Lex Luthor is because they're self-made. It's not good but it's better than having our world run by a bunch of spoiled brats right?

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