Wealthy Men Are Too Greedy to Achieve Their Own Birth Rate Goals

Wealthy Men Are Too Greedy to Achieve Their Own Birth Rate Goals

It seems like every other week, Elon Musk is tweeting about the declining birth rate. He often bemoans the low fertility rates around the world and warns of impending demographic collapse, all while simultaneously making grandiose plans to colonize Mars and the entire galaxy. Yet, despite his vocal concerns, there’s one glaring issue Musk—and many other wealthy men—don’t seem to understand: they are the ones largely responsible for keeping the birth rate low.

It’s not just Musk. Billionaires across the globe complain about the birth rate crisis, but their actions are often counterproductive. They are so wrapped up in accumulating wealth and power that they fail to recognize the fundamental issue: many people simply can’t afford to have children in today’s economy.

Take the cost of living, for instance. The price of housing, food, healthcare, and basic necessities has skyrocketed in recent decades. It’s not just a minor inconvenience for families—it’s an insurmountable barrier. Many men, who might want children, can’t afford them. Women face even greater challenges, with the cost of raising a child on top of everything else they face in the workplace and society. This isn’t some abstract economic theory—it’s the lived reality for millions of people across the world.

Here’s where the hypocrisy kicks in. Elon Musk alone has a net worth of around $320 billion. With a fraction of his fortune, he could singlehandedly boost the birth rate. For instance, he could build one million homes, each valued at $200,000, for those who want to have children but cannot afford the basic necessities. That’s a $200 billion investment. Even after such a large expenditure, Musk would still have $120 billion left over. Yet, instead of helping to alleviate the costs that keep people from having children, he continues to amass more wealth and complain about a low birth rate.

It’s not just Musk, either. Wealthy men like him are more concerned with accumulating wealth and power than they are with addressing the root causes of the very issues they complain about. They’re quick to point fingers at society and cry about low birth rates but aren’t willing to put their money where their mouths are. Why should anyone be expected to have children when basic needs are out of reach?

The reality is that the birth rate will never increase the way the wealthy want it to, not until they confront the greed that holds people back. The birth rate isn’t simply a matter of individual choice; it’s inextricably tied to economic factors that the wealthy continue to exacerbate. Their refusal to make life easier for families—whether through affordable housing, healthcare, or living wages—will ensure that more and more people, from conservative families to progressives, will choose not to have children, not because they don’t want them, but because they can’t afford them.

So while the wealthy continue to voice their concerns about the low birth rate, they fail to acknowledge that they are the ones creating the very conditions that make it impossible for people to have children. They are the ones keeping the birth rate low, not because they care about the future, but because they care more about increasing their wealth at the expense of the majority. Until they take responsibility for this—and until they make it easier for families to thrive—no amount of tweets or space exploration will change the fact that their greed is the true barrier to the future they say they want.

At 4B America, we believe women should never have children, whether the economy is good or not. However, we recognize that growing income equality will only drive more women our way. We foresee a future world where women will lead instead of billionaire men, leading to income equality, and permanent freedom from pregnancy and birth for all women. ♀