How much wealth is too much?

I was reading a wikipedia entry yesterday about globalization. One of the statements was that "The three richest people possess more financial assets than the poorest 10% of the world's population, combined." Now, it said there was a citation needed, and the link they listed there got a 404 error (meaning not found). However, it got me to thinking. How much wealth is too much wealth. Is there a problem when someone is vastly successful and thereby amasses amazing wealth. I don't have a problem with people being successful, as long as they were honest, and didn't abuse people to get there. However, I do have to agree that having too much wealth in the hands of too few is a problem, but it wouldn't be fair or right, or productive, to restrict people from earning as much as they can. So what is the answer.

What about those who inherit significant wealth. Well, I think about my own children, but I wouldn't want to dump ridiculous wealth on any of them, but I would want them to have enough to be well established. I thought about Warren Buffet, who has often indicated that he won't give significant inheritance to his children. He is strongly in favor of the inheritance tax. I began to think about this. If there were some kind of limit on inheritance that would meet with Buffet's famous statement that "I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing", but that provided that kind of limit for everyone, then that might provide a better distribution of wealth.

I often think of wealth in terms of the poverty level. And by poverty level, I mean the poverty level in the United States. If there was unlimited inheritance up to say, 500 times the poverty level, that should be enough to provide a great start for anyone. Those who then have way more than that, would have to look for additional heirs to distribute their wealth to. Beyond just an inheritance tax or limit, I would also apply it to gifts given before death. The total anyone could receive should be the same whether the received it before their benefactor's death or after. If donating to a trust, then the total number of full beneficiaries of that trust should be multiplied by the limit. Buffet's donation of over 30 billion to the Gates Foundation would be just fine in this instance, since the trust specifies everyone as beneficiaries. All assets should fall in this category, whether cash, stock, real estate, or anything else. Any assets not specified to an heir would then be liquidated and turned over to the government. By distributing wealth better, there would be less pooling and reduction in economic activity, and also result in greater opportunities as there would less plutocracy and fewer inherited power positions in big companies (think Walmart or Ford).

I would say that this would be one of the first requirements for the Good Government Initiative. It wouldn't work if there was a permanent royal or elite class. Distribute that wealth and get it back in circulation. That is what will benefit the nations and individuals.