When billionaire car dealers or manufacturers pay for ambassadorships, at least they pay with money earned by selling something of value.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
We get paid for bringing value to the market place.
Being an actor is well paid, but it's a bit like being a circus traveler.
Some billionaires like cars, yachts and private jets. Others like newspapers.
An ambassador is not simply an agent; he is also a spectacle.
Why pay $20 million to Harrison Ford? I don't even understand that. They think they have to do it... If someone puts a price on himself, that suggests he is irreplaceable, then he better find somewhere else to work.
The real duties of an ambassador are to enter into or follow negotiations between his own government and that of the country to which he is accredited.
One of the roles of a U.S. ambassador - anywhere in the world - is to promote bilateral trade and investment.
There's been a deliberate and systematic effort to convey to countries around the world, friends and foes, that if they cross the United States there's a price to pay.
At a car dealership, the person who sells the car is the hero, and also gets the commission. But if the mechanics don't service that car well, the customer won't return.
In America, people buy cars, and they put very little money down. They get a car, and they go to work. The work pays them a salary; the salary allows them to pay for the car over time. The car pays for itself.