Rudolf Agricola School launches Wijze Raad podcast on billionaires

The first episode of the podcast Wijze Raad is now available. In this new series from the Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development, pressing societal issues are at the forefront. In the first season, we explore the pros and cons of billionaires. Are economic inequalities spiraling out of control? Or are billionaires actually the driving force behind innovation and progress?

Science journalist Jelle Posthuma, affiliated with the Schools for Science & Society at the University of Groningen, discusses the societal issues with experts. Together, these experts form a Wise Council (Wijze Raad) that provides clarity and insight on major societal issues.

One of these issues is extreme wealth. According to Oxfam Novib, the ten richest men in the world (yes, all men) each became almost 100 million dollars richer per day in 2024. At the same time, nearly half of the world’s population lives on less than seven dollars a day.

How fair is that, really?

Money is never just money. Money is power. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg are among the wealthiest people in the world. All of them were present at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Not often has the connection between money and power been so clearly visible.

Yet there are also arguments in favor of the billionaire class. Many super-rich individuals invest their wealth in innovation and social progress. Take Bill Gates, for example, who spends billions through his foundation to combat malaria and other global issues.

Are billionaires too powerful, or are they engines of progress?

We don’t explore this billion-dollar question alone. In the first episode, Job de Grefte, lecturer in philosophical skills at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at the University of Groningen, joins the conversation. He welcomes an exploration of the pros and cons of billionaires, drawing on the ideas of key thinkers from history.

De Grefte approaches the issue from an ethical perspective: what is right, and what is not? With that lens, he examines the phenomenon of billionaires in this episode.

The billionaire series is the first edition of Wijze Raad. In future seasons, the podcast will tackle other major societal issue. And of course, we would like to hear your thoughts.