Irony: Multi-Millionaire Jon Stewart Mocks Wealthy Businessmen Discussing Income Inequality
On Thursday's Daily Show, comedian Jon Stewart – who is worth an estimated $80 million – mocked the irony of wealthy business leaders discussing income inequality at the recent World Economic Forum.
"Alright so a group of world's wealthiest people get together in a
secluded mountain enclave to discuss concerns over income inequality.
Hmm," Stewart remarked. Perhaps Stewart missed the irony that he is TV's highest-paid host, according to Variety
magazine, who is lecturing others about income inequality. Two weeks
ago, he spent 9 minutes lampooning conservatives and Republicans on the
issue.
[Audio here.]
Back on January 9, Stewart quipped, "there's a bit of divide in this country. Income inequality. The left thinks it's unfair because of systemic disadvantages built in for the less affluent. The right thinks it's unfair because apparently those disadvantages aren't systemic enough."
Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee mock-reported with video
from The Great Gatsby in the background: "And I can assure you, there's
nothing frivolous going on here. The leaders at the World Economic
Forum are laser-focused on making this a fairer and more equal planet."
On Thursday, Stewart also gasped at the report that 85 of the world's
wealthiest make as much as 3.5 billion of the world's poorest. "Jesus
Christ! Would not be very happy about that statistic," he exclaimed. "85
people have the same amount of wealth as the population of China, India
and all of Africa and Australia. 85 people. There's more people in
Arcade Fire than that."
Stewart also turned his fire on the financial reporters covering the
World Economic Forum. "Are you financial journalists or just excited to
be invited to the money oscars? Hey, hey! I loved you in the real life
events they later based the Wolf of Wall Street on! Keep up the good
work!" he mocked the reporting.
Perhaps Stewart's routine would look more genuine if he didn't make $25-30 million a year, which would put him around the top hundredth of the top one percent of annual income earners in the U.S., according to estimates.
Below is a partial transcript of the segment:
[11:00 p.m. EST]
JON STEWART: But let's begin tonight overseas in a land so central to
world function that the most major economic and geopolitical decisions
must be made there. I am talking, of course, about Switzerland.
[Laughter]
STEWART: Yes.
[Laughter]
STEWART: Yes those chocolate-making clock-suckers have made themselves
the destination for the world's most powerful individuals. Impressing
with their resourcefulness and let's call their amoral – let's call
their amoral attitude towards Nazi gold neutrality. So who's in
Switzerland?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN anchor: The rich and powerful, well they're at the annual World Economic Forum in Switzerland now.
STEWART: Rich and powerful. I wonder where the rich and powerless gather?
(...)
MALVEAUX: Our Richard Quest, he is in Davos to break down all of this. What are people saying about this?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN international business correspondent: Here at Davos,
the view is that they need to deal with inequality. It's the number one
issue that people are talking about the salons, in the bars in the
restaurants –
[Laughter]
STEWART: Yes! Inequality. They are talking about it in the cigar
lounges, in the champagne pavilions, in the cocaine-atoriums inside –
they are talking about it inside the same shared escorts. The priority
is helping the less fortunate. Alright so a group of world's wealthiest
people get together in a secluded mountain enclave to discuss concerns
over income inequality. Hmm.
QUEST: My colleague Nina dos Santos and I have been having an argument.
She believes that to some extent it's hypocrisy here at Davos. They
come here, they talk about the have-nots, but it's the haves that have
their noses in the trough. I don't agree with that.
[Laughter]
STEWART: I don't agree with it. I believe the real hypocrisy are the
poor people who say they care so much about income inequality but
couldn't be bothered to come to Davos.
[Laughter]
STEWART: Shows lack of commitment. But at least they are talking about
the issue. How bad is the income inequality issue now anyway?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The poorer half of the world's people have about
the same amount of money as the richest 85 people on Earth.
STEWART: Jesus Christ! Would not be very happy about that statistic. 85
people have the same amount of wealth as the population of China, India
and all of Africa and Australia. 85 people. There's more people in
Arcade Fire than that.
[Laughter]
STEWART: I'll tell you what, here is the good news. This thing, this
little enclave, this meeting, it's not happening in secret. These people
are being watched. I bet there are financial journalists all over this
conference to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable through,
I'm assuming hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners investigative journalism.
STEPHANIE RUHLE, co-host, Bloomberg News's Market Makers: We're going
to be talking about billionaires. This place here, the World Economic
Forum is a magnet for them.
LIZ CLAMAN, Fox Business anchor: I've been eating the cheesy Swiss fondue.
RUHLE: Last night, the proprieter of Eric and my hotel gave us a
private ride in his car because we couldn't get a taxi. And I think that
is VIP treatment.
CLAMAN: There's a hierarchy here, okay? So when you have an all-access
badge – yes, we were able to get this. Fox Business rocks.
[Laughter]
STEWART: What's with the giddiness? Are you financial journalists or
just excited to be invited to the money oscars? Hey, hey! I loved you in
the real life events they later based the Wolf of Wall Street on! Keep
up the good work!
(...)
SAMANTHA BEE, Daily Show correspondent: Yes, Jon. I'm here in Davos, okay.
[Cheers and applause]
BEE: And I can assure you, there's nothing frivolous going on here. The
leaders at the World Economic Forum are laser-focused on making this a
fairer and more equal planet.
STEWART: I'm sorry, really? Because it looks like you're at a party. It
looks like you're at a party at Gatsby's house, quite frankly.
— Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matt Hadro on Twitter.
