>> Either you have not "become wealthy", as you "traded a million dollar painting for a million bucks" or the effectual value of money exceeds the purchase value of the "million dollar painting". Both cannot be true.
> I became wealthy by creating wealth, not concentrating it. Concentrating it requires it be taken from somewhere else. There is no taking going on, there is creation and exchange.
The scenario you have described is logically consistent while being representative of a tiny subset of commerce. Revisiting the original use-case:
Let's say I buy $20 worth of art supplies, and I paint a
landscape and sign it with my moniker, "bright". Since
"bright" paintings are very rare and go for a million bucks
each, I now have created a million bucks of value.
Assuming all of the above, this business model does not account for at least the following:
A - Businesses having more than one employee.
B - Asset deprecation, such as when purchasing a new automobile.
C - Consumable goods, such as food, petrol, etc.
D - Services such as commercial/residential rent and physical security.
E - Taxes.
F - Stock dividends and/or performance bonuses.
A and E involve direct wealth transfer from the business to relevant parties.
B is a second order effect only realized when the buyer attempts to sell the asset to a third party.
C and D are direct wealth transfers as the seller retains the remuneration for as long as they desire (excluding applicable cases identified above) and the buyer eventually does not have a physical equivalent. Note that this often remains a valuable exchange for both parties.
F is where wealth concentration commonly resides.
