An interesting article from this weekend's New York Times that let's the wealthy share their views on why they're so rich. Other very wealthy men in the new Gilded Age talk of themselves as having a flair for business not unlike Derek Jeter's "unique talent" for baseball, as Leo J. Hindery Jr. put it. "I think there are people, including myself at certain times in my career," Mr. Hindery said, "who because of their uniqueness warrant whatever the market will bear." He counts himself as a talented entrepreneur, having assembled from scratch a cable television sports network, the YES Network, that he sold in 1999 for $200 million. "Jeter makes an unbelievable amount of money," said Mr. Hindery, who now manages a private equity fund, "but you look at him and you say, 'Wow, I cannot find another ballplayer with that same set of skills.' " Economists might justify the outsized takings of the wealthy and proclaim it the best of all possible worlds. But when the wealthy get to speak for themselves, we're reminded of how egotistical and greedy these people really are. So economists, you might think you understand the wealthy, but you don't. Don't claim to represent them- let them voice their own concerns! Let the wealthy speak truth to power!