Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that Thomas, facing financial strain, privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.

After almost a decade on the court, Thomas had grown frustrated with his financial situation, according to friends. He had recently started raising his young grandnephew, and Thomas’ wife was soliciting advice on how to handle the new expenses. The month before, the justice had borrowed $267,000 from a friend to buy a high-end RV.

At the resort, Thomas gave a speech at an off-the-record conservative conference. He found himself seated next to a Republican member of Congress on the flight home. The two men talked, and the lawmaker left the conversation worried that Thomas might resign.

Congress should give Supreme Court justices a pay raise, Thomas told him. If lawmakers didn’t act, “one or more justices will leave soon” — maybe in the next year.

At the time, Thomas’ salary was $173,600, equivalent to over $300,000 today. But he was one of the least wealthy members of the court, and on multiple occasions in that period, he pushed for ways to make more money. In other private conversations, Thomas repeatedly talked about removing a ban on justices giving paid speeches.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
    471·
    11 months ago

    One of the consequences of hanging out with billionaires is that it makes one feel puny.

    In an documentary about super rich kids, Ivanka Trump (a teenager at the time) said it was impossible to maintain friendships with people of modest means because you either had to exclude them from extravagant social events or pay their way. This leaves the poorer party feeling left out or awkwardly obligated.

    It’s likely that Thomas resents his benefactors. It’s deeply ironic that Thomas apparently spends so much time in situations where he’s the subordinate.

    • AlfredEinstein@lemmy.world
      2·
      11 months ago

      I’ll hang out with him.

      My wife and I haven’t seen the new Godzilla movie yet. We can double date with Charence and Ginni.

    • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      I had a boss back in the ‘90s who used to be a corporate headhunter in San Francisco and then moved back to the east coast and bought a temp agency. He hired me to do computer stuff for his dalliance into futures trading so I had access to his finances; he had investment accounts of around $5 million, a 50’ sailboat, a couple BMWs and the temp agency which earned him around $25K per month, so he was rich by almost anybody’s standards. But he had many friends back in the bay area who were worth hundreds of millions of dollars and the reality of his relative poverty absolutely ate him alive - it was virtually the only thing he could talk about and explained his adventures in futures trading.

      Hilariously, I once watched him berate his two temp agency receptionists (who made $7 an hour) because his monthly income had dropped from $40K to $25K, as if it was their fault and they could be expected to give a shit in the first place.