Despite economic outlook, we're still fascinated by the super-rich

Warren Buffett (L) and Bill Gates. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

I'm not on the Forbes 400 list. I'm quite a few zeros short. On the bright side, my estate planning is much simpler. Last evening on National Public Radio's Marketplace program (one of my frequent escapes) they did a feature that asked, "why would Bloomberg News think now's the time to go head-to-head with Forbes as another source emphasizing coverage of the rich?" Show transcript stated...

Jim Taylor: You would think that during the economic downtimes, there'd be less of a concern about the wealthy, or in fact negative feelings, anger or frustration toward the wealthy.

And you'd be wrong, says University of San Francisco psychologist Jim Taylor. He says from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to the fictional Carringtons of Dynasty, we've always been fascinated by the rich -- maybe even more so now.

Taylor: Escapism, fantasy, wishful thinking does, however unrealistically, provide some relief and comfort for people during these very difficult times.

Taylor says Americans have always been interested in who's made it and how they got there.

Studying the Consumer's Escape Plan is so rich. Thanks for listening.