dangerous to call out a billion-dollar lifestyle...
A $100k+ certificate from an academic institution is still as a justification for giving rich people positions of power and influence and there is a massive pyramid of those who believe that having the piece of paper will elevate them to that status.
Having several such pieces of paper with my name on it I'll tell you they're only useful if you follow the field professionally. And even then, people tend to be more interested in the interview discussion of what work you did rather than the actual piece of paper. Other than that they're sed for justifications to grease the wheels and actually present a useful excuse as for making a barrier to entry. I have several wealthy friends who didn't do this route and correctly applied themselves and they're genuinely some of the smartest people I know.
A $100k+ certificate from an academic institution is still as a justification for giving rich people positions of power and influence and there is a massive pyramid of those who believe that having the piece of paper will elevate them to that status.
Having several such pieces of paper with my name on it I'll tell you they're only useful if you follow the field professionally. And even then, people tend to be more interested in the interview discussion of what work you did rather than the actual piece of paper. Other than that they're sed for justifications to grease the wheels and actually present a useful excuse as for making a barrier to entry. I have several wealthy friends who didn't do this route and correctly applied themselves and they're genuinely some of the smartest people I know.