If they get married, they'll combine their multi-million dollar music and media empires, but President Obama doesn't think that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are a realistic representation of wealth and success in the U.S., the Huffington Post reports, giving kids an unrealistic ideal of the elusive national ethos of the "American Dream."
"Part of the American dream - even if you're poor, or lower-middle class - involves yearning for tangible things you can't afford," David Blum, editor of Kindle Singles, posed to the President in a recent interview for MarketWatch. "Were there things, when you were growing up, that you yearned for that you couldn't afford?"
President Obama explained that a shift in the ever-evasive American Dream had taken place, as evidenced by figures such as West and Kardashian, and compared the exposure of children to the media now to that of the past.
"There was not that window into the lifestyles of the rich and famous," he explained of his own childhood experiences. "Kids weren't monitoring every day what Kim Kardashian was wearing, or where Kanye West was going on vacation, and thinking that somehow that was the mark of success."
According to CelebrityNetWorth, Kardashian has a net worth of around $40 million, and that's not figuring in the reality star's family's income and earnings from all of their brands, clothing lines and side projects. As for West, he is worth around $100 million, making him one of the richest and most successful artists of all time.
However, in his recent interview with Blum, President Obama was attempting to reach out to the average American.
"The interview with President Obama, pegged to his latest speech on jobs and the economy in Chattanooga, focuses on the President's personal connection to the economic pressures that now face millions of Americans," Blum reported to MarketWatch.
The ludicrous amount of wealth children are exposed to today may give them unrealistic expectations about their future, though according to President Obama, it also makes them less aware of what they may already have, like a good home, good education and access to higher education.
Do you agree with President Obama that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's lavish and highly publicized lifestyles affect the way children think of themselves and their own potential? Tell us your opinion below in the comments!
