What is your sentiment about billionaires today? What do you see when you look around? What is the overall vibe?

Even if you know a bunch of them personally, it’s not a very positive rap from the public. If you know these billionaires personally and know they are great people, you must acknowledge that there is a growing public disdain for them. It’s not just for the billionaires; it’s for the wealthy in general – the elite.

Why? Because deep down people see them having power, influence and the opportunity to take big risks with their wealth. To do big things. To take big risks that can change the world around them. Yet these billionaires do nothing.

Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But whatever it is they are doing, they certainly are not doing enough, or at least not enough publicly, to gain the public’s favour.

Think about what the Rockefellers did during the Great Depression, employing thousands of people to build Rockefeller Center. They knew people needed jobs, so they employed them to build beautiful works.

Certainly they were not perfect people. But the truth is, the wealthy elite of times past were different. They viewed themselves as stewards of society. Building libraries. Funding great works of art and architecture. Steering the government towards doing great projects.

Today? We might get a park bench. Or possibly some public space developed… adjacent to their high-rise.

Most of the time we just see them buying another yacht. Moving away from their state just to save on taxes. And worst of all are the NGOs funded by their donor-advised funds – NGOs that often employ people who… well… I’ll let you finish that thought.

In short, the elites no longer see themselves as stewards. The ultra-individualism of America has not just influenced them; it is who they are. “If I can make it, anyone can.” “You just gotta be persistent” Too often the fact that they had a bit of luck along the way is forgotten. This attitude also completely tramples on the idea that they are not, in fact, owners of anything. They are just stewards of what God has given them.

When you think like this, you start to see everyone as capable of helping themselves get rich. As a result, you have less sympathy for their situation. You are less likely to help them out financially. Heck, you may not even be willing to give them a bogus job so their family can eat.

This is the key challenge with a fully “merit-based” society that Johann Kurtz so beautifully articulates in his book, Leaving a Legacy. If I “earned” the money I have, that means I’m entitled to everything I make and what I buy with it. If I earned it, those darn kids should earn it too.

Unfortunately, our present elite are unlikely to change their ways in our lifetimes. The incentives are too strong. But here’s what we can do.

In the coming decades, we can build up the new aristocracy. We can build families who have some wealth and who use that wealth to fix, build up and care for the community around them. It starts small. Invite your neighbours over for dinner. Spruce up the yard. Host a block party. Bring the neighbours together. Then you begin to be a true community.

Once you’ve got a bit of money, stop the decay. Fund murals, commission statues, join local clubs. Fund good people doing good things. Join boards. Found institutions or join existing ones.

If you’re a business owner, pay your team well. Create an environment conducive to having and raising a family. Inspire people to work for something bigger. Leverage your influence to make the place better. Get your fellow business owners on board.

In a word, we need to become the new elites. Exiting to a secluded mountain community isn’t going to change the culture. It’s giving up on it.

Becoming an elite who understands what stewardship is and means is becoming the aristocracy. It’s less about the money than it is about the influence and prestige. If you understand magnanimity, you know you’re called to become the person God has you to be. You cannot do that through cowering in fear. Through staying in your home, where it’s safe.

God is calling you to be great. Whether you become part of the new aristocracy or not is beside the point. You cannot become who God has called you to be if you walk in fear – you must fix your gaze firmly on Jesus and step into the fray. The same way Peter stepped out of the boat.

Once you begin to understand what the elites could be doing, it will serve as that much more motivation to get after it. Again – for the right reasons. Without the right intentions, all is vain.

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Silas Mähner is the founder of Roosevelt Talent (a GreenTech search firm) and Catholic Founders – a community for Catholic entrepreneurs exploring the theology of entrepreneurship. He and his wife, Lynn, are raising their young family in Nashville, Tennessee.