Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Money. They are making money. That's what it is, and you know it.


As much as I like their clothes I can’t say I’m a fan of their holier than thou attitude. For example when the founder “gave the company away” but was pretty obviously just setting up a tax dodging structure. It’s like pick a lane dude, you can’t be a billionaire and a saint in this life.


Although it may be against popular opinion, I believe making billions without a healthy stock of virtues is unlikely.


Well you just deliberately moved the goalposts. I said billionaires are not saints. You said they have “virtues” by which I assume you mean intelligence and work ethic. Character traits that are typically not included in the definition of a saint.


Isn't using the term "saint" in the first place, moving the goalposts? He never claimed to be one.


Agreed. A “healthy stock of virtues” does not mean a stock of healthy virtues.

We need a few more decades of inflation before anyone can rightly claim to become a billionaire without fucking people over.


Virtues are healthy by definition. There are no unhealthy virtues.


It seems like you are moving the goal posts.

> Virtue: Positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good

Saints were certainly concerned with virtues.


Hard work and skill are only morally good if they have a net positive impact. Plenty of despots were hard working and smart. A lot of people in the crypto industry are very smart, hard working frauds, for example.


You have narrowed my claim to only the virtues of hard work and skill. I’m claiming that it’s unlikely to make billions without being flush with virtues, not just the ones you deem morally neutral.

I stated at the outset that this is not a popular opinion.


Yeah it’s not popular because it’s clear you’ve never met a rich person in your life


It's not popular cuz there's millions of lazy and bitter poor people for every hard-working rich person. In my experience, it's true.


For the record depending on how you define rich I would probably qualify, at least compared to my age cohort. I’m not bitter about my personal situation, I’m bitter that billionaires buy politicians and externalize costs on others to achieve their wealth. Do all billionaires and the rich who serve them do this? No, obviously not. But plenty do.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: