Billionaires either inherit their money or get it by being an asshole. Being nice doesn’t make people billionaires.
Comment on Valve CEO Gabe Newell’s Neuralink competitor is expecting its first brain chip this year
LeroyJenkins@lemmy.world 1 week agolet’s not circlejerk and have a soft spot for a billionaire just because you like video games. why give gaben the benefit of the doubt just because you think steam is a good product? if they’re a billionaire doing this, we can assume this is a money making venture.
if you’re a billionaire, you’re already way into your villain phase. he’s not musk, but he’s one of them. you don’t make a billion dollars. you take a billion dollars.
aceshigh@lemmy.world 1 week ago
mcv@lemm.ee 6 days ago
There are a few exceptions. JK Rowlings became a billionaire simply by writing some really popular books, and even stopped being a billionaire by giving much of her wealth away. As far as I can tell, she didn’t become an asshole until later.
aceshigh@lemmy.world 6 days ago
I bet she was always an asshole, she just hid it from the general public.
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 6 days ago
There is literally no evidence of that other than tankie memes.
LeroyJenkins@lemmy.world 6 days ago
nah. you need to be pretty fucking terrible to build a business where your share of it is worth a billion dollars. you do so by cheating your customers, employees, and competition. valve is no exception.
there are plenty of companies out there that pay their employees decently, make good products, and compete fairly. those companies usually aren’t worth that much and their leaders aren’t making a billion dollars from it. you’re right that the tax policies are shit, but it’s not like you ever accidentally become a billionaire. you do so by cheating the tax system too and screwing the general public.
and nobody said anything about killing people.
lucelu2@lemm.ee 6 days ago
The billionaires today have an opportunity to eliminate world hunger yet they don’t. Instead, they fly rocketships, sail on giant yachts and buy island compounds or towns in Texas. So yeah, No one at that RB club is going to win a Nobel Peace Prize. They all suck.
tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
So, you are reading things I didn’t write. I’m not defending him about steam games etc… The only good will here about any of it is the work toward better Linux life.
I agree billionaires shouldn’t exist.
I don’t like steam.
I don’t really do much gaming… And it’s worth stuff from GOG.
Chill out. I’m not the fanboi you are looking for.
I’m only saying perhaps he sees $$$ in a venture that is rife with much worse people doing far worse to vulnerable people.
On the off chance better access comes about from rich assholes eating each other, I’m game to at least watch.
mcv@lemm.ee 6 days ago
I’m willing to say more positive things about him. His dedication to Linux is great of course, but I’ve also heard that people working for him get a lot of freedom to choose what to work on. And no crunch. In the games industry, that’s pretty good.
So yeah, he seems to me to be one of the better among the tech billionaires. But in the end, he’s still a billionaire, and he’s god that ridiculous fleet of super yachts.
LeroyJenkins@lemmy.world 6 days ago
I’m not. your post is literally saying we should be nicer to him because he’s not Elon. you’re saying we should be easy on him because he might be doing some good. I’m saying we shouldn’t.
tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 days ago
No. “Don’t immediately assume he’s doing the same exact evil” is not the same as “be nicer”.
At the least, it’s “assume other bad motives perhaps”.
My thought is this is just another way to milk money from others. That simple. Not “let’s bribe govts”.
If it’s assumed he’s doing the exact same as Musk, then we either prepare to undo the damage incorrectly, or waste time looking at the wrong stooge.
LeroyJenkins@lemmy.world 5 days ago
you’re quoting yourself but you never said that. you said maybe Gabe could be entering his villain phase, as if he’s not there yet. thus implying you meant he’s not a villain, so we shouldn’t assume the worse. I get what you say now, but you did not say what you meant in your original comment.
Jax@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
First step to getting away with shithead behavior is convincing a group, any group (but preferrably one marginalized), that you’re representing them.
Idk, there are tons of good things that have happened from rich people doing stuff. Hell, that’s the reason medicine progressed — if nobles weren’t terrified of dying, who knows how long it would have taken i figure out that bloodletting with leeches doesn’t work?
I don’t think I need to point out all the bad things that have happened because of the rich.
tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 days ago
Not saying represent by any stretch.
If I need X thing to survive, I’d rather get it from a pure and innocent source… If that’s not possible, I’d rather it from the dude with too many boats who charges too much money than the one actively gloating about destroying lives literally and on a much higher scale.
Yes I know lesser evil etc… This isn’t a philosophy course and I don’t need what they’re selling. But many do potentially and I’d rather minimize damage than just let the absolute worst be the default.
Jax@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
I respect that, I just try to provide context. It’s often misinterpreted, and I do succumb to emotional responses — but my goal is to make sure those that are justified approach their goals with a clear mind.
I’m not advocating for the rich. I just want people to make the right decisions when it inevitably comes to the point where we need to decide what to do with the rich.