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Comment on When we eat the billionaires, we should spare Gabe Newell? No?

The billion dollars in superyatchts is just the personally-owned luxury kind that billionaries like to hoard, not marine research boats that he has funded. Him giving away some of his money doesn’t mean that he’s not also frivilously spent more money than most people could hope to see in a lifetime.

Fundamentally, I don’t think we’re going to agree here, as I fundamentally believe that there’s an amount of money beyond which there are no ethical grounds for keeping it, and it’s much lower than $11 billion. Newell has kept money above that threshold instead of giving everything he made beyond that threshold away (even illiquid stuff like part of his stake in Valve could, in principle, be given to a charity so the profit from Steam went straight into the charity), and I and plenty of other people would see that as greedy. Others might say that the fact that he’s given anything away that he wasn’t legally required to means that he’s not greedy. These are subjective ethical opinions, so even though they can’t be reconciled, it’s not a big deal. Different people think different things are wrong.

The reason I’ve been replying at all is that some of the things you’ve stated to be facts are untrue, not that I’m trying to convince you that all billionaires are unethical.

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EightBitBlood@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
What have I said that isn’t true?

robbreport.com/…/billionaire-gabe-newell-oceanco-…

The 364-foot Leviathan was designed for billionaire gaming visionary Gabe Newell, who acquired the Dutch shipyard this past April.

Leviathan is the latest addition to Newell’s Inkfish fleet and will be used to further scientific research in the marine sector. Occupying the place of the standard beach club is a fully equipped dive center, laboratory, and a hospital. There’s even a 3-D printing workshop where the crew can create spare or replacement parts. “Yachts have great potential to serve as platforms for scientific research,” adds Newell. “It’s about recognizing that you’re part of a broader community and ensuring the yacht’s presence adds value to the communities around it.”

You are just continuing to make assumptions based entirely on the assets he owns instead of his behaviour.

Something I keep pointing out, and is why I have also been responding.

I am completely on your side and feel that anyone with over a billion is an ethical and moral burden. However, I’m also wise enough to recognize that as a goal to strive towards not a destination to jisdgr against. So I’m not going to chastise those actively working towards that goal while still being a billionaire.

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- AnyOldName3@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  As I said, he also owns a billion dollars worth of superyatchts for personal use in addition to the one(s) nominally for marine research.
  
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  - EightBitBlood@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Your assumption all his yachts were for pleasure has already been proven wrong. Now you’re just moving the goal posts.
    
    As I said, he’s the second largest doner to marine research on the entire planet, and the burden of proof for proving his yachts are ALL for personal use is something you’ve never provided, only assumed.
    
    I’ve proved 1/3 were for scientific research. I’m not going to do the other 2/3 just for you to ignore and move the goal posts elsewhere.
    
    Prove your point, and I’ll believe it.
    
    Until then, he’s still a billionaire instead of the trillionaire he could be, so I’m not going to think poorly of him just because he’s not fitting some arbitrary number of currency tied to his worth that magically makes you think he’s moral.
    
    Instead I will judge him based on his actions. The ones that I have detailed have unquestionably made the world a better place for many more people than him.
    
    How about you actually tell me something he’s done wrong that’s worth your judgement, instead of basing it entirely on yachts you won’t research?
    
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- CileTheSane@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  You know what would further more research than give offering a portion of your super yacht to scientific research? Not building a billion dollar super yacht and giving that money to scientific research instead. Let the people who know what they’re doing decide what they need and not be beholden to your whims.
  
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  - EightBitBlood@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Like the 3000 scientists, engineers, and designers that helped him build that yacht for research?
    
    That collaboration started with the design and build. Newell joined forces with YTMC, Y.CO, the Oceanco Design team, Lateral Naval Architects, Mark Berryman Design, and thousands of designers, engineers, and other experts to bring his dream vessel to fruition. The names of the nearly 3,000 contributors are listed near the main staircase, in fact. “It is this level of collaboration that sets Leviathan apart from anything we’ve built before,” Oceanco CEO Marcel Onkenhout said in a statement.
    
    Is there more efficient ways to spend this money on research? Sure. But don’t equate this effort as meaningless just because it’s not perfect. It’s a great place to be a researcher, but it’s still for research.
    
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