Comment on Bay Area tech CEO worth $35 billion says ‘suffering’ wasn't worth it

burntbutterbiscuits@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• Acamon@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I mean, I agree, I’m not going to be losing any sleep worrying about the unsatisfied billionaires. But what he’s saying is that given the cost (losing 30 years of his life) the ‘reward’ ($35 billion) wasn’t enough. He’s not saying he doesn’t like or want the money, he’s saying its not enough to give up your life for.

  If anything, it would explain why rich people keep pursuing money long after any sane person would be content with their millions/billions. Maybe if you just get given a few million you could be satisfied with it, but if you’ve had to sacrifice your life, friends, morality and so on to get it… And you realise it doesn’t actually make you happy, so you keep chasing more, hoping that eventually enough will be enough. Better that than realising you’re an idiot who fell for capitalism’s big lie and gave up the stuff that actually mattered in life to get more numbers on a sheet.

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  • sylverstream@lemmy.nz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Well said. I always wonder why billionaires keep working. Your post explains it nicely.

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    • spankinspinach@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I think there’s an addictive cycle element to it too. A point where it isn’t just validating the decisions you’ve made, but a compulsion to see the number get bigger

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  • Azzu@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The cynical side of me would say that he says this to have less competition in the future.

    But my empathetic side, which is much larger, agrees with you.

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