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No, it was nice of him to give them any money. He owed them nothing. Hence my comparison to finding a lotto ticket. Minecraft being sold for 2.5bn is likely bey

No, it was nice of him to give them any money. He owed them nothing. Hence my comparison to finding a lotto ticket. Minecraft being sold for 2.5bn is likely beyond what anyone would have bet on. And it wasn't all just him (not to engage in speculation, but I've read that the original code code wasn't fantastic, so certainly employees contributed tons). So if we'd think someone that found a lotto ticket to be a dick to not get the lunch check, perhaps that logic carries over to larger amounts. Hell, I even feel like a jerk if I get an upgrade on a flight but traveling companions don't. Maybe I'm weird. I've certainly seen both types of behaviour, albeit at far lesser amounts. This is only relevant in context of his tweets. Also: Beverly Hills? That part of California is pretty, but damn, not where I'd go to find people disinterested in money.

mratzloff 11y ago
It's pretty simple. He valued those friendships. Human nature dictates that they would be pissed off about him not sharing the wealth that they had a hand in creating (regardless of whether they started before or after Minecraft was successful). He could have easily given each employee $5 MM. It would have cost him about $250 MM. What is that compared to $2500 MM? 10% of a vast fortune he could never spend. Would his former employees still resent him? Or would they be grateful to him that he made it possible for them to start their own businesses, retire (with some smart investing), live lavishly and stay employed, whatever? Maybe he wasn't obligated to give them a small fortune, but was that the right decision for him, personally, to make? It doesn't sound like it.