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Why do people think that because someone is a shareholder/CEO in a company, all their deeds from that point on are purely self-interest? Depends on the CEO and
by theobold 10y ago
Why do people think that because someone is a shareholder/CEO in a company, all their deeds from that point on are purely self-interest?
Depends on the CEO and company. The behavior of a company reflects the behavior of its CEO. Microsoft and Facebook both have a a history of bad behavior.
- jhall1468 10y ago"bad" is relative. The CEO's of the tobacco companies had a history of knowingly killing people. Microsoft was aggressively anti-competitive, Facebook was (and still is) very much opposed to privacy on the Internet. A company is many cogs. The fact that Bill Gates was anti-competitive doesn't make him, the individual, a bad person. That's very clear from the work he's doing now. So assuming that all decisions stem from greed, from anyone, is a silly assumption.
- gm-conspiracy 10y agoI am paraphrasing, but the quote goes something like "Yesterday's robber-baron is today's philanthropist."
- n-gauge 10y agoYour quote reminds me of Robin Hood.
- wavefunction 10y agoNot sure why? Robber Barons steal from the poor and give to themselves.
- icebraining 10y agoWhether Bill Gates is a good or bad person is only a relevant question to himself and maybe some close acquaintances. For the rest of us, the relevant point is predicting their behavior, and in that context, the phrase certainly applies. As long as he's CEO and the largest shareholder, Facebook's actions are Zuckerberg's decision and responsibility.