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Is it clickbaiting or just misplaced hero-worship to call this the "fall" from "star trader" to criminal? Seems to me more like one minute he's a crook who has

Is it clickbaiting or just misplaced hero-worship to call this the "fall" from "star trader" to criminal? Seems to me more like one minute he's a crook who hasn't been caught, the next he's a crook who's been caught. Rather than causing even a second of cognitive dissonance it should simply set you to scanning all his other accomplishments for fraud as well.

Brockenstein 9y ago
I think it's probably along the lines of: Before your malfeasance is found out and punished, you're a rockstar. Some rockstars are rockstars, and some are yet to be caught criminals. You won't always know beforehand. And in a story like this that covers years of time it's not that unusual to describe the person as how they're perceived at the time in points of the story. It gives you a sense of the journey and how far they've fallen. "Crook in jail" doesn't carry quite the same gravitas as "wealthy banker on top of the world, definitely one of the 1%, now fucking fucked". If anything it's clickbait only because it suggests the inevitable consequences will be serious. But who's betting for pretty weak prison sentence and he'll still be a multi-millionaire at the end of it all?
dredmorbius 9y ago
"Behind every great fortune there is a crime." https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/09/fortune-crime/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/09/fortune-crime/ J.K. Galbraith: the notion of the "bezzle", from The Great Crash: 1929: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23458.John_Kenneth_Galbraith https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23458.John_Kenneth_G... http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rxv/business/bezzle.htm http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rxv/business/bezzle.htm
- valuearb 9y ago
  "Behind every great fortune there is a crime." It's a great sounding quote, but obviously entirely untrue.
  - dieterrams 9y ago
    Can you explain? It’s not obvious to me.
    - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
      What's the crime behind Bezos' fortune? Behind the Google founders? Behind Warren Buffet's?
      - Rexxar 9y ago
        For Bezos, anticompetitive moves and very bad working conditions in some part of the company can be seen as crime by some people. No idea for Warren Buffet.
        golergka 9y ago
        > can be seen as crime by some people That doesn't make it a crime. But it does make those people less credible.
      - dieterrams 9y ago
        Google: anticompetitive practices, and the no poach agreement with Apple, Adobe, and Intel, off the top of my head. Berkshire Hathaway was investigated for insider trading, resulting in Sokol’s resignation. Four former execs of BK’s General Re were found guilty of fraud.
        dmix 9y ago
        > anticompetitive practices, and the no poach agreement with Apple, Adobe, and Intel, off the top of my head. Almost all of those were done (temporarily) well after the fortunes were made. Any examples you'd find I'd bet 95-99% were either the result of subsequent monopoly or as a result of government intervention either directly/indirectly benefiting them. The 1-5% which weren't were likely punished. As the examples you mentioned were...
        9y ago
- jondubois 9y ago
  Behind every great crime, there is a fortune.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
valuearb 9y ago
Traders are always looking for an edge. It's a bit presumptuous to think that all of his successes have been from this one illegal act, or other illegal acts.

Brockenstein 9y ago

I think it's probably along the lines of: Before your malfeasance is found out and punished, you're a rockstar. Some rockstars are rockstars, and some are yet to be caught criminals. You won't always know beforehand. And in a story like this that covers years of time it's not that unusual to describe the person as how they're perceived at the time in points of the story. It gives you a sense of the journey and how far they've fallen. "Crook in jail" doesn't carry quite the same gravitas as "wealthy banker on top of the world, definitely one of the 1%, now fucking fucked". If anything it's clickbait only because it suggests the inevitable consequences will be serious. But who's betting for pretty weak prison sentence and he'll still be a multi-millionaire at the end of it all?

dredmorbius 9y ago

"Behind every great fortune there is a crime." https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/09/fortune-crime/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/09/fortune-crime/ J.K. Galbraith: the notion of the "bezzle", from The Great Crash: 1929: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23458.John_Kenneth_Galbraith https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23458.John_Kenneth_G... http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rxv/business/bezzle.htm http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rxv/business/bezzle.htm

valuearb 9y ago
"Behind every great fortune there is a crime." It's a great sounding quote, but obviously entirely untrue.
- dieterrams 9y ago
  Can you explain? It’s not obvious to me.
  - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
    What's the crime behind Bezos' fortune? Behind the Google founders? Behind Warren Buffet's?
    - Rexxar 9y ago
      For Bezos, anticompetitive moves and very bad working conditions in some part of the company can be seen as crime by some people. No idea for Warren Buffet.
      - golergka 9y ago
        > can be seen as crime by some people That doesn't make it a crime. But it does make those people less credible.
    - dieterrams 9y ago
      Google: anticompetitive practices, and the no poach agreement with Apple, Adobe, and Intel, off the top of my head. Berkshire Hathaway was investigated for insider trading, resulting in Sokol’s resignation. Four former execs of BK’s General Re were found guilty of fraud.
      - dmix 9y ago
        > anticompetitive practices, and the no poach agreement with Apple, Adobe, and Intel, off the top of my head. Almost all of those were done (temporarily) well after the fortunes were made. Any examples you'd find I'd bet 95-99% were either the result of subsequent monopoly or as a result of government intervention either directly/indirectly benefiting them. The 1-5% which weren't were likely punished. As the examples you mentioned were...
      - 9y ago
jondubois 9y ago
Behind every great crime, there is a fortune.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

valuearb 9y ago

Traders are always looking for an edge. It's a bit presumptuous to think that all of his successes have been from this one illegal act, or other illegal acts.