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House of Saud, maybe, they are dumb enough to think this would work. Given their inept handling of the Khashoggi I wouldn't be surprised. I doubt anyone in the
by jorblumesea 8y ago
House of Saud, maybe, they are dumb enough to think this would work. Given their inept handling of the Khashoggi I wouldn't be surprised. I doubt anyone in the US intelligence profession would think Bezos would call off the WaPo because of some scandalous photos.
"Just blackmail the richest man on the planet, that will totally work!"
- kw04 8y agoDon't underestimate how desperate people in power will get when they feel threatened.
- everdev 8y agoIt was fight or flight and Bezos chose to fight.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- atomical 8y agoCheck out the book The Billionaire's Vinegar. Plenty of rich people are willing to stay silent to avoid embarrassment.
- cm2187 8y ago> "Just blackmail the richest man on the planet, that will totally work!" Given the number of people and media who seem to be convinced without a doubt that Trump is being blackmailed by Russia...
- c3534l 8y agoDidn't he pay off a former pornstar tons of money to stay quiet about having sex with him? Doesn't seem implausible when he's already paid millions in hush money to keep embarassing personal info from leaking.
- cm2187 8y agoSo then blackmailing seems to be a viable strategy! Merely pointing at the contradiction.
- blattimwind 8y agoActually... yes. If you got some (obviously very narcisstic) person that's known to have paid (a lot) of hush money, then that person likely is a viable target for blackmail.
- jorblumesea 8y agoThe issue isn't that blackmail works or doesn't work, it's that it only works on some people. Trump is an obvious and clear candidate for blackmail, given his personality. Bezos is not.
- jki275 8y agoAnd that worked so well she wrote a book about it...
- ceejayoz 8y agoIt would've continued to work just fine if Trump hadn't run for President. Breaking the NDA doesn't make financial sense when he's a C-list celebrity; it does when he's suddenly the President.
- jki275 8y agoTrump hasn't been a "c-list celebrity" ever. He's been a very famous and very well known celebrity for over four decades. Even the left used to like him until he ran for president.
- SideburnsOfDoom 8y agoWe're talking about billionaires here, not Trump.
- dingo_bat 8y agoWho is of of them. So what's your point?
- rsynnott 8y agoGenerally people who think that think that Trump is being blackmailed with something _criminal_ (while the pee tape got a lot of attention, it's actually one of the less dangerous parts of that dossier from Trump's point of view). There's nothing criminal about taking a photo of your genitals.
- SideburnsOfDoom 8y agoI would disagree with that, a significant number of people think that Mr Trump is dependant on their _money_ and is ashamed to admit it, more than anything else. It's a fact that Mr Trump has been bankrupt six times. It's a fact that he has not shown his tax returns. His business dealing with Russia are under investigation.
- jki275 8y agoSome of his business ventures have filed for bankruptcy protection. He has never been bankrupt himself. There's a significant difference.
- ceejayoz 8y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Lawsuits_and_bankruptcies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Lawsuits_and_bank... > Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, although in 1990 he came within one missed bank loan payment of doing so, agreeing to a deal that temporarily ceded management control of his company to his banks and put him on a spending allowance. Personal bankruptcy in all but name.
- sodosopa 8y agoWell we know for s fact that Besos is wealthy. We’re not doubtful of that. We are just doubtful of claims of someone who says they’re rich and generally lies to the public, maybe a Trump tax return would help to make him more believable.
- chillwaves 8y agoTrump has publicly been known to be negative net worth in a not too distant past. It is also public knowledge that no bank in America would do business with him. It is not a leap to suspect Russian banks (that are on record as loaning him money) have financial leverage over him. I wonder what happens to the supporters of the president once the walls come crashing in. The man is a criminal many times over, proven in court many times over. Why is it a surprise that his current endeavor is just another grift?
- auiya 8y ago> the richest man on the planet That we know of. The money coffers owned by the house of Saud run way deeper than many realize.
- rrix2 8y agookay so second richest man? third? tenth? how does that change the calculus?
- logfromblammo 8y agoThe largest entirely private fortune. Individuals that are now or have been heads of state may have had opportunities to seize or otherwise employ state-owned property for their personal enrichment. Dictators over petroleum exporting nations are all likely richer than Bezos, in ways that we could never expect Forbes magazine to be able to verify, or even begin to investigate. People whose wealth came mostly from publicly-traded stocks and real estate in nations with public records of title transfers can be more easily tracked and verified.