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> And yet, despite helming two failed ventures and having little work experience beyond an internship at a financial services company created to manage his fath
by imgabe 7y ago
> And yet, despite helming two failed ventures and having little work experience beyond an internship at a financial services company created to manage his father’s fortune, things seem to be working out for Zach Dell. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is now an analyst for the private equity firm Blackstone. He is 22.
I was rewatching Mad Men lately and it reminds of Peter Campbell. Early on, Peter screws up something badly and Don wants to fire him, but he can't because the firm owner Sterling explains, Peter comes from a wealthy family and his family connections bring business to the firm.
Sounds like maybe the same thing? Even if Zach Dell just sat a desk and stared at a wall all day, he'd probably be invaluable because his father is a billionaire and he knows other billionaires and he can introduce them to the principals at the firm.
- notfromhere 7y agoIn the biz, its called a "relationship hire." Deutsche got caught hiring the dumb kids of Chinese bureaucrats to win over business recently, but it happens basically everywhere.
- nradov 7y agoMost major financial services companies also make sure to hire a few minor members of the Saudi royal family for the same reason.
- noobiemcfoob 7y agoIf society could admit that this networking has value, instead of trying to awkwardly access it without naming it, I think we would all be a little saner. A person's social network -- particularly when they know billionaires -- is inherently valuable in and of itself. Even in more meritocratic engineering firms, being able to refer competent engineers is often financially rewarded. So let the elite monetize their social networks and let us stop having to not point out they are blatantly bad at their proclaimed job.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoBy the way, this is why a Harvard education is more valuable than one from Random State University - you get much more valuable contacts there, even if the education is no better.