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I think it's comparable to organized crime bosses. (But not that it is as morally reprehensible.) From what I have seen from huge organized crime bosses from b

by jjeaff 6y ago

I think it's comparable to organized crime bosses. (But not that it is as morally reprehensible.) From what I have seen from huge organized crime bosses from biographies and documentaries is that people like Pablo Escobar aren't necessarily very smart or super talented. But what sets them apart is their willingness to break all laws and moral norms. Crime leaders rise in the ranks because they are willing to kill their competitors. They are willing to do things that even other criminals are not willing to do. They act while others are hesitating with their pesky conscience. I think this happens albeit to a lesser degree with people like Mark. There are many things about the founding of facebook that most would not do. Most would feel bad about stealing a client's idea or about diluting a co-founder's shares or any of the myriad little choices that an individual founder has to make. A lot of us just don't have it in us to exploit workers or partners like that. That's not to say you can't be successful without amoral behaviour. But it is more difficult if your competitor is willing to show up at your house and cap you in the back of the head (metaphorically) at a moment's notice.

pmoriarty 6y ago
A lot has to do with motivation, too. von Neumann was not out there endlessly trying to figure out ways to make more and more money. Enormously intelligent and talented people like that are rarely motivated by things like that (though, of course, there are exceptions, but sadly even there they're often not successful, for a variety of reasons having little to do with their intelligence). In my own reading of biographies of people who managed to accumulate a lot of money or power, it's remarkable how often they come from extremely poor and powerless families. It's tempting to try to armchair analyze them and attribute their tunnel vision and tenacity at making ever more and more money and aquiring more and more power to their childhood deprivation and fear of ever being destitute again, even long after they've achieved far more than enough to support themselves and their families without working another day in their life again. Of course, this is rarely the case for tech billionaires, who tend to come from middle class or even wealthy families, but it has often been true of extremely wealthy or powerful people in other fields.

by jjeaff 6y ago

pmoriarty 6y ago

A lot has to do with motivation, too. von Neumann was not out there endlessly trying to figure out ways to make more and more money. Enormously intelligent and talented people like that are rarely motivated by things like that (though, of course, there are exceptions, but sadly even there they're often not successful, for a variety of reasons having little to do with their intelligence). In my own reading of biographies of people who managed to accumulate a lot of money or power, it's remarkable how often they come from extremely poor and powerless families. It's tempting to try to armchair analyze them and attribute their tunnel vision and tenacity at making ever more and more money and aquiring more and more power to their childhood deprivation and fear of ever being destitute again, even long after they've achieved far more than enough to support themselves and their families without working another day in their life again. Of course, this is rarely the case for tech billionaires, who tend to come from middle class or even wealthy families, but it has often been true of extremely wealthy or powerful people in other fields.