6 ms·
End of an era. I wonder what he'll do next.
by enraged_camel 6y ago
End of an era. I wonder what he'll do next.
- baxtr 6y agoMars.
- lai 6y agoBuy all the bitcoin supply.
- virtualmachine7 6y agoThey could do one better and cheaper - start their own coin, make Amazon accept that (and no other coins) and it'd probable dwarf bitcoin in market cap.
- mc32 6y agoMaybe he’ll take a cue from Bill Gates and get involved in philanthropy. Alternatively he might get more involved in Blue Origin?
- igotsideas 6y agoHopefully, the former.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago> Hopefully, the former Either one is a win for humanity.
- wolfhumble 6y agoSo now ONE person dictates what is a win for humanity?
- ignoramous 6y agohttps://www.bezosdayonefund.org/ https://www.bezosdayonefund.org/
- mssundaram 6y agoPerhaps Bill Gates truly has developed compassion for the less fortunate, however moving his money into the foundation is a very convenient tax strategy, and I suspect he enjoys the challenges and influence he has, and less so the warm fuzzies from helping people. (I anticipate this comment will not go over well, as it seems I must just not see the truth that Bill Gates is a perfectly benevolent being who has ascended from human qualities)
- acomjean 6y agoBill Gates was a ruthless business man, but through the influence of his wife/father/Warren Buffet or some combination, he's soften a bit and seems to have decided to give a lot away and convince others to do so as well. https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx There's lots of weirdness in society about having the wealthiest having influence starting to approach government program status, but here we are. (perhaps they're trying to blunt the income inequality complaints, but maybe they really have come around to caring...)
- mssundaram 6y agoI can get behind the idea of his wife helping him to soften, but not his father, who was just as ruthless in his own profession
- mlyle 6y agoIt's actually the other way around: Buffett followed Gates' lead on large-scale philanthropy, designating the Gates Foundation as the benefit of his largesse. Yes, each man had long-standing intentions for philanthropy, but it really reached fruition together.
- Avalaxy 6y agoWhat does Bill Gates care about optimizing tax? He is old, isn't planning on giving his money to his children and he has so much money he wouldn't even be able to spend it if he wanted to. It makes no sense. Im pretty sure he does care about his legacy on the other hand.
- bobo_legos 6y agoI think he's probably bored at this point. Whats there really left to do at Amazon? AWS and the website are eating the world. He's 57. Why not at this point go play with his rockets and spend time inside that WaPo newsroom that he loves.
- catacombs 6y ago> spend time inside that WaPo newsroom that he loves. Investing in journalism is actually a very good thing.
- mmmeff 6y agoDefinitely. So many tax loopholes to exploit.
- catacombs 6y agoAh, yes. Because owning a news organization, one filled with people who can do investigations, presents numerous opportunities to avoid paying taxes.
- fakedang 6y agoEspecially if you can change the narrative from "evil capitalist who forces his workers to piss in buckets" to "pioneer O'Reilly tube colonist"
- Barrin92 6y agoAmericans adopt that narrative voluntarily when it comes to entrepreneurs, he doesn't need to interfere with the Wapo newsroom for that. (and to my knowledge hasn't).
- filoleg 6y agoWaPo has publicized quite a few articles critical of Jeff Bezos and Amazon, even after WaPo was acquired. So this is something that seems to be just another baseless "jeff bad" take.
- jeofken 6y agoHopefully, the latter
- crocodiletears 6y agoHopefully the latter. We've got an excess of billionaires trying to mould society with their vast sums of wealth. Blue Origin would be a great use of his time. Massive long-term benefit to humanity, few implications on global governance or the lives of most individuals. Or his own private charter city, so people have to consent to live in his world. Or he could blow it all on yachts, hookers and blow.
- sjg007 6y agoI don't understand why space rockets and lunar lander is important except if they help us clean our planet. It's a long bet on a long time horizon. But maybe it's a good way to spend government money.
- crocodiletears 6y agoImo, it's a good way to keep people who're functionally minor deities in terms of absolute power busy and somewhat productive for a long time.
- acomjean 6y agoHis ex gave away 4.2 billion last December FWIW. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/30/style/mackenzie-scott-prisclila-chan-zuckerberg-melinda-gates-philanthropy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/30/style/mackenzie-scott-pri...
- anonAndOn 6y agoMaybe there's a little PR FOMO? The former Mrs. Bezos is making a name for herself as a very generous philanthropist [0]. [0]https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/business/mackenzie-scott-philanthropy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/business/mackenzie-scott-...
- afavour 6y agoI hope philanthropy, I expect space travel.
- carabiner 6y agoMaybe really take the reins of BO? The company has been floundering without strong leadership relative to SpaceX.
- pluc 6y agoBecome a supervilain/superhero. Not much else to do with that kind of money.
- darth_avocado 6y agorun for president, seems like a thing for Billionaires these days.
- akhilcacharya 6y agoHe’d be better at it than the last guy, a low bar though.
- remoquete 6y agoI think the odds are quite high.
- 1-6 6y agoIt's a good time for another CEO to take center stage at a different company. Any suggestions?
- sjg007 6y agoI think the CEO as influencer is on the wane and with antitrust and regulatory reform coming we will be looking more for politicians who can unite and provide social leadership. Trump took a lot of oxygen out of the room and now is a good time for up and comers like Buttieg and AOC.
- s3r3nity 6y agoHe mentioned a few focus areas: - Day 1 Fund - Bezos Earth Fund - Blue Origin - The Washington Post So a combination of philanthropy, crazy cutting-edge tech, and media. He'll still be pretty busy haha
- samizdis 6y agoFrom his email to staff: As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.
- aerophilic 6y agoI suspect he will focus on his space venture (blue origin)... but maybe that is wishful thinking. That said, I think it can use his focus more than anything else (and he is investing 1B/year in it)
- sjg007 6y agoTurn a lot of cash into rocket fuel.