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For what it's worth Soros is quite a well-read guy, if you plan on dominating the world from behind the curtains you need some sort of intellectual cachet. Thin
by paganel 6y ago
For what it's worth Soros is quite a well-read guy, if you plan on dominating the world from behind the curtains you need some sort of intellectual cachet. Think he was a student of Popper at some point, and the university bearing his name is pretty well respected.
For comparison, the other multi-multi-billionaires are pretty plain when it comes to their standing on the "intelligentsia" scale. They're pretty good at making money, that's for sure (Soros is, too), but I don't see myself having hours-long conversations about Hobbes, Locke or Mandeville with the likes of Gates, Bezos or the two Google guys, while I'm pretty sure a guy like Soros has read very interesting books like Machiavelli's "Discourses on Livy" (and has actively learned from it) in his early age.
And if you want to control the world "from behind the curtains" you need your Hobbes, Locke and Machiavelli.
- IshKebab 6y agoSo what you're saying is you're smarter than 4 of the most successful people in recent history? You must be sooooo smart!
- jessaustin 6y agoAt this point we have to suspect that 'paganel is one of those shadowy forces controlling the world.
- paganel 6y agoYes, lots and lots of people (I’d say millions) are smarter than some people that have made lots of money, it has always been like that. Yes, I did read more compared to the likes of Bezos or Page, but I’m sure the same holds true for lots of HNers (Gates looks like he reads a lot but he’s reading lots of fluffy stuff, or so my impression is). And yes, in the very long run people who read more have a more lasting influence (and you could say their ideas “control” the world more) compared to the people who have lots of money, that’s why nowadays Machiavelli is still actively discussed while the Fuggers are mostly just an interesting Wikipedia entry.