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> What a miserable existence that must be. Bezos has always struck me as a man who cares about nothing else only his own personal wealth and success. On the co

> What a miserable existence that must be. Bezos has always struck me as a man who cares about nothing else only his own personal wealth and success. On the contrary, he is probably very happy with the way things are. You may be buying into the "Just World fallacy"; there are plenty of people you may find despicable who are leading happy, fulfilling lives, by their standards. I think the antipathy towards workers a combination of 2 things: it takes a fair amount of conceit/self-belief to dare think you can change the world (statistically speaking). The second thing is, even if you didn't start of with that mindset, success usually brings a certain post-hoc justification in the vein of "Clearly, I have been successful, therefore I'm better than most", which easily morphs into "My needs are more important; the little people are too focused on short-term goals and yet I have to compete with them for the same resources to achieve even more important goals I have planned". As someone from a low-income background, I have noticed that the more successful I have been, the less empathy I have, and I'm only middle-class. I don't know if it's because of my increasing income, increasing age, or combination of both.

hda2 6y ago
There's a meaningful distinction between happy and comfortable. He might lead a very comfortable life but I have to agree with GP that he doesn't /seem/ to be a very happy person. Of course, I (and you) say this from the position of people who don't know the man in person. It's all baseless backbiting.
- ALittleLight 6y ago
  He always seems smiling and laughing in all the interviews I've seen him in. I know he has children plus a partner (and ex-wife). He's super rich, famous, gets to do what he wants, likes newspapers so he bought a big one, likes rockets so he is giving his own rocket/space company a go... Obviously this isn't dispositive to say he's happy, but I don't think it proves he's unhappy either. Not wanting your workers to unionize hardly seems like proof of an unhappy life.
  - cies 6y ago
    > likes newspapers so he bought a big one Most ultra rich buy news companies. It's part of your portfolio to ensure you have maximum say in the political decision process. See "Manufactured Consent", there's a cool animated video explaining it on YT. > Not wanting your workers to unionize hardly seems like proof of an unhappy life. Indeed. It just shows you are above the law, and a authoritarian/oppressive.

hda2 6y ago

There's a meaningful distinction between happy and comfortable. He might lead a very comfortable life but I have to agree with GP that he doesn't /seem/ to be a very happy person. Of course, I (and you) say this from the position of people who don't know the man in person. It's all baseless backbiting.

ALittleLight 6y ago
He always seems smiling and laughing in all the interviews I've seen him in. I know he has children plus a partner (and ex-wife). He's super rich, famous, gets to do what he wants, likes newspapers so he bought a big one, likes rockets so he is giving his own rocket/space company a go... Obviously this isn't dispositive to say he's happy, but I don't think it proves he's unhappy either. Not wanting your workers to unionize hardly seems like proof of an unhappy life.
- cies 6y ago
  > likes newspapers so he bought a big one Most ultra rich buy news companies. It's part of your portfolio to ensure you have maximum say in the political decision process. See "Manufactured Consent", there's a cool animated video explaining it on YT. > Not wanting your workers to unionize hardly seems like proof of an unhappy life. Indeed. It just shows you are above the law, and a authoritarian/oppressive.