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Facebook Made This 29-Year-Old Rich; War Made Him a Billionaire

44 points by mwattsun 4y ago

mountainriver 4y ago
Was he really pushed out of Facebook for being a Trump supporter?
- nvr219 4y ago
  Yeah I thought they were all about Trump supporters there, or at least their old ad team.
  - boppo1 4y ago
    I think FB was more politically even than people like to imagine it. Seems like Democrats think FB was practically, moustache twirlingly, 'in on' Jan 6. Meanwhile, all the conservatives seem to believe FB is out to get them, banning them from platforms and hypnotizing people to be trans. As someone who has minimized Facebook use for years and cultivated some political distance (neither party represents my views much at all), I think FB was mostly "keep your hands off except to feed people more of the things they click"
    - oktroomer 4y ago
      [flagged]
      - nvr219 4y ago
        what
- nemothekid 4y ago
  Why he was pushed out was never confirmed. For "being a Trump supporter" makes for a nice counter-culture story, but doesn't make much sense given how openly Peter Theil campaigned for Trump.
  - mountainriver 4y ago
    yeah it seems like a spun narrative, curious what actually happened
    - boeingUH60 4y ago
      He was funding a Pro-Trump, Anti-Hillary Clinton troll campaign [1], which drew a lot of controversy, as the early Oculus VR audience (developers and technologists) were demographically opposed to that type of ideology. I think he was fired because he was generating a lot of negative press/attention for what was at that time a burgeoning VR project dependent on adoption by a crowd that largely wasn't a fan of his political leanings...basically office politics. But...he was fired with a $100 million severance [2], so it's not much of a pity situation. 1 - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/revenge-of-the-nerds/501344/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/reven... 2- https://www.fastcompany.com/90266150/zuck-pressured-facebook-exec-to-hide-his-support-of-trump-then-fired-him-says-report https://www.fastcompany.com/90266150/zuck-pressured-facebook...
TheJoeMan 4y ago
I’m curious if he will befall the same fate as Gregory Sancoff, who built a steath boat called Ghost before there was a request from the Navy, who decided they didn’t want it but forbid him from selling it to anyone else - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-19/the-feds-won-t-buy-this-19-million-stealth-boat-or-let-it-be-sold-abroad#xj4y7vzkg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-19/the-feds-...
- zarriak 4y ago
  Maybe but it is probably a good bet that after the drone attacks in Saudi Arabia there will be a lot of growth in drone defense. Even just the single image of the Mercedes F1 car in front of the plume of smoke from the attack is too great for them to not ramp up defense.
- sieabahlpark 4y ago
  Crappy paywall link.
- NJRBailey 4y ago
  Alternative non paywall article https://www.businessinsider.com/juliet-marine-systems-ghost-boat-2016-11?amp https://www.businessinsider.com/juliet-marine-systems-ghost-...
MichaelZuo 4y ago
“ After losing friends who criticized him as a warmonger, Luckey is suddenly feeling vindicated. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Anduril has systems on the ground (he won’t say what precisely), some people are reaching out to apologize. They now realize “it is actually really important for the U.S. to have better weapons,” he says.” Sounds like fair weather friends to me. Or they could have had consistent arguments against weapons development that they still maintain but in lesser priority and this could be editorializing by Forbes. Hard to tell.
- jjeaff 4y ago
  Sounds made up, by either Luckey or Forbes.
  - MichaelZuo 4y ago
    What motives do you think would lead Luckey to make it up?
    - jjeaff 4y ago
      Obviously, to try and give an "I told you so" to all the people haranguing him for war profiteering.
      - MichaelZuo 4y ago
        Wouldn't that make those folks harangue him even harder for successfully convincing some to join the 'dark side' or something? Though that would be assuming these folks have consistent goals regardless of temporary advantages. Maybe some are so wishy washy that they would degenerate weapons manufacturers one day and praise them the next if it's for a cause they perceive to be beneficial. (And then switch back to degenerating asap) I wouldn't be able to bring myself to respect such craven losers. If enduring that is what it takes to succeed in the defense sector or the peace movement then kudos to anyone who tries in either.
  - init-as 4y ago

44 points by mwattsun 4y ago

mountainriver 4y ago

Was he really pushed out of Facebook for being a Trump supporter?

nvr219 4y ago
Yeah I thought they were all about Trump supporters there, or at least their old ad team.
- boppo1 4y ago
  I think FB was more politically even than people like to imagine it. Seems like Democrats think FB was practically, moustache twirlingly, 'in on' Jan 6. Meanwhile, all the conservatives seem to believe FB is out to get them, banning them from platforms and hypnotizing people to be trans. As someone who has minimized Facebook use for years and cultivated some political distance (neither party represents my views much at all), I think FB was mostly "keep your hands off except to feed people more of the things they click"
  - oktroomer 4y ago
    [flagged]
    - nvr219 4y ago
      what
nemothekid 4y ago
Why he was pushed out was never confirmed. For "being a Trump supporter" makes for a nice counter-culture story, but doesn't make much sense given how openly Peter Theil campaigned for Trump.
- mountainriver 4y ago
  yeah it seems like a spun narrative, curious what actually happened
  - boeingUH60 4y ago
    He was funding a Pro-Trump, Anti-Hillary Clinton troll campaign [1], which drew a lot of controversy, as the early Oculus VR audience (developers and technologists) were demographically opposed to that type of ideology. I think he was fired because he was generating a lot of negative press/attention for what was at that time a burgeoning VR project dependent on adoption by a crowd that largely wasn't a fan of his political leanings...basically office politics. But...he was fired with a $100 million severance [2], so it's not much of a pity situation. 1 - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/revenge-of-the-nerds/501344/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/reven... 2- https://www.fastcompany.com/90266150/zuck-pressured-facebook-exec-to-hide-his-support-of-trump-then-fired-him-says-report https://www.fastcompany.com/90266150/zuck-pressured-facebook...

TheJoeMan 4y ago

I’m curious if he will befall the same fate as Gregory Sancoff, who built a steath boat called Ghost before there was a request from the Navy, who decided they didn’t want it but forbid him from selling it to anyone else - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-19/the-feds-won-t-buy-this-19-million-stealth-boat-or-let-it-be-sold-abroad#xj4y7vzkg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-19/the-feds-...

zarriak 4y ago
Maybe but it is probably a good bet that after the drone attacks in Saudi Arabia there will be a lot of growth in drone defense. Even just the single image of the Mercedes F1 car in front of the plume of smoke from the attack is too great for them to not ramp up defense.
sieabahlpark 4y ago
Crappy paywall link.
NJRBailey 4y ago
Alternative non paywall article https://www.businessinsider.com/juliet-marine-systems-ghost-boat-2016-11?amp https://www.businessinsider.com/juliet-marine-systems-ghost-...

MichaelZuo 4y ago

“ After losing friends who criticized him as a warmonger, Luckey is suddenly feeling vindicated. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Anduril has systems on the ground (he won’t say what precisely), some people are reaching out to apologize. They now realize “it is actually really important for the U.S. to have better weapons,” he says.” Sounds like fair weather friends to me. Or they could have had consistent arguments against weapons development that they still maintain but in lesser priority and this could be editorializing by Forbes. Hard to tell.

jjeaff 4y ago
Sounds made up, by either Luckey or Forbes.
- MichaelZuo 4y ago
  What motives do you think would lead Luckey to make it up?
  - jjeaff 4y ago
    Obviously, to try and give an "I told you so" to all the people haranguing him for war profiteering.
    - MichaelZuo 4y ago
      Wouldn't that make those folks harangue him even harder for successfully convincing some to join the 'dark side' or something? Though that would be assuming these folks have consistent goals regardless of temporary advantages. Maybe some are so wishy washy that they would degenerate weapons manufacturers one day and praise them the next if it's for a cause they perceive to be beneficial. (And then switch back to degenerating asap) I wouldn't be able to bring myself to respect such craven losers. If enduring that is what it takes to succeed in the defense sector or the peace movement then kudos to anyone who tries in either.
- init-as 4y ago