4 ms·

Do we have some examples of people who have amassed great real or perceived fortunes (and power) that have not become drunk on it? Musk on stage with Chapelle

Do we have some examples of people who have amassed great real or perceived fortunes (and power) that have not become drunk on it? Musk on stage with Chapelle last night, Elizabeth Holmes, or SBF’s whole schtick, who are the ones who have kept their feet on the ground? What are the attributes of these others who don’t lose themselves in fawning attention and (sometimes short-lived) mountains of capital?

ksaxena 4y ago
See some videos on YouTube of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger conducting Berkshire's annual shareholder meetings. It will help.
- ethbr0 4y ago
  Quick link to 2022: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_seuUbfUGw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_seuUbfUGw Although I get the impression a large part of Buffet's normalcy is because he's chosen to spend his time making money for other people. If you're ridiculously rich... you could do worse than thinking of common people as your boss, for perspective.
irrational 4y ago
Some possibilities are Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates ex-wives (though, maybe they don’t count as amasssing their fortunes), um…
- idontpost 4y ago
  Rockefeller avoided the press entirely (to his detriment really) until well after he'd retired.
  - copperwater69 4y ago
- parenthesis 4y ago
  Jeff Bezos: Hey MacKenzie, let's quit our great jobs at DE Shaw, move across the country to Seattle, and start an online bookstore! [In 1994!] By saying yes, she was, in effect, Amazon's first investor, and worked there in the early days. The value of positive support from family cannot be underestimated (see also Jeff Bezos' parents' early investment in the company).
misnome 4y ago
I can well imagine there being a selection bias towards the ones who want to build a cult of personality being the only ones that "make news".
PraetorianGourd 4y ago
While not popular here, I would say Bezos has done a relatively good job of keeping his head amongst madness.
- wintogreen74 4y ago
  It IS pretty damning that Bezos (and Gates IMO) are the ones held up as "not letting the wealth and power change you". Bezos literally flew in a giant cock-rocket wearing a cowboy hat.
  - PraetorianGourd 4y ago
    Sure that is great comedy fodder, but it isn't really at the same level of the others.
- astrange 4y ago
  The popular wisdom is Amazon got into the video business entirely so Bezos could get dates with more actresses.
  - PraetorianGourd 4y ago
    That may be a popular wisdom but it doesn't make sense. You really think a multi-billionaire who is moderately good-looking couldn't get a date? With literally anyone?
boringg 4y ago
I would argue most do especially those who accrue it over time. Most power isn't in the broad open nor does attract attention necessarily (unless thats where it draws its source of power). It's those who attain it (power/money) in very short order that have significant difficulty adjusting to their change in circumstances. You are only pointing to the very few who couldn't handle it or are drawn to attention.
IncRnd 4y ago
There are so many people who have obtained fortunes and not become drunk on that. The person who built a liquor store and grew into 20 stores across the city. People who started consulting companies. That immigrant family who scraped and scraped for decades while living above their restaurant. The list is endless, especially compared to the much shorter list of crypto criminals who are drunk on their illusory power and fame, which seems to always disappear overnight. Any fool can make a fortune; it takes a person of brains to hold onto it.
- twobitshifter 4y ago
  Liquor stores and consulting companies don't stack up to the “ great fortunes" gp was asking about.
  - alexcabrera305 4y ago
    That imaginary liquor store owner, even as an imaginary person, has more of a fortune than SBF at this point.
  - IncRnd 4y ago
    Except "great fortunes" isn't what gp wrote. GP wrote, "great real or perceived fortunes". Besides, how do you know what fortunes people have made with their liquor stores or consulting companies? Ross Perot was a billionaire from consulting, before being a billionaire was a thing. Plus he was a genuinely good person.
- whateveracct 4y ago
  Money really is wasted on some people
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- mrandish 4y ago
  > There are so many people who have obtained fortunes and not become drunk on that. Both my perception and my experience from knowing several extremely wealthy 'self-made' people is that the vast majority are fairly quiet, prudent, bright and hard-working people who've managed to make (mostly) good long-term decisions and continue doing so consistently over time. I suspect the "crazy, playboy billionaire" stereotype is based more on high-visibility outliers rather than the majority. Outlandish, eccentric and/or entitled behavior makes for good stories and click fodder while typical long-term value-building behaviors are pretty boring.
llimos 4y ago
Warren Buffett might be one example
eddsh1994 4y ago
Warren Buffet? Maybe Bill Gates? Queen Elizabeth II?
- etothepii 4y ago
  I don't think QE2 amassed her wealth and power. She was, officially, given it by God.
- spookthesunset 4y ago
  Gates seems to be caught up in Epstein stuff. Maybe. So I’m not sure where he stands. He does know when to shut his pie hole though.
  - datavirtue 4y ago
    It runs in his family.
  - autotune 4y ago
    The only thing he has done that I am aware of is become Farmer Gates in the retirement years.
NaturalPhallacy 4y ago
Yes, you've likely never heard of them: https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/ https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/ I have no clue who these people are: Hank & Doug Meijer Tom & Judy Love Stewart & Lynda Resnick Andrew & Peggy Cherng In fact the list of ones I recognize is tiny compared to the whole list. Some of them don't even have pictures, but they're all billionaires. And yes, I consider even a single billion to be a great, real fortune. Most people will never crack a million.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
mlindner 4y ago
Elon on a comedian's show is not not having your feet on the ground... You realize that he's not asking to go on the show, people are asking him to come on the show. Your questions should be directed at Dave Chappele.
sillysaurusx 4y ago
If the comparison point is SBF, then pg exceeds this bar. He doesn’t flaunt it, but it’s there. Power is hard to measure, but in this context it seems reasonable to include lots of founders in the list. The Collison brothers, sama, and Brian Armstrong, to name a few. They’re all in charge of fortunes that normal people can only dream of. I don’t think any of them have made critical errors. And it’s arguable whether Musk has, but time will tell.
yibg 4y ago
Probably the hundreds of billionaires you’ve never heard of.

ksaxena 4y ago

See some videos on YouTube of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger conducting Berkshire's annual shareholder meetings. It will help.

ethbr0 4y ago
Quick link to 2022: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_seuUbfUGw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_seuUbfUGw Although I get the impression a large part of Buffet's normalcy is because he's chosen to spend his time making money for other people. If you're ridiculously rich... you could do worse than thinking of common people as your boss, for perspective.

irrational 4y ago

Some possibilities are Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates ex-wives (though, maybe they don’t count as amasssing their fortunes), um…

idontpost 4y ago
Rockefeller avoided the press entirely (to his detriment really) until well after he'd retired.
- copperwater69 4y ago
parenthesis 4y ago
Jeff Bezos: Hey MacKenzie, let's quit our great jobs at DE Shaw, move across the country to Seattle, and start an online bookstore! [In 1994!] By saying yes, she was, in effect, Amazon's first investor, and worked there in the early days. The value of positive support from family cannot be underestimated (see also Jeff Bezos' parents' early investment in the company).

misnome 4y ago

I can well imagine there being a selection bias towards the ones who want to build a cult of personality being the only ones that "make news".

PraetorianGourd 4y ago

While not popular here, I would say Bezos has done a relatively good job of keeping his head amongst madness.

wintogreen74 4y ago
It IS pretty damning that Bezos (and Gates IMO) are the ones held up as "not letting the wealth and power change you". Bezos literally flew in a giant cock-rocket wearing a cowboy hat.
- PraetorianGourd 4y ago
  Sure that is great comedy fodder, but it isn't really at the same level of the others.
astrange 4y ago
The popular wisdom is Amazon got into the video business entirely so Bezos could get dates with more actresses.
- PraetorianGourd 4y ago
  That may be a popular wisdom but it doesn't make sense. You really think a multi-billionaire who is moderately good-looking couldn't get a date? With literally anyone?

boringg 4y ago

I would argue most do especially those who accrue it over time. Most power isn't in the broad open nor does attract attention necessarily (unless thats where it draws its source of power). It's those who attain it (power/money) in very short order that have significant difficulty adjusting to their change in circumstances. You are only pointing to the very few who couldn't handle it or are drawn to attention.

IncRnd 4y ago

There are so many people who have obtained fortunes and not become drunk on that. The person who built a liquor store and grew into 20 stores across the city. People who started consulting companies. That immigrant family who scraped and scraped for decades while living above their restaurant. The list is endless, especially compared to the much shorter list of crypto criminals who are drunk on their illusory power and fame, which seems to always disappear overnight. Any fool can make a fortune; it takes a person of brains to hold onto it.

twobitshifter 4y ago
Liquor stores and consulting companies don't stack up to the “ great fortunes" gp was asking about.
- alexcabrera305 4y ago
  That imaginary liquor store owner, even as an imaginary person, has more of a fortune than SBF at this point.
- IncRnd 4y ago
  Except "great fortunes" isn't what gp wrote. GP wrote, "great real or perceived fortunes". Besides, how do you know what fortunes people have made with their liquor stores or consulting companies? Ross Perot was a billionaire from consulting, before being a billionaire was a thing. Plus he was a genuinely good person.
whateveracct 4y ago
Money really is wasted on some people
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mrandish 4y ago
> There are so many people who have obtained fortunes and not become drunk on that. Both my perception and my experience from knowing several extremely wealthy 'self-made' people is that the vast majority are fairly quiet, prudent, bright and hard-working people who've managed to make (mostly) good long-term decisions and continue doing so consistently over time. I suspect the "crazy, playboy billionaire" stereotype is based more on high-visibility outliers rather than the majority. Outlandish, eccentric and/or entitled behavior makes for good stories and click fodder while typical long-term value-building behaviors are pretty boring.

llimos 4y ago

Warren Buffett might be one example

eddsh1994 4y ago

Warren Buffet? Maybe Bill Gates? Queen Elizabeth II?

etothepii 4y ago
I don't think QE2 amassed her wealth and power. She was, officially, given it by God.
spookthesunset 4y ago
Gates seems to be caught up in Epstein stuff. Maybe. So I’m not sure where he stands. He does know when to shut his pie hole though.
- datavirtue 4y ago
  It runs in his family.
- autotune 4y ago
  The only thing he has done that I am aware of is become Farmer Gates in the retirement years.

NaturalPhallacy 4y ago

Yes, you've likely never heard of them: https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/ https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/ I have no clue who these people are: Hank & Doug Meijer Tom & Judy Love Stewart & Lynda Resnick Andrew & Peggy Cherng In fact the list of ones I recognize is tiny compared to the whole list. Some of them don't even have pictures, but they're all billionaires. And yes, I consider even a single billion to be a great, real fortune. Most people will never crack a million.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

mlindner 4y ago

Elon on a comedian's show is not not having your feet on the ground... You realize that he's not asking to go on the show, people are asking him to come on the show. Your questions should be directed at Dave Chappele.

sillysaurusx 4y ago

If the comparison point is SBF, then pg exceeds this bar. He doesn’t flaunt it, but it’s there. Power is hard to measure, but in this context it seems reasonable to include lots of founders in the list. The Collison brothers, sama, and Brian Armstrong, to name a few. They’re all in charge of fortunes that normal people can only dream of. I don’t think any of them have made critical errors. And it’s arguable whether Musk has, but time will tell.

yibg 4y ago

Probably the hundreds of billionaires you’ve never heard of.