4 ms·

Regulatory capture & open transparent fraud are not necessarily a new or new or unique combination.

• dmix 4y ago
  The golden child is often given the benefit-of-the-doubt in human culture. Especially when people bet their horse on them being the golden child. And especially in tech (humans inherently love their popular stories and stereotypes). It makes it easy for the golden-child to skate off their early reputation for years, before it comes time to really ask whether they became the golden-adult everyone expected them to become.
  • steveBK123 4y ago
    Yes. WeWork, Theranos, FTX, RE bubble era banks, Dotcom tech, etc. Really just go back and read a "30 under 30" or "40 under 40" list 5 years later and I'm sure you'll find a handful on the list, every time.
    • ChuckNorris89 4y ago
      The difference is that other than Theranos, none of those had politicians backing them up and protecting them from regulatory investigations like Wirecard had.
      • paxys 4y ago
        Theranos didn't either. There were a few influential people on the board, but they were more for providing prestige and legitimacy in front of investors and customers than pulling any strings in the government. The FDA and other agencies more or less did their job (which wasn't enough, but that's how regulation works in general in the USA).
      • red-iron-pine 4y ago
        Tell me again about all of that money that FTX donated, and then tell me there weren't politicians backing them up