6 ms·

"The winding road to his home was lined with black-suited, white-shirted, matching security guards, all equipped with matching sunglasses and earpieces." -- Do

"The winding road to his home was lined with black-suited, white-shirted, matching security guards, all equipped with matching sunglasses and earpieces." -- Do all super rich people live with this level of security?

super256 3y ago
I know that the Albrecht brothers (Aldi) were running around without security for decades, Meckerle (Ratiopharm) did so too until his suicide due to the Volkswagen short squeeze and financial crisis, and Dieter Schwarz (Lidl) still does today.
- lancebeet 3y ago
  I remember seeing a DW documentary a couple of years ago about how differently billionaires behave in Germany compared to the US ("The discreet lives of the super rich" was its name apparently). If one accepts the basic premise of the documentary (that the German billionaires avoid flaunting their wealth and strive to maintain privacy), it might explain why billionaires in Germany could live their lives without security while it would be unthinkable for their American counterparts.
  - boeingUH60 3y ago
    Even in America, there are many discreet billionaires that’ll likely not need round-the-clock security. Bezos, Musk, Gates, and the likes are high profile…but I don’t think anyone will notice if Jeff Yass or Jay Chaudhry walks on the street.
    - neilv 3y ago
      Years ago, I saw one of the household-name tech billionaires on the sidewalk in Cambridge, Mass., with (I think) their spouse, no security in sight. It's not LA or NYC for celebrity saturation, but a lot of rich & famous people come through Cambridge/Boston (and their kids often go to school here), and nobody cares.
      - fuzzfactor 3y ago
        Mick Jagger went to a little bar in Charlotte before he was due to play in 2021 with The Rolling Stones at Bank of America Stadium, and nobody noticed him at all. https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/mick-jagger-explains-how-he-went-unrecognized-at-north-carolina-dive-bar/2849276/ https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/mick...
  - Dracophoenix 3y ago
    Here's the link for the interested: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NXaVLXSZdEw https://youtube.com/watch?v=NXaVLXSZdEw
  - dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago
    Apparently Steve Jobs had no security, and lived fairly simply: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-17-la-fi-tn-steve-jobs-house-20120217-story.html#:~:text=Even%20his%20biographer%20Walter%20Isaacson,door%20unlocked%20during%20the%20day https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-17-la-fi-tn....
- WilTimSon 3y ago
  Albrechts aren't a great example, considering one of them was bloody kidnapped. Although I don't know if the lack of security was before the incident or did they carry on guard-less even after that?
  - super256 3y ago
    Well, that’s one thing that could happen without security, but imo that doesn’t necessarily make him as bad example.
suddenclarity 3y ago
I know I would. Famous soccer players get burgled and robbed all the time with them and their family being threatened. Now imagine if you're a billionaire and the newspapers tell people every day how evil you are. It's not far fetched to assume criminals or a lunatic would act on it.
lordnacho 3y ago
Super rich who are famous, probably. It's also a matter of convenience: you don't want thousands of people with "great investment ideas" to approach you constantly, and the security will not only stop you being assaulted but also stop randoms from coming up to you. But I do know someone who is merely an heir, who doesn't need to live with a bunch of security all the time, because he's not famous. So probably fame has more to do with it than wealth. Not sure what you do if you're famous but not wealthy, I imagine that could be problematic.
- dangwhy 3y ago
  Didn't bunch of his nudes and personal messages get leaked. Why wouldn't he apply same level of scrutiny to his personal data. baffling to me.
  - netrus 3y ago
    His personal data was most likely obtained and leaked by a foreign state, if memory serves me well. Said foreign state would also not be stopped by any number of men in black suites if it wanted to physically harm Bezos. That's simply an attack vector beyond any non-state measures.
    - dangwhy 3y ago
      > His personal data was most likely obtained and leaked by a foreign state, never heard of this. I thought it was his fiance's brother?
      - netrus 3y ago
        I was referring to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos_phone_hacking_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos_phone_hacking_incid... I did not know about the part of the story involving the brother, I must have missed it at that time.
        dangwhy 3y ago
wefarrell 3y ago
I encountered security like that when I went to a party at a private Rockefeller estate. When I arrived I was confused as to why there was so much security but when we were inside there was priceless art everywhere, for example they had a head of a classical Greek statue placed next to a urinal in the bathroom.
- markus_zhang 3y ago
  Some things should never be in the hands of private parties.
  - housemusicfan 3y ago
    [dead]
skybrian 3y ago
Maybe they can get more security when people are visiting for an event? Or maybe someone is always visiting?
kjs3 3y ago
We have volunteer election workers facing credible death threats in the US. If I had Bezos level money, I'd definitely have a couple of folks around to manage the potential crazies, just in case.

super256 3y ago

I know that the Albrecht brothers (Aldi) were running around without security for decades, Meckerle (Ratiopharm) did so too until his suicide due to the Volkswagen short squeeze and financial crisis, and Dieter Schwarz (Lidl) still does today.

lancebeet 3y ago
I remember seeing a DW documentary a couple of years ago about how differently billionaires behave in Germany compared to the US ("The discreet lives of the super rich" was its name apparently). If one accepts the basic premise of the documentary (that the German billionaires avoid flaunting their wealth and strive to maintain privacy), it might explain why billionaires in Germany could live their lives without security while it would be unthinkable for their American counterparts.
- boeingUH60 3y ago
  Even in America, there are many discreet billionaires that’ll likely not need round-the-clock security. Bezos, Musk, Gates, and the likes are high profile…but I don’t think anyone will notice if Jeff Yass or Jay Chaudhry walks on the street.
  - neilv 3y ago
    Years ago, I saw one of the household-name tech billionaires on the sidewalk in Cambridge, Mass., with (I think) their spouse, no security in sight. It's not LA or NYC for celebrity saturation, but a lot of rich & famous people come through Cambridge/Boston (and their kids often go to school here), and nobody cares.
    - fuzzfactor 3y ago
      Mick Jagger went to a little bar in Charlotte before he was due to play in 2021 with The Rolling Stones at Bank of America Stadium, and nobody noticed him at all. https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/mick-jagger-explains-how-he-went-unrecognized-at-north-carolina-dive-bar/2849276/ https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/mick...
- Dracophoenix 3y ago
  Here's the link for the interested: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NXaVLXSZdEw https://youtube.com/watch?v=NXaVLXSZdEw
- dkjaudyeqooe 3y ago
  Apparently Steve Jobs had no security, and lived fairly simply: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-17-la-fi-tn-steve-jobs-house-20120217-story.html#:~:text=Even%20his%20biographer%20Walter%20Isaacson,door%20unlocked%20during%20the%20day https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-17-la-fi-tn....
WilTimSon 3y ago
Albrechts aren't a great example, considering one of them was bloody kidnapped. Although I don't know if the lack of security was before the incident or did they carry on guard-less even after that?
- super256 3y ago
  Well, that’s one thing that could happen without security, but imo that doesn’t necessarily make him as bad example.

suddenclarity 3y ago

I know I would. Famous soccer players get burgled and robbed all the time with them and their family being threatened. Now imagine if you're a billionaire and the newspapers tell people every day how evil you are. It's not far fetched to assume criminals or a lunatic would act on it.

lordnacho 3y ago

Super rich who are famous, probably. It's also a matter of convenience: you don't want thousands of people with "great investment ideas" to approach you constantly, and the security will not only stop you being assaulted but also stop randoms from coming up to you. But I do know someone who is merely an heir, who doesn't need to live with a bunch of security all the time, because he's not famous. So probably fame has more to do with it than wealth. Not sure what you do if you're famous but not wealthy, I imagine that could be problematic.

dangwhy 3y ago
Didn't bunch of his nudes and personal messages get leaked. Why wouldn't he apply same level of scrutiny to his personal data. baffling to me.
- netrus 3y ago
  His personal data was most likely obtained and leaked by a foreign state, if memory serves me well. Said foreign state would also not be stopped by any number of men in black suites if it wanted to physically harm Bezos. That's simply an attack vector beyond any non-state measures.
  - dangwhy 3y ago
    > His personal data was most likely obtained and leaked by a foreign state, never heard of this. I thought it was his fiance's brother?
    - netrus 3y ago
      I was referring to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos_phone_hacking_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos_phone_hacking_incid... I did not know about the part of the story involving the brother, I must have missed it at that time.
      - dangwhy 3y ago

wefarrell 3y ago

I encountered security like that when I went to a party at a private Rockefeller estate. When I arrived I was confused as to why there was so much security but when we were inside there was priceless art everywhere, for example they had a head of a classical Greek statue placed next to a urinal in the bathroom.

markus_zhang 3y ago
Some things should never be in the hands of private parties.
- housemusicfan 3y ago
  [dead]

skybrian 3y ago

Maybe they can get more security when people are visiting for an event? Or maybe someone is always visiting?

kjs3 3y ago

We have volunteer election workers facing credible death threats in the US. If I had Bezos level money, I'd definitely have a couple of folks around to manage the potential crazies, just in case.