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Am I going to be back in those times where that capital was a lot? Where what we have today isn't there? Will I have access to the contacts and his network? Le

Am I going to be back in those times where that capital was a lot? Where what we have today isn't there? Will I have access to the contacts and his network? Let me guess: no? What an odd request. This is such a lazy argument. > So why didn't they? The truth of the matter is: they couldn't. Bezos, Musk and Bill Gates were perfectly positioned to do what they did. You don't even hear about the hundreds of others that had the same (or better) ideas, that didn't have the capital, the connections, or even the timing. This hero worship makes zero sense. If Bezos wasn't already rich, Amazon wouldn't exist. If Bill Gates didn't have contacts inside IBM, Microsoft wouldn't be what it is. If Elon didn't grow up filthy rich, he wouldn't be the world's richest man. I know it's easier to believe the good old "work hard and you'll be rewarded" adage, but it's a plain lie. We have multiple orders of magnitude more of hard workers compared to billionaires (or even millionaires) to prove that. No, it's not because they were geniuses or hard workers. They might've even been that, it's beyond the point. They were plain lucky. In today's society, previous capital is the best predictor of success there is. Not intelligence. Not hard work.

cosmojg 3y ago
You're right that the hero worship doesn't make much sense as the economy for successful megaenterprise is a bit of a lottery. However, you very well could build the next big thing today. We're literally having this discussion on a website owned and operated by a startup accelerator, the entire purpose of which is to provide a network for making business connections and accessing capital. Like Bezos and Musk, however, you're going to have to risk some of your own time and money if you want to get anywhere, and like their thousands of contemporaries who were trying to accomplish the same things they did, you're more likely to fail than succeed. It is truly a lottery, but that isn't what makes it unfair. > In today's society, previous capital is the best predictor of success there is. Not intelligence. Not hard work. Absolutely! However, those latter two things help a lot with generating the former, if not for yourself, then maybe for your children. Who knows, you might raise the next Bezos or Musk! Probably not, but maybe! At the very least, you'll throw money away helping your kid do something they enjoy. Alas, it is inescapably true that money begets money, but that's why I emphasize a tax on zero-sum harm and hoarding (e.g., burning coal, buying land) to the benefit of positive-sum productive investment (e.g., taking risks, paying salaries).

cosmojg 3y ago

You're right that the hero worship doesn't make much sense as the economy for successful megaenterprise is a bit of a lottery. However, you very well could build the next big thing today. We're literally having this discussion on a website owned and operated by a startup accelerator, the entire purpose of which is to provide a network for making business connections and accessing capital. Like Bezos and Musk, however, you're going to have to risk some of your own time and money if you want to get anywhere, and like their thousands of contemporaries who were trying to accomplish the same things they did, you're more likely to fail than succeed. It is truly a lottery, but that isn't what makes it unfair. > In today's society, previous capital is the best predictor of success there is. Not intelligence. Not hard work. Absolutely! However, those latter two things help a lot with generating the former, if not for yourself, then maybe for your children. Who knows, you might raise the next Bezos or Musk! Probably not, but maybe! At the very least, you'll throw money away helping your kid do something they enjoy. Alas, it is inescapably true that money begets money, but that's why I emphasize a tax on zero-sum harm and hoarding (e.g., burning coal, buying land) to the benefit of positive-sum productive investment (e.g., taking risks, paying salaries).