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> Obviously he has to be smart, you don't make a multi-billion dollar company/fraud without being incredibly smart I think we want this to be true. We want a m

> Obviously he has to be smart, you don't make a multi-billion dollar company/fraud without being incredibly smart I think we want this to be true. We want a meritocracy based on intelligence. But I’m very skeptical it’s true. I think he could be a total moron combined with some money, some connections, luck, and the lack of the things that hold many of us back such as self doubt, fear, morals and ethics, and obeyance to the law.

AznHisoka 3y ago
Yeah, I think I agree. Many many examples of people who made it or almost made it, without being smart or lucky (WeWork CEO) or in the right place at the right time or able to deceive people (ie Elizabeth Holmes)
sidewndr46 3y ago
This is much closer to reality.
danielscrubs 3y ago
In my two decades of working Ive only seen people get rich by two things: risk taking and connections. These are real friends and not some media piece. Risk taking can be bitcoin, deception or leveraged property ownership. Without morals and self doubt you get a way bigger field in the risk taking arena. Rarely have I seen knowledge as a main factor, because renting knowledge-workers is easy and cheap.
throw18376 3y ago
you can't make it through an MIT physics degree while being a total moron. Same with the Jane Street interview process. he was at least a smart guy and probably a good trader. now in some sense you can still be very smart but "a total moron" meaning you make stupid and bad decisions and ruin your life and cause all kinds of disasters. my read on him is he was sharp, and able to succeed for a while as long as someone else put up guardrails that would compensate for his terrible judgment and executive functioning -- which you get in school or working for a large firm. when he struck out on his own, he lost all that, but his reputation + connections + stupid risk appetite took him far until he blew up.
- JetSpiegel 3y ago
  > you can't make it through an MIT physics degree while being a total moron Isn't he a legacy admission (different Ivy League, but the moral equivalent)? Which assistant professor will flunk the son of two tenured professors?

AznHisoka 3y ago

Yeah, I think I agree. Many many examples of people who made it or almost made it, without being smart or lucky (WeWork CEO) or in the right place at the right time or able to deceive people (ie Elizabeth Holmes)

sidewndr46 3y ago

This is much closer to reality.

danielscrubs 3y ago

In my two decades of working Ive only seen people get rich by two things: risk taking and connections. These are real friends and not some media piece. Risk taking can be bitcoin, deception or leveraged property ownership. Without morals and self doubt you get a way bigger field in the risk taking arena. Rarely have I seen knowledge as a main factor, because renting knowledge-workers is easy and cheap.

throw18376 3y ago

you can't make it through an MIT physics degree while being a total moron. Same with the Jane Street interview process. he was at least a smart guy and probably a good trader. now in some sense you can still be very smart but "a total moron" meaning you make stupid and bad decisions and ruin your life and cause all kinds of disasters. my read on him is he was sharp, and able to succeed for a while as long as someone else put up guardrails that would compensate for his terrible judgment and executive functioning -- which you get in school or working for a large firm. when he struck out on his own, he lost all that, but his reputation + connections + stupid risk appetite took him far until he blew up.

JetSpiegel 3y ago
> you can't make it through an MIT physics degree while being a total moron Isn't he a legacy admission (different Ivy League, but the moral equivalent)? Which assistant professor will flunk the son of two tenured professors?