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This is really strange. Such a move should be prepared carefully and when executed then immediately explained with a press release. Mark doesn't believe in FB
by tferris 14y ago
This is really strange.
Such a move should be prepared carefully and when executed then immediately explained with a press release.
Mark doesn't believe in FB.
- squarecat 14y agoFor better or worse, the man has never exercised traditional business practices.
- lwhi 14y agoFor better or worse, the man has never exercised ethical business practices. (there you go, fixed it for you... )
- squarecat 14y agoAnd here I thought I was really beginning to understand how and when to engage in the discussion, yet the HN demigods seem to be proving me wrong more often than not lately...
- tedunangst 14y agoWell, for one thing, a move like this is traditional. You were just piling more wrong on top of wrong.
- squarecat 14y agoPoint taken, though I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the headline misrepresented the true nature of the transaction, as a layperson unfamiliar with such fiduciary transactions (notably myself) would understand it. While lwhi's "correction" better reflected my (admittedly ill-communicated) sentiment, it still feels as though there's a Digg-like oligarchical groupthink seeping into Hacker News as of late, which is no more preferable to the Wild West antics of r/programming... =\
- astrodust 14y agoThis is really common. One reason you IPO is to monetize your investment in the company. Bill Gates and Paul Allen have been selling off chunks of shares for decades and it's not like they don't believe in Microsoft.
- brooksbp 14y agoThis could be a good thing. Liquidating wealth means opportunity for charity or other investments.
- sliverstorm 14y agoYup. Twenty billion in shares is just a number in a book somewhere if you never sell.
- tedivm 14y agoNo, this was actually the plan since the beginning, before IPO. They had a filing with the SEC stating they were going to do this (Peter Thiel also sold 16.8 million of his shares as part of this).
- tferris 14y agoAh ok, good info!
- Tyrannosaurs 14y agoYeah, you're right, his stake in it is only $18bn or so after this. What sort of half hearted investment is that?