I am kind of speechless at this assertion. I'd ask if Mr. Graham is serious, but he clearly is. I think instead of the assertion "mean people fail" being true,

I am kind of speechless at this assertion. I'd ask if Mr. Graham is serious, but he clearly is. I think instead of the assertion "mean people fail" being true, I think instead we can more truthfully say: People who lack the interpersonal skills to hide their meanness when it can be damaging fail. Mr. Graham, you are a well known millionaire investor. Of course start up founders are going to be on their best behavior around you. And the ones who aren't, are going to fail because not only will you not be interested in helping them, but none of your friends will either. If someone lacks the self control to behave around you, then they probably lack the self control to behave around others. But knowing how to behave is not the same as being a nice person. Someone can act very nice to everyone and still be a cold hearted son of a bitch. You can be really polite and friendly while you are destroying someone's life.