"real hero" is definitely overstating it – I'd hope we as a society haven't reached the point where doing the decent thing is seen as going above and beyond. Hopefully the CEO saw it not only as just the right thing to do, but also the smart (and legal) thing to do – Montañez's story could in the long-run inspire more innovative ideas and culture at the company.

Sorry, but we have _definitely_ reached that point. Granted I'm extremely cynical, but stories like this are outliers and not the norm. And not simply because of the scale of the success.

Read my other comment on why I consider the CEO the hero of this story.

Ah yes, the whole "people in power are heroic when they don't take advantage of the poor" logic.

The guy answered a question about market share like a 4 year old answers "how much do you like tacos?". The CEO had to take a risk on this guy, had to put him in a position to become valuable. Yes, taking someone with a grade 4 education and building them up the the level of success in this story is heroic.

I would posit that the "stealing the idea" would have gotten them some success, but not nearly what Montañez brought them. That CEO had good eyes when it came to people.

How unethical would it be to take is idea and simply compensate him for it in some small way. A promotion, a bonus, some small percent of the proceeds.

My point here, and it was obviously lost on some, is that the CEO saw the possibilities for the person, instead of simply seeing an interesting idea. I'm sure there are plenty of stories where a similar scenario played out and the protagonist didn't end up in Montañez's position.