> I would go as far to say that no self-made billionaire is stupid.

Making money is far more about luck than skill. Always has been. Net worth is not a proxy for ability.

[edit] Don't get me wrong I'm not saying billionaires are idiots. I'm just saying that having a fat stack is not in and of itself a proxy for aptitude. Judge that on the person instead. Just judging them on their bank balance is an unnecessary appeal to authority that hasn't historically held.

I'd say normally it requires both, or extreme levels of either. Not sure normal rules apply under CCP though.

Not necessarily.You need to be smart, but not in the sense HN thinks.A charismatic, charming person can become quite wealthy if luck and connections help and still be very dumb by conventional standards. People like Kim Kardashian.

I'll raise you to extreme levels of both.

That may be the case for millionaires in the right place at the right time but not for the self-made billionaires.

I would still argue net worth is a unbiased (if you discount for corruption) proxy for ability (in the sense of ability to create wealth = products and services that people demand). It is extremely high variance though

your discount is everything if corruption is the most important part of the equation

From the article:

  Ma, a former English teacher, is one of China’s internet pioneers, building an e-commerce empire with Alibaba and a fintech giant with Ant.

>>I would go as far to say that no self-made billionaire is stupid.

Stupid is a loaded word, but you can be a genius in chemistry and not be able to hold a "normal" conversation. You can also be homeless and super-smart.

His grasp of English is pretty decent, he was a lecturer at Hangzhou Dianzi University in English and International trade.

Just looked at a bit of the linked video, and his English sounded fine, but at about, or even slightly below, my level. And I have no problems following English or making myself understood, but I will still never be able to express myself as clearly and as articulate as I am able to do in my native language. This is especially true when speaking.

Yep. As the article simply puts it, he was an English teacher.

He would say exactly the same stuff in Chinese. He is just arrogant and abusive.