You don't get where Zuck is without a huge ego and power hunger. If is plan was to retire as a billionaire, he could have done so years ago.

> huge ego and power hunger

Some people should probably be stopped before they get too hungry. Same with some bald guy in Eurasia right now.

Bill Gates or Warren Buffet are the exception, not the norm.

Warren Buffet just retired so how is he an exception?

He retired at 94, which is exceptional on several accounts... If you date the "founding" of Berkshire Hathaway as when his fund bought the then textile manufacturer in 1965, he worked at the company he founded for 60 years! (If you consider the company that he founded to be the initial investment fund in his twenties, then he ran the company for over 70 years.) At 94, he's basically run Berkshire his entire life, which is hardly the get-rich-and-play sort. (In fact, he still lives in a small house in Omaha and is not known for spending lots of money.) Furthermore, he's pledged half his fortune to charity in his lifetime, and most of the rest after his death. He may have been responsible for the giving pledge, but if not, I think was instrumental in such success as it's had.

The context was about being power hungry and ambitious to keep making more money, building a bigger business, perhaps fame, prestige, success, accomplishment... vs selling out early if just being a simple billionaire is adequate enough. Buffet worked his entire life as you said, which was my point, and was the richest in the world for a long time. He is not a counterpoint to Zuckerberg.

And all of the billionaires donate money, I don't think that sets him apart from the others all that much.

Buffet is set apart and exceptional because he understood exactly what it takes to trick everyone into thinking he is a good man. (btw that can help his stock too)

Now that he's gonna go soon (and having just a dozen more human gatherings and dinners left).. we can see that he fully doesn't give an ounce of fuck after he had received in full what he was really after all along.

After much show, Buffet's "charity" money is simply inherited by his kids just as it was planned all along! (Tax-free too, you plebs!)

The ones that care about the world are like Larry Page, tho still so evil.

I think Buffet saw how financial market for 2025 was shaping up and just thought life is too short to waste.

Bill Gates was reckless in the 90's when Microsoft was already leader and he was already a billionaire. He left his position as chairman at 60.

Not really such an "early" retirement.

But he's doing charity now, while still having more than 100 billions for himself, so somehow he's a saint.

Compared to his contemporaries? Pretty much xD

"Exception"? but of course! Those two are the putin-level ones singlehandedly pwning the charts since 1997 after the reign of Getty Oil / Japanese / Walmart.

They are the literal sensei of Zuck the greenhorn and friends. So exceptional that the world thinks they're the exception.

This seems like cope and justification of bad behavior.

Maybe they just enjoy doing what they do?

Weirdly, people often avoid relinquishing power

I think having a founder stay on and lead, well after they are financially independent is very respectable. It says they are interested in more than just chilling on the beach.

But when they cease to be competent and aren't able to admit it, it's less respectable.

> It says they are interested in more than just chilling on the beach.

Which is not necessarily a good thing, being more interested in reshaping the world even after it becomes clear their vision for the new world isn't making it better just leaves someone with lots of power and bad ideas, not a good combo.

I'd much rather have them chilling on the beach after being done with the limits of their competence.

Indeed, the Americans have a very weird ruler for respect, which measures solely by power and sex (anything else beyond this two you have to wax wordy essays to convince of its value and still have dubious success) due to its original sin, crossing oceans and expanding westwards for its own sake, fueled by raw sex and power, be it brutes, scientists, farmers, mormons, evangelicals, and missionaries, then they teach their children the same, who teach their children the same.

Orphans and imports don't escape. Even those that are not born here (eg Musk), are eventually taught by society to do the same.

Zuckerberg and friends don't just want to chill on the beach: They want to 0wn it. A common property, then redefine it as "obviously not common", at the expense of others, so that no one else can chill on the beach, unless you provide compensation, for obviously infringing upon their rightful rights duh.

I still like original founders as CEO. Nothing beats the skin in the game from that.

Do you think meta is doing well with Zuck's skin? In the last 10 years their main success is through acquisitions, a most of their new initiatives fail miserably, and they've had nothing but PR scandals.

I recently read Careless People and I think it's hard to avoid the conclusion that he has been far out of his element for a long time.

Dude hasn’t had to grow since Harvard. Of course he’s stunted as a leader.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Ive probably had to compromise a lot with Steve at the helm. It is generally regarded that (laptops especially) Apple hardware went to form over function when Ive got total control and when Apple finally reverted his vision was sidelined.

If he has an ego, he probably really wants to have something is a Magnus Opus he can claim. It'll be interesting because good design is always a dance with other stakeholders. You see this with architects and other "designers" who sometimes go to far into art and forget that buildings do need to be used.

Apple laptops were good before and after his reign of mediocrity. The butterfly keyboard and the Touch Bar were both terrible and I'm glad they're gone.

The worst part about the butterfly keyboard was that keys would stop working and fixing it would cost the same as a new laptop. I guess that's what you sacrifice when you design the laptop as thin as Ive envisioned.

good designers are obsessed with how things are used. the others are platonically wanking.

> But I guess ego keeps these people going.

I mean, if it were my company I’d also reserve the right to run it straight into the ground.