• db2@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    Don’t forget the ones that are bad at it, like Musk and Trump.

    • FaceDeer@kbin.social
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      8 months ago

      I’m not sure how you consider Musk “bad” at it. He got $28,000 in funding from his father for his first company, peaked at $320 billion net worth, and is only down to about $138 billion according to the last info my quick Googling dug up.

      $28,000 is really not all that big a “seed fund”. Lots of entrepreneurs start with more.

      Edit: Wow, how dare I say something that isn’t 100% hating on Elon Musk. Seriously, is saying that a man who reached the “richest man on Earth” threshold is maybe kinda a good businessman really beyond the pale? He can still be a colossal asshole, that’s independent of his ability to make money.

      • Conyak@lemmy.tf
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        8 months ago

        His dad literally paid for everything when he moved to America. It’s easy to start a business when your education is fully paid for and there is literally no financial risk at all. Acting like he was self made is fucking ridiculous.

        • roo@lemmy.one
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          8 months ago

          Imagine life without concern and high expectations your dreams will be profitable. No wonder money makes money.

        • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
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          8 months ago

          Acting like he’s dumb and only succeeded through his father’s money and luck is also ridiculous. I wish people would try to have nuance views on famous people instead of this primitive love or hate dualism.

          • Conyak@lemmy.tf
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            8 months ago

            There is plenty of evidence to suggest that he is an idiot. His handling of Twitter at the very least shows that he is no business genius. I wish people would stop acting like he is some sort of idol. He got where he is off the backs of other people. There is nothing to idolize there.

            • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
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              8 months ago

              No one here is acting like he’s s some sort of idol, even though at least half of them did so a couple of years ago on Reddit, that’s what I’m talking about, basic dualism.
              He may be a bad boss, incompetent engineer, and bad human overall but he probably got some good skills to make the right choices to become one of the richest people. If you think he’s an idiot, then do you think he got there only from father’s money and pure luck? If not, then how did he do it, gods, magic? What’s Occam’s razor telling you? I’m not defending him, I’m defending reason.

      • db2@sopuli.xyz
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        8 months ago

        Where’d you get the idea he only got 28 thousand? That’s a car. Not even a luxury car. Is that the lie he claims is reality? He’s a spoiled rich brat gem mine kid who grew old but not up.

        • alvvayson@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          You people have to do your research and read his biography.

          He wakes up at 5 AM, works 7 days a week and never takes a vacation.

          He co-founded PayPal and that is where he earned all his money through hard work.

          /s

          (Yeah, he claims a lot of things, but others around him have told the truth, including his first wife. He had a lot of money as a kid from his dad and was never at risk of having to live an average middle class life)

      • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        Let’s say he really only had a 28 000$ loan (which I doubt), he could still fail monumentally and not be destitute.

        Then, when your parents are filthy rich, they usually have a lot of influencial people in their network.

        If he really only had 28k in a vacuum, maybe that would be a different story. But he had the backing of the gem mine money + the network of his parents.

        Let’s take Bill Gates. When he grew up, he went to a school that had a computer, that he was able to use. It is a big fucking deal at that time. Very few schools had computers, much less gave access to their students.

      • brambledog@lemmy.today
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        8 months ago

        So a man whose wealth has largely been built off lying to investors and consumers about his products told you that his father only gave him $28,000, and you just believed him?

      • Gekoloniseerd@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Image being such a dumb ass stupid motherfucker that you think and type this in the www. We’re doomed.

      • Neato@kbin.social
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        8 months ago

        It’s a small thing but he also had family connections in Canada which he lent on.

      • GeneralVincent@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        It really was mostly luck and lying. I guess those are important to being a successful businessman, so you’re right and so is everyone saying he’s just a lucky rich butthead.

      • state_electrician@discuss.tchncs.de
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        8 months ago

        But still you’ll never get it right

        'Cause when you’re laid in bed at night

        Watching roaches climb the wall

        If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah

        You take different risks when you have a cushy safety net.

      • chakan2@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        A years salary in minimum wage isn’t that big of a seed fund…

        Just to put that in perspective.