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xi0

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Which part of what I said is inaccurate, in your view?
Because the starting point is just incorrect. No one is painting all white people as white supremacists. This is a misrepresentation.

If white privilege exists, its due to whites working harder & being better educated on average. Which translates to them earning more on average, having more money and material possessions and more political and social influence on average.

Its not due to white supremacy, racism, or anything that the woke agenda claims.

If white privilege were an anime martial arts tournament, the fighter who trained the hardest and the smartest might win. Then the left would claim the winner won by being a racist. As apparently they believe its racism for those who work hard and discipline themselves to have more than others who didn't work as hard, who weren't as focused.

Being a believer in a meritocratic society, I respect the business savvy, work and brains that led to Jeff Bezos and amazons success. The left would probably say that Jeff Bezos and amazon are successful not because they were smart or worked hard. But only because Jeff Bezos is a "white racist". And I hope that people can understand why that left wing ideology won't necessarily pan out in the real world.
Why do you think any of that to be the case? White people simply work harder and are smarter in general? What about opportunity? I know you're not that naive...

I don't think merit simply trumps the entire issue. If that was the case these issues wouldn't exist.

Billionaires like Bezos are often the benefactors of generational wealth. And that wealth more often than not is a production of exploitation. I'm not interested in diminishing their own accomplishments afterwards, but using them as an example for the system being fine is laughable. Their starting point has nothing to do with their own merit.
--- Double Post Merged, , Original Post Date: ---

All I can really see, whether unknowingly or deliberately, is you misrepresenting the topic as something far more absurd than it really is.
 

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What about opportunity? In the USA it is much easier to get into and pay for college as a minority. Than it is if for whites. There are many whites who get passed up for scholarships by minorities with lower test scores, simply on the basis of race.

Whites and asians encourage each other to read, work hard, be educated and informed.

Blacks accuse each other of "being ashamed of their race" and "trying to be white" if they read a book, educate themselves, study or do "white people" things. Black culture tries to convince blacks they should all be thugs, pimps or drug dealers. Their mainstream culture is what sets them back.

Asians generally do ok in the USA, despite being a minority. They retain a relatively good standard of living. While blacks do so to a lesser extent. Its all due to cultural differences and differences of mentality/attitude.
 

xi0

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What about opportunity? In the USA it is much easier to get into and pay for college as a minority. Than it is if for whites. There are many whites who get passed up for scholarships by minorities with lower test scores, simply on the basis of race.

Whites and asians encourage each other to read, work hard, be educated and informed.

Blacks accuse each other of "being ashamed of their race" and "trying to be white" if they read a book, educate themselves, study or do "white people" things. Black culture tries to convince blacks they should all be thugs, pimps or drug dealers. Their mainstream culture is what sets them back.

Asians generally do ok in the USA, despite being a minority. They retain a relatively good standard of living. While blacks do so to a lesser extent. Its all due to cultural differences and differences of mentality/attitude.
What does any of this have to do with privilege and whether it exists or not? I don't think you can compare some sort of minority quota as making up for centuries of racial injustice. Is it really "easier" for a black person to get into college if their education is underfunded? What about all the people who don't go the college?

More "model minority" bs that completely discounts the history of both groups. No offense, but I don't think you actually know any black people. I've never heard anyone refer to reading or studying as a "white people thing"... :lmao
 

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Blacks accuse each other of "being ashamed of their race" and "trying to be white" if they read a book, educate themselves, study or do "white people" things. Black culture tries to convince blacks they should all be thugs, pimps or drug dealers. Their mainstream culture is what sets them back.
Please can you avoid speaking for a group of people as if you've grown up and lived around them your entire life? It unbearably cringe.
 

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Which part of what I said is inaccurate, in your view?



If white privilege exists, its due to whites working harder & being better educated on average. Which translates to them earning more on average, having more money and material possessions and more political and social influence on average.

Its not due to white supremacy, racism, or anything that the woke agenda claims.

If white privilege were an anime martial arts tournament, the fighter who trained the hardest and the smartest might win. Then the left would claim the winner won by being a racist. As apparently they believe its racism for those who work hard and discipline themselves to have more than others who didn't work as hard, who weren't as focused.

Being a believer in a meritocratic society, I respect the business savvy, work and brains that led to Jeff Bezos and amazons success. The left would probably say that Jeff Bezos and amazon are successful not because they were smart or worked hard. But only because Jeff Bezos is a "white racist". And I hope that people can understand why that left wing ideology won't necessarily pan out in the real world.
This is very wrong. White privilege exists because fairer/lighter skin is seen as more desirable, while darker/black skin is seen as ugly or in a negative light. White people don't work any harder, and they receive better education because they made the system benefit them, while hurting Black people purposely. Research the Tulsa, OK massacre, or how Black people weren't allowed to buy houses in Levittown.

White people earn more, have more money and possessions, and more influence because they made sure the system worked that way, while it worked against Black people and people of color. This is easily researchable. White privilege is very obvious, and you can see it in how cops often treat Black people (usually violently) compared to how they treat white people (try to bring them without violence, even with mass shooters).

Racism is very clear and obvious. Businesses are more likely to hire a white person over a Black person no matter how much more qualified a Black person is. Jeff Bezos's success didn't come from his superiority, but because he had help and does shady stuff like underpaying his workers and crushing competitors if he can't buy them. It's not a left wing ideology, it's a fact.

People of color can be racist, but to other people of color. For example, Indians can be racist towards Black people, but Black people cannot be racist towards white people.
 

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C*nt.
--- Double Post Merged, , Original Post Date: ---

I guess you're only worth being paid that much if you're an oldtimer, non-minority, who's just down on their luck and used to have a "better" job. Great ideas make for great money I guess.
 

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Ah, classic... Expecting to have successful long term businesses while at the same time not paying consumers a salary that would allow them to consume stuff. Yep, that's how capitalism works. sight
 

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Yeah, they just need to study harder and get better jobs, what's so hard to understand? /s
 

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while all the meanwhile, having to pay out of their ass for college to get better jobs, but unable to to afford it due to the rising cost
 

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Here's a photo of Colin Kaepernick wearing a Fidel Castro (yes the cuban communist dictator) "Like Minds Think Alike" shirt. I think he wore this so the entire world would know white privilege and critical race theory are left wing, marxist, ideology.

This IMO says everything that needs to be said on the topic.

But what do I know? I'm just some guy posting on an anime forum.


:toc
 

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Robert Downey Jr. actually studied Elon Musk's speaking patterns and mannerisms in preparation for portraying Tony Stark on screen.

Without Elon Musk we wouldn't have electric cars or functional rockets capable of reaching space with an affordable price tag.

Have to guy the guy a little credit.
ELon Musk and Larry Ellison... I'd say personality-wise more Larry Elison. That dude is actually even more obnoxious than Tony Stark.....

Elon Musk has really helped a lot of good technology accelerate towards the end goals... His achievements are not questionable and i agree with that. But lets not pretend that he is an angel. He is a shrewd businessmen at the end of the day, a lot like Jobs, Gates at their prime. There's nothing wrong with that specifically. What we shouldn't do is look at him as a messiah for planet earth and the only way to save the planet is his way, or that he'sthe only one doing it...

I think he is great, i really admire him as an engineer, a visonary and a CEO, including his ruthlessness. But he can be narcassistic, and is probably developing a god complex.... that'll crush down easily..

I think he wore this so the entire world would know white privilege and critical race theory are left wing, marxist, ideology.
Left wing, marxist idealogy i get, white privilege and critical race theory? ANyways, why do you care so much about him?
 

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More than Ellon, the problem is people. specially, but not exclusively, in the US... Who tend to view people with money as mesiah like figures who are beacons of wisdom for the masses whose every word is nothing short of gospel. That's how a society gets to a point where some rich guy makes a joke and it shakes markets. Or a billion bill gates interviews about vaccines even though the guy is just about the furthest thing from a doctor. People need to stop caring that much about people's opinions simply because they have money.
 

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That can't be helped though, as people are misled to think rich people are smart and knowledgeable, while the media will try to keep them relevant in a positive light. I think it's been like this for decades, maybe? I know Henry Ford was hella egotistical and used to opine about everything.
 

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I am not saying rich people aren't smart or knowledgeable. It'd be absurd to suggest musk or gates aren't. But it makes zero sense that musk commenting on fucking dogecoin would make it soar or for gates to be treated as pretty much like a doctor. Also, my comment is more about people than it is about musk or gates.
 
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I'm saying they aren't as smart or knowledgeable as made out to be, though, and that people are asshats for thinking that just because they're wealthy or were able to take credit for others' work. But that's the power they wield, especially Elon, due to their reputation.
 

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Or a billion bill gates interviews about vaccines even though the guy is just about the furthest thing from a doctor. People need to stop caring that much about people's opinions simply because they have money.
Well, Bill gates is speaking on behalf of his foundation which has done tons of research and played a critical role in combating infectious diseases as well as dealing with vaccines..... Its not the fact that he's rich here..... I think the limelight his divorce is getting is simply because of his wealth, but not otherwise...


I'm saying they aren't as smart or knowledgeable as made out to be, though, and that people are asshats for thinking that just because they're wealthy or were able to take credit for others' work. But that's the power they wield, especially Elon, due to their reputation.
Elon is smart, cos he is manipulating millions of fools around the world to his advantage through dogecoin, bitcoin and all those things... People are idiots to treat such people like gods...
 

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If white privilege exists, its due to whites working harder & being better educated on average. Which translates to them earning more on average, having more money and material possessions and more political and social influence on average.

Its not due to white supremacy, racism, or anything that the woke agenda claims.

If white privilege were an anime martial arts tournament, the fighter who trained the hardest and the smartest might win. Then the left would claim the winner won by being a racist. As apparently they believe its racism for those who work hard and discipline themselves to have more than others who didn't work as hard, who weren't as focused.

Being a believer in a meritocratic society, I respect the business savvy, work and brains that led to Jeff Bezos and amazons success. The left would probably say that Jeff Bezos and amazon are successful not because they were smart or worked hard. But only because Jeff Bezos is a "white racist". And I hope that people can understand why that left wing ideology won't necessarily pan out in the real world.
This is either lazy, trolling, or intellectually dishonest. Maybe all three.



There's a backlash against what you're mentioning from conservative circles, because that's not what the concept even is. And obviously, it's their own leaders that paint it in such a way in the first place.

"White privilege is the set of social advantages, benefits, and courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race."

If you do not think this exists, then you're not living in reality.
Half white, half asian product of wealthy Americans here.

I haven't posted a ton about my personal life here, but I think this warrants it.

My father (white, American) was in the military, then went to school (successfully) to become a doctor, and eventually a cardiologist. My mother (Japanese, Japanese, but with a green card for the USA, and grew up equally in both places) worked as an oral surgeon. They met on a military base in Japan. I was born later. "Privilege" is not an argument against hard work. My situation growing up was that I had opportunities afforded to me that put me in an advantage over some of my peers. For instance, I went to a private school in Japan, and got to accelerate in math, programming, language, and other subjects. Before the private school in Japan I was in Austin, TX and my parents actually hired a (very beautiful) nanny from a Latin American country at one point to get me some Spanish speaking capabilities. Utter failure on my part, but hey, they tried, and I'm kinda bilingual anyways. Who needs a third language? Sadface. Anyways, by age 7 I was certainly living it up. I had a busty, nice Latin American nanny cooking me amazing food, and trying to teach me Spanish. When I returned to America (from Japan) to go to high school I had a computer of my own, a room of my own with my own private bathroom, and I lived in an affluent area where I could safely go from place A to B with little influence of drugs, prostitution, crime, etc.. I always had a meal in my belly, and never wanted for clean water, or sanitary products (I'm male).

Having grown up in a nice area (Austin Hill Country, right near the beautiful lake) I was able to go to a nice school. This meant that the teachers' temperament was usually positive / happy. My classmates were not disruptive, and their extra-curricular activities were usually sports, arts, music, writing, etc.. Good, happy things that make teachers happy to have such great focused students. My parents hired a tutor from UT Austin to teach me programming. I basically coasted through high school and landed into UT Austin on their 10% rule, got a scholarship, and graduated with a degree in Computer Science by age 22, and got a masters while working and earning income. During school I met my wife, who is half-Japanese / Half-Chinese, with a very similar story to mine. She didn't finish as quickly as me, because she went on to become an OB-GYN. She's pregnant now, and our child is probably going to have a nanny, tutors, go to private school, eat homely, healthy meals, have the best clothing and equipment for any sports that money can buy, and hopefully be read One Piece by me at night. Our other child had all of the above, except they didn't really like One Piece. Neither of us had any college debt, thanks to our affluent parents. Our unborn child has a college fund already being built up. See a pattern here?

So now I want to move to the contrast. I am a mentor at my work. My company makes me do this. It's a nice thing to be able to say I do, as well. I'm 33 years old. My current mentee is 33 years old. He's a black man. He grew up in an area of Houston, TX that is known for high crime. His upbringing was a bit different to say the least. He was brought up in an environment that promoted the idea that the only way a young man, such as himself, could become wealthy, would be to go through one of the following career venues:
  • Sports (heavy emphasis from him on NBA Player)
  • Musician (heavy emphasis from him on Rapper)
  • Business (heavy emphasis from him on the not-so-legal side, aka drugs)
He lucked out and was born with a brain beyond that of his peers. He's a natural problem solver, and a bubbly people person. Everyone at my company loves him. His mom didn't work, and his dad worked on a ranch in east Texas. His 60+ year old parents just bought their first home with his (and his wife's) help. Onto his childhood. He didn't have a beautiful Latina nanny, or the opportunity to study abroad at a young age and immerse himself in another culture. He had food, sure. Fast food, junk food, whatever the cheapest stuff available was. According to him his childhood consisted of moving from apartment to apartment (usually 2 BR for him and his mom / dad / two brothers) as the prices in town increased constantly.

He had a natural talent for basketball, and naturally, being a bunch of office nerds, he really makes us all look like a bunch of fools on the court (at work, we have a basketball court). He actually managed to get into college (first of his family, because they couldn't afford college, really) on a basketball scholarship. He wasn't doing it for the scholarship. He was doing it for the chance to get into the NBA. Unfortunately he tore his ACL, and lost most of his momentum, dropped out, and started working at McDonalds for minimum wage (not sure on the exact age here. I'm telling this second hand, obviously). NBA recruiters told him not to fret, because he didn't have the body type for the NBA, anyways. His wing-span was too wide compared to his body length. He waited a few years, and re-enrolled in college to finish it out in hopes of becoming a college graduate (no real goal there, just wanted a degree). He happened upon a computer programming class, because the business degree required an BIS class. He had a knack for it, and found that he liked it. He didn't get a CS degree, mind you, and stuck with the business degree but did manage to minor in some form of Business Information Systems type thing.

We pulled him in for an interview, and decided to hire him and give him some training on Python programming. 31 year old (at the time), married black man. He's one of the hardest workers I've ever run across. After six months of (paid) training, he got his real offer, and went out and did what I advised him not to do in buying a new BMW. He earned it though, so good for him. Cool fact: I have been in the car twice over the past year at times he was pulled over. The cop asked simple questions, issued no tickets or warnings and went on their way after verifying the registration. We call this "Driving while black" in the "white part of town" around here. It's disgusting, but these are real issues he faces in modern society. I'm really proud of the guy and enjoy mentoring him. I get more worked up over those kind of injustices than he does. He pulled himself out of a bad situation and is all the better for it.

Let's compare and contrast.

My worries as a child:
  • Learning Spanish from my gorgeous nanny is too freaking hard
His worries as a child:
  • Drug dealers harassing him on his walk to school
  • Prostitutes harassing him on his walk to school
  • Having to help his parents move constantly (too poor for movers)
  • Hunger for knowledge in a school system that works against him every step of the way
  • Being told he can't ever be successful unless he's a spectacular rapper, drug dealer, or athlete
  • Becoming a victim of crime (any crime)
  • Financially irresponsible parents who mean well, but don't always do what's in his best interest
  • No health insurance, which meant he was on his ass as a child if anything happened to him (No Gofundme for cancer treatments back in the late 90's / early 2k's either)
  • The list goes on, I'll just close with "being a victim of racism"
I know his story well, because I work with him to help get underrepresented groups involved in Computer Science, and encourage youths that their upbringing doesn't have to drive who they become.

Where I'm going with this: Your example of a martial arts tournament is a flawed one. Of course in the anime world everyone loves an underdog. It's because underdogs are exceedingly rare. Do you know why? They don't have access to the training, equipment, nutrition, and healthcare that the top-fighters in the real world grow up with. This is universal and not specific to fighting. I had access to tutors, nannies, the best food money could buy, the best athletic equipment when I did want to try my hand at failing at being an athlete, exposure to other cultures, annual family vacations, an environment that I felt safe, health care, and a school where the teachers loved their jobs and the students behaved well, and the focus was on getting into Harvard and MIT; Not just any college (which I clearly failed in this part. Damn those competitive schools!)

Take a documented real life example and read the novel, "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis. Specifically the story about Michael Oher. Come back and tell me if this naturally talented, amazing offensive tackle, would have been successful had he not stumbled upon a rich white couple? Think hard about it and pay special detail to the points where he actually was able to discover his talents.

On the other hand, I've had all the privilege in the world handed to me and equated to what could be considered mediocrity. I have no doubt that had I been in "Robby's" situation, I'd of probably joined the drug trade. I have enough drive to see the importance of education, and a solid career. I also know that I don't have the drive to get where I am when all the odds are against me. In a sense, I'm envious of my colleague and his ability to have a foundation for which he laid his new life and career upon which worked against him at every step of the way, and which he still persevered. Envious, but would I give up the cushioned lifestyle I grew up with? Knowing that if I had gotten sick, I'd be at the doctor on the same day? Knowing that I would be putting nutrients into my body and not garbage like McDonalds and Twinkies, which were cheap calories for his family? Getting the latest gaming systems as they came out, with the games I wanted, and having my mom go out of her way to buy me Japanese manga that I couldn't easily get in America at the time before the internet was prevalent where he was lucky to get anything at all?

The point is that while you can certainly work hard, and you can achieve great results from any position in life, that some of us are privileged and given an "express lane to life" so to speak. My mentee, Robby, is similar in age to me (within 6 months), and is starting the same career I started over a decade ago. I'm teaching him the ins and outs because my life afforded me the opportunity to make college an expected part of it, and not some target / unreachable goal. Graduating for me was just a step of life that was expected, whereas for him, he was the first in his family to achieve a college degree, and the first to earn anything over $50k a year.

You mention Jeff Bezos's success. Bezos is undoubtedly a hard worker, and I'm not sure who you're referring to that seriously (not trollingly) thinks he got there by being a white racist, and not by working hard. I'd be interested to see your evidence here. Jeff Bezos is not a great example to use in this situation. As I mentioned before, hard work and privilege are not mutually exclusive. Combined, they can be amazing. Read his biography, or if you don't have time for that, take a look at his wiki page. Notably the part about Amazon being started on a $300,000 loan from his parents. Could he have crowd-funded his money without them? Maybe. We'll never know. Would Amazon be what it is today? I'd say parents are more lenient investors than Venture Capitalists, and that investment firms have a knack for turning great things shitty.

Privilege is prevalent in most of our revered CEOs. Zuckerberg came from wealth.

Bill Gates' father (RIP):

William Henry Gates II[2] (November 30, 1925 – September 14, 2020), better known as Bill Gates Sr., was an American attorney, philanthropist, and civic leader. He was the founder of the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates (a predecessor of K&L Gates),[3] and also served as president of both the Seattle King County and Washington State Bar associations.[4] He was the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.[5]
I would argue having a philanthropist as a father is a head-start that most of us are not afforded.

If you don't want to acknowledge privilege as a thing based on some personal ideology (which reads to me like privilege = leftist = bad) then that's fine. You do you. Just remember that a lot of success in life is measured similar to a race, and the more express lanes you get as an individual, the more likely you are to win and succeed.
--- Double Post Merged, , Original Post Date: ---

I am not saying rich people aren't smart or knowledgeable. It'd be absurd to suggest musk or gates aren't. But it makes zero sense that musk commenting on fucking dogecoin would make it soar or for gates to be treated as pretty much like a doctor. Also, my comment is more about people than it is about musk or gates.
You should read "A Random Walk Down Wall Steet". It heavily reinforces the idea that in markets (like Dogecoin and crypto in general) you aren't betting on what will happen; You're betting on what you think people think will happen. Dogecoin having value or Elon Musk's opinion on it having merit don't matter. What matters is that a percentage of people think it does matter, and this is why the value fluctuates based on his Twitter activity.

Re: Gates. He's kind of a unique case. Sure, he's not a doctor. He's not gone through and completed medical school or done a residency. On that fact you are correct. That said, Bill Gates is a voracious reader who is known to retain an insane amount of what he reads. He also is the type to be interested in how things work, including the human body, fairly easily. He may not be a doctor, but I'd not be surprised if he knew more about the human body than a notable percentage of physicians.
 

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You should read "A Random Walk Down Wall Steet". It heavily reinforces the idea that in markets (like Dogecoin and crypto in general) you aren't betting on what will happen; You're betting on what you think people think will happen. Dogecoin having value or Elon Musk's opinion on it having merit don't matter. What matters is that a percentage of people think it does matter, and this is why the value fluctuates based on his Twitter activity.

Re: Gates. He's kind of a unique case. Sure, he's not a doctor. He's not gone through and completed medical school or done a residency. On that fact you are correct. That said, Bill Gates is a voracious reader who is known to retain an insane amount of what he reads. He also is the type to be interested in how things work, including the human body, fairly easily. He may not be a doctor, but I'd not be surprised if he knew more about the human body than a notable percentage of physicians.
That's already pretty much how I think of market speculation. And I personally try to avoid it and its a lot of what is wrong the grossly overinflated market from the past few years.

To me that's kinda besides the point. It doesn't matter if gates knows as much or more than a physician about the human body. This is a situation where we need actual experts that work in the relevant fields to coherently explain what is going on and actually drive policy. Gates is just some dude in the private sector who throws money at stuff. Is he a genius? Probably. Does that matter two shits? Not at all.
 

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To me that's kinda besides the point. It doesn't matter if gates knows as much or more than a physician about the human body. This is a situation where we need actual experts that work in the relevant fields to coherently explain what is going on and actually drive policy. Gates is just some dude in the private sector who throws money at stuff. Is he a genius? Probably. Does that matter two shits? Not at all.
I mean, it probably doesn't matter to you or me. I'm assuming you don't live in Sub-Saharan Africa, but people who do and are now vaccinated against Polio due to his efforts are probably happy to have this rich figure throwing money at stuff.

Regarding the ability to move markets as a rich person. That's not really based on any kind of reverence IMO. People who have held "richest person on Earth" as a title are naturally going to have a lot of followers on any venue they choose. These followers (remember, the average person is not exceedingly intelligent) are naturally going to see someone worth $100B as a figure of wisdom regarding money and markets. Maybe they're wrong, and maybe they're right. It doesn't really matter, because we live in an age where someone like Elon Musk can send a message to 55M people in under a minute.

It's as simple as: If you want to go to medical school you might talk to a successful doctor to figure out some strategies for that. If you want to become rich, you might look to a rich person for advice. It's not the most practical thing to do because for all you know the doctor got into med school via nepotism and the rich person just hit a stride of luck in a favorable market (looking at you, Mark Cuban). The average person would treat Mark Cuban's financial advice as gospel, and this is why Mark Cuban's advice matters. Not because it's relevant, but because he has a soundboard that can hit millions of people who WILL assume it's the correct advice.
 

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I mean, it probably doesn't matter to you or me. I'm assuming you don't live in Sub-Saharan Africa, but people who do and are now vaccinated against Polio due to his efforts are probably happy to have this rich figure throwing money at stuff.

Regarding the ability to move markets as a rich person. That's not really based on any kind of reverence IMO. People who have held "richest person on Earth" as a title are naturally going to have a lot of followers on any venue they choose. These followers (remember, the average person is not exceedingly intelligent) are naturally going to see someone worth $100B as a figure of wisdom regarding money and markets. Maybe they're wrong, and maybe they're right. It doesn't really matter, because we live in an age where someone like Elon Musk can send a message to 55M people in under a minute.

It's as simple as: If you want to go to medical school you might talk to a successful doctor to figure out some strategies for that. If you want to become rich, you might look to a rich person for advice. It's not the most practical thing to do because for all you know the doctor got into med school via nepotism and the rich person just hit a stride of luck in a favorable market (looking at you, Mark Cuban). The average person would treat Mark Cuban's financial advice as gospel, and this is why Mark Cuban's advice matters. Not because it's relevant, but because he has a soundboard that can hit millions of people who WILL assume it's the correct advice.
Ah, no, wait. I don't think he should necessarily stop throwing money at stuff. That's entirely his business. My issue is with him being pretty much a self appointed spokesperson for this or people taking his word as gospel because of all of this.

Not sure of what you mean there. You say that's not really based on any kind of reference but then say people who have held the "richest person on earth" title will naturally have a lot of followers. So... you do have a reference. As for the rest... yeah. That's what I take issue with.
 
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