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Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

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Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#71

Post by dddbbb »

paxys wrote: post #9

It was clear years ago that neither he nor Brin were interested running Google day-to-day anymore. I'm actually surprised that every billionaire doesn't do the same after reaching a certain point of success. Like..is calling the shots at Facebook really that big a deal that Zuckerberg spends his life being dragged from one mess to another, put in front of Congress every other week, criticized across the political spe…

He's still relatively young, and likely realises the near absolute power he holds over one of the largest companies in the world is not something he can get back once he gives it up. Also Gates, to put it in very uncharitable terms, has shown that it doesn't matter if you're seen as a hated, greedy CEO as long as you do enough philanthropy later in life.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#72

Post by tehjoker »

Yetanfou wrote: post #63
tehjoker wrote: post #38

Notch is said to be a deeply unhappy person, or at least he was a few years ago. He also made a hard right-wing turn. https://money.cnn.com/2015/08/31/technology/minecraft-creato... https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/04/online-conduct-leaves...

[flagged]

All billionaires are right-wing. They uphold and embody social inequality. Whether they endorse rigid social divisions along cultural lines is just extra gravy.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#73

Post by tikhonj »

mjfl wrote: post #36
redisman wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He has a lot more power as the CEO of Facebook than "just" a retired billionaire. Which is what humans have craved since the dawn of time.

The "thirst for power" is too much of a normie thing for Mark Zuckerberg to be interested in. I feel like he has this genuine delusion that Facebook serves this higher purpose and wants to see it through until people agree with him. I think he would prefer people to consider him as more innovative than Elon Musk than to have 'power'. Whether or not he will achieve this, well...

A genuine belief in what you are doing—and then effectively pursuing that over opposition—is going to depend on having and using power. It's not pure "thirst for power" in the sense that power isn't the ultimate motivation, but it's almost indistinguishable operationally. (And, historically, it seems hard to tell when one becomes the other or vice-versa...)

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#74

Post by nip180 »

joezydeco wrote: post #57
mxwsn wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zuckerberg owns Facebook in a way that no other major company (to my knowledge) is owned. He is a monarch that can override any and all board politics. While power sloshes around in other companies by tug of war, Zuckerberg's word is final. Given this, I don't think it's unusual that Zuckerberg would stick around. He, with Facebook, explore new possibility space in how a company can be run that few other companies in…

You mean in terms of a publicly-held company, right? Because there are plenty of massive corporations still privately owned that are controlled by one person or one family.

Right. Facebook, a young and suddenly influential company is a very different thing then the very large privately held companies. Those are usually very old, owned by multiple family interests, or associated with a government.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#75

Post by [deleted] »

cyberlurker wrote: post #20
paxys wrote: post #9

It was clear years ago that neither he nor Brin were interested running Google day-to-day anymore. I'm actually surprised that every billionaire doesn't do the same after reaching a certain point of success. Like..is calling the shots at Facebook really that big a deal that Zuckerberg spends his life being dragged from one mess to another, put in front of Congress every other week, criticized across the political spe…

It must be at least a little enticing to be one of the most powerful people in the world. I don’t know what his true goals are, but that must contribute a little.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#76

Post by ogre_codes »

CalChris wrote: post #16
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #8

It's funny how Larry Page very much seems to like his privacy these days... after taking it from everyone else.

Larry didn't take it from anyone. We gave it to him. He just monetized it.

You cannot give something away without realizing it. Google's collection of shadow data on people is not "Given" to them. Most people don't know when and how they collect it. I didn't "Give" Google data any more than I gave data to the guy who drove by my car and collected the plate number when I went to the store a few weeks ago.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#77

Post by _zzaw »

benatkin wrote: post #15

I wondered why he doesn't have a personal website and saw that Sergey Brin, Tim Cook, and Elon Musk don't either. Ended up at gatesnotes.com and signing up for Bill Gates' mailing list.

Well, somebody seemed to have registered the larry.page domain name when I checked a few months ago. Given that .page is a Google TLD, I just figured...

Shame to be sitting on something like that and not doing anything with it.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#78

Post by nip180 »

frakkingcylons wrote: post #27
paxys wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily. Bill Gates has a lot more "power" today than he did as Microsoft CEO. And I bet his life is a lot easier as well.

I think most people would agree that today’s Facebook has more of an impact than Microsoft.

I strongly disagree.

Microsoft is largely responsible for introducing computers to everyday people. They championed a mission of “a computer on every desk and in every home” in a way no one else was. I have strong doubts that PCs as we know them today would be a thing without Microsoft’s influence. We should also not discount the timing of highly usable Windows and Microsoft software with the explosion of internet usage in the developed world.

In the 90s and early 2000s Windows/Intel introduced computers and the internet to the masses.

Edit: Microsoft’s portable and highly desirable software lead to computer hardware being a commodity and drastically lower prices. This, combined with the timing of WWW, ignited a revolution for which Facebook is just a subset of its impact.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#79

Post by zeusk »

Datsundere wrote: post #31
paxys wrote: post #9

It was clear years ago that neither he nor Brin were interested running Google day-to-day anymore. I'm actually surprised that every billionaire doesn't do the same after reaching a certain point of success. Like..is calling the shots at Facebook really that big a deal that Zuckerberg spends his life being dragged from one mess to another, put in front of Congress every other week, criticized across the political spe…

Do you realize 110b is not liquid assets? If he sold all his stock Facebook would plummet into oblivion

Do you realize big trades don't happen in public markets all at once? Dark pools, private share sales, debt-equity swap are a thing.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#80

Post by brianobush »

refurb wrote: post #35
paxys wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily. Bill Gates has a lot more "power" today than he did as Microsoft CEO. And I bet his life is a lot easier as well.

More power? I would disagree. Maybe more impact, but not more power or influence.

Gates foundation with an endowment of 46.8 billion, and around 5 billion annually to research. That is a lot of influence to direct.
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