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Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

nytimes.com

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Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#151

Post by JaimeThompson »

zls wrote: post #117
hotpotamus wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is he eligible? Looking at his bio it doesn't appear so. Also he seems like he'd be happier pulling the strings of a President JD Vance anyway.

In the one law class I took, presidential eligibility was the example used to introduce our discussion of "standing". He framed the discussion specifically around a hypothetical Schwarzenegger run. The professor said that although it shouldn't be allowed, if Schwarzenegger actually ran, no one would have standing to sue him, so he would be allowed after all. The prof spoke in a way that implied this is an accepted tr…

>The prof spoke in a way that implied this is an accepted truth in the legal community

So the law professor talked like a lawyer? :)

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#152

Post by rr808 »

golemotron wrote: post #140
TuringNYC wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the case of Peter Thiel, the Koch family, and Robert Mercer, it is quite clear that the end goal is no longer wealth, but reshaping politics, geo-political power, and thought for multiple generations.

Wow. No one on the left does that?

here are some names that do more than just donate cash. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/most-influential-dem...

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#153

Post by [deleted] »

golemotron wrote: post #140
TuringNYC wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the case of Peter Thiel, the Koch family, and Robert Mercer, it is quite clear that the end goal is no longer wealth, but reshaping politics, geo-political power, and thought for multiple generations.

Wow. No one on the left does that?

[deleted]

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#154

Post by twayt »

clairity wrote: post #123
user249 wrote: post #14

This podcast "The Peter Thiel Paradox" [1] explained a lot about the mystery of Peter Thiel to me. Turns out that there is less than meets the eye but he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself, much like Richard Branson, or so the British podcast claims. [1] https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-p... One nitpick; Theil said "We…

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

No post body was provided.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#155

Post by UncleMeat »

FredPret wrote: post #138
beebmam wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people with this much wealth want even more wealth for themselves? I've never understood this.

"When you've helped 100 little old ladies cross the road, why bother with number 101?" "When you've done so much useful work, why would you ever want to do any more?" "If you have so many friends, why would you ever be nice to somebody new?" "You love your family so much, why not stop now?" "Michael Phelps already has a gold medal, why does he keep swimming?"

Helping a little old lady cross the road is improving the world in some manner. Acquiring bigger numbers in a bank account... not so much.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#156

Post by clairity »

kelp wrote: post #130
clairity wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

He’s actually very Christian and I’m told attends services every week. I’m not sure what denomination though.

i suspect a number of narcissistic christians secretly wonder if they're actually the second coming. it wouldn't surprise me if thiel were in that group.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#157

Post by Barrin92 »

mjfl wrote: post #136
clairity wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

I read his book "Zero to One" and I felt like it did learn good things from it, for example that "competition is for losers". Before I thought capitalism was all about competition, but maybe I was a rube in not knowing that.

You weren't a rube at all, that view of capitalism as being characterized by competitive markets is popular and the result of Milton Friedman style ideas being almost propagandized from the 80s onward.

His points in the book however do basically go back to Schumpeter who argued the same thing. That oligopolistic markets in which outsized firms earn excess profits, are significantly more dynamic than overly competitive market economies.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#158

Post by WillPostForFood »

JaimeThompson wrote: post #146
ComradePhil wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Peter Thiel is in it for the money, not anymore anyway. He is fairly straightforward and has talked about his motivations in various long-form interviews over the years. In my observation, his actions are aligned with his motivations that he has expressed. Partisan media assigns fabricated evil motivations to explain his actions, like they do with everyone who they view as not on their side. People who…

I would consider it evil to say that women shouldn't vote.

I consider it evil to manufacture a false statement to slander someone you disagree with. He never said women shouldn't vote.

What he actually said:

The 1920s were the last decade in American history during which one could be genuinely optimistic about politics. Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of “capitalist democracy” into an oxymoron.

https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio...

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#159

Post by adventured »

dnissley wrote: post #114
ComradePhil wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Peter Thiel is in it for the money, not anymore anyway. He is fairly straightforward and has talked about his motivations in various long-form interviews over the years. In my observation, his actions are aligned with his motivations that he has expressed. Partisan media assigns fabricated evil motivations to explain his actions, like they do with everyone who they view as not on their side. People who…

IIRC he sold most of his stake in 2012 after the IPO. He would be far richer today if he had just let his investment in Meta ride, even with the recent fall. It seems clear he's not in it for the money.

> He would be far richer today if he had just let his investment in Meta ride

You mean if he had had a crystal ball, which absolutely nobody on the planet possesses.

Hyper concentrating your wealth in a highly risky investment, is not a good investment strategy. In the absence of a crystal ball, he made a very reasonable choice to cash the Facebook position out given his exposure to numerous other high-risk tech-related positions.

Bill Gates would be richer if he had never sold a share of Microsoft, and it would have similarly been a really bad approach to personal wealth management. That doesn't mean Gates wasn't interested in the money (for his goals, the more money the better), it means he was acting rationally, prudent, in diversifying.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#160

Post by tomcam »

clairity wrote: post #123
user249 wrote: post #14

This podcast "The Peter Thiel Paradox" [1] explained a lot about the mystery of Peter Thiel to me. Turns out that there is less than meets the eye but he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself, much like Richard Branson, or so the British podcast claims. [1] https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-p... One nitpick; Theil said "We…

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

You sound pretty brilliant yourself . Mind sharing your achievements that would illustrate how much more talented and smart you are than Thiel?
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