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Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

wsj.com

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Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#51

Post by game_the0ry »

exogeny wrote: post #38
ahf8Aithaex7Nai wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason for this is the same as why real estate is so expensive and the price of gold is so high. There is far too much capital accumulation among the ultra-wealthy, who don’t know what to do with all that money. The expertise of someone like this founder lies simply in recognizing that this is the case and that it can be monetized.

There was a great Money Stuff blurb about that w/r/t Adam Neumann. I can't find it to quote it directly, but the gist was that if you disabuse yourself of the notion that Neumann was playing a game of entrepreneurship and good-faith empire building, and instead conclude that the game he was playing was shameless capital extraction, every step and action he took suddenly makes sense. The truly amazing thing, especiall…

> ...if you disabuse yourself of the notion that Neumann was playing a game of entrepreneurship and good-faith empire building, and instead conclude that the game he was playing was shameless capital extraction, every step and action he took suddenly makes sense.

Sort of. I get the capital extraction part, but you also need to be a good steward of capital and make a profitable business out of it. He failed badly at the later part, and his reputation is an obstacle for the former.

Not saying you are wrong, but if I am a "capital allocator" at a16z, he would be no-go.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#52

Post by elphinstone »

some_random wrote: post #14

Just for once I want "CEO convicted of fraud making their comeback" to come back with some really boring business. Like, I want Elizabeth Holmes to serve out her sentence then come out swinging to raise funds to vertically integrate pallet construction.

How about Holmes comes back and works at Starbucks? Why should we want known criminals and con artists back in positions of power and trust? Investing in someone like that is a breach of fiduciary duty. Give the opportunity to some worthy unknown, not known liars and criminals.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#53

Post by watwut »

game_the0ry wrote: post #18

I struggle to understand the psychology of how founders who are clearly incompetent charlatans get second+ chances -- they couldn't do fraud successfully but investors have a faith they could do business successfully. But they still get funding (like adam neumann of wework fame) and full on "narrative tongue baths" by the business media community (like this wsj article on trevor milton). Why? I struggle to understand…

Because those investors have exactly same moral and ethical framework. The fraud is just another legitimate way to make money to them. It is the same thing with Epstein or meetoo ... they were actually fine with all that and whoever complains is just pesky idiot.

This article is not praising trevor milton tho.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#54

Post by TrackerFF »

game_the0ry wrote: post #18

I struggle to understand the psychology of how founders who are clearly incompetent charlatans get second+ chances -- they couldn't do fraud successfully but investors have a faith they could do business successfully. But they still get funding (like adam neumann of wework fame) and full on "narrative tongue baths" by the business media community (like this wsj article on trevor milton). Why? I struggle to understand…

They are charismatic. They know how to work people.

If you've ever worked with narcissists and sociopaths, you'll soon enough discover that they will do anything to get what they want. And they are professionals at playing people.

They know what to say, how to present themselves, how to make their story, and what strings to pull on the people they try to convince.

Some investors are also willing to suspend their disbelief - thinking that if they are the first to ditch to bag, there's money to be made...as long as they're not the ones holding the bag.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#55

Post by watwut »

huhkerrf wrote: post #26
ttubrian wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'We Can Trust You Now' is a quote in the story from the subject. The subject himself claims: “I walk into meetings now, and I’ll get high-fives from the most wealthy people in the world,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Welcome to the club. You can withstand the fire. We can trust you now.’” The WSJ interviewed him and is reporting information about his past. I think the article portrays him as extremely shady and untrustwo…

There's a school of thought that reporting on a bad person without coming out and saying "this is a bad person" is akin to endorsing that person. Myself, I think people are mature enough to be able to read past a headline and come away from this with a clear eyed view of this fraudster.

I agree with you on the first part. But, if one needs to read past headline to find the opposite of the headline is truth, headline deserves all the criticism in the world.

Headline is what is presented to the world. Headline is the claim being made to people who dont find the topic interesting. And majority of the people dont find all the fine details of pardoned CEO situation interesting. So, yes, if the headline lies, the news deserve to be criticized.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#56

Post by nradov »

exogeny wrote: post #38
ahf8Aithaex7Nai wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason for this is the same as why real estate is so expensive and the price of gold is so high. There is far too much capital accumulation among the ultra-wealthy, who don’t know what to do with all that money. The expertise of someone like this founder lies simply in recognizing that this is the case and that it can be monetized.

There was a great Money Stuff blurb about that w/r/t Adam Neumann. I can't find it to quote it directly, but the gist was that if you disabuse yourself of the notion that Neumann was playing a game of entrepreneurship and good-faith empire building, and instead conclude that the game he was playing was shameless capital extraction, every step and action he took suddenly makes sense. The truly amazing thing, especiall…

Some of those sophisticated investors are also engaged in shameless capital extraction. Their investment thesis is based on the "Greater Fool Theory": they're gambling that they can dump the inflated assets on another bag holder before it blows up.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#57

Post by ryandrake »

nerevarthelame wrote: post #36

On top of the fraud convictions, Trevor Milton was credibly accused of sexual assault by his own cousin and a girl he employed. Both victims were minors at the time. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/two-women-file-sexual-abuse-...

> It was wiped away with a phone call. In March 2025, Trump called Milton to tell him he had signed an unconditional pardon. Milton had styled himself as a political victim of the Biden administration, and Trump agreed.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#58

Post by busyant »

jongjong wrote: post #41
alex_c wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The past failure is in the abstract, and in the past. And anyway, they were unfairly maligned. There is an inside version of the story that they will be happy to tell you, which was clearly not their fault. But that is neither here nor there. What is important is the now, and in the now you are in the presence of someone who is Good At Making Money. And you too, by joining forces, will be Making Lots Of Money with th…

This guy is a crook. Every adjective you could use to describe this guy goes against my core values.

I suspect the person you replied to was being subtly sarcastic. edit: but honestly, I'm not sure.

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#59

Post by chneu »

ryandrake wrote: post #57
nerevarthelame wrote: post #36

On top of the fraud convictions, Trevor Milton was credibly accused of sexual assault by his own cousin and a girl he employed. Both victims were minors at the time. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/two-women-file-sexual-abuse-...

> It was wiped away with a phone call. In March 2025, Trump called Milton to tell him he had signed an unconditional pardon. Milton had styled himself as a political victim of the Biden administration, and Trump agreed. Birds of a feather flock together.

[flagged]

Re: Trevor Milton is raising funds for a new jet he claims will transform flying

#60

Post by chneu »

notlenin wrote: post #40
some_random wrote: post #14

Just for once I want "CEO convicted of fraud making their comeback" to come back with some really boring business. Like, I want Elizabeth Holmes to serve out her sentence then come out swinging to raise funds to vertically integrate pallet construction.

I feel like part of the secret to being that type of CEO is that whatever your business is, you can spin it into something "oh my god, much wow". Like it won't be just "vertically integrating pallet construction", it'll be "a heartwarming revolution in the construction of pallets, now with AI and blockchain". Kind of like how TFA mentions that Milton's new SyberJet will "pioneer AI flight".

Sell me this pen
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