Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
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Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#2[deleted]
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#3Previous context?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29607989 ("RadioShack – Bringing Cryptocurrency to the Mainstream (radioshack.com)" (2021))
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31958998 ("RadioShack reinvents itself as a crypto platform with wild tweets (washingtonpost.com)" (2022))
(Amusing to count five different HN'ers calling it a "scam", and two more calling it a "Ponzi").
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#4Circa 2010, I met Tai and he wanted some work done for his portfolio of dating websites he had back then. (He had a whole bunch of them targeted to various ethnic groups, religious subgroups and so on.)
It became apparent that (a) he had a huge pile of messy PHP, WordPress-based sites, and then (b) expressed contempt for paying $35 an hour for programmers since his opinion was you could get programmers in the third world for $5 an hour. He negotiated me down to $25. I ended up declining.
Like many people who crow about how they’re a “millionaire”, when it came time to show the money, he was suddenly really concerned about very small amounts of money here and there.
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#5People may remember Tai Lopez from his "Here in my garage, just bought this new Lamborghini here" YouTube ad, subject of several parodies such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GIwTG8V-Ko
I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing. I know nothing else about him and I hope to keep it that way.
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#6People may remember Tai Lopez from his "Here in my garage, just bought this new Lamborghini here" YouTube ad, subject of several parodies such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GIwTG8V-Ko I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing. I know nothing else about…
I only clicked into this thread hoping someone would link exactly that video.
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#7Circa 2010, I met Tai and he wanted some work done for his portfolio of dating websites he had back then. (He had a whole bunch of them targeted to various ethnic groups, religious subgroups and so on.) It became apparent that (a) he had a huge pile of messy PHP, WordPress-based sites, and then (b) expressed contempt for paying $35 an hour for programmers since his opinion was you could get programmers in the third w…
I don't know Tai Lopez and he seems like an asshole based on his public persona but I think you'd be surprised by the number of (especially first generation) millionaires who will negotiate over pennies. The easiest way to have a lot of money is to earn a lot and not spend a lot.
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#8People may remember Tai Lopez from his "Here in my garage, just bought this new Lamborghini here" YouTube ad, subject of several parodies such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GIwTG8V-Ko I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing. I know nothing else about…
I've had that video in my saved videos playlist for so long now.
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#9Circa 2010, I met Tai and he wanted some work done for his portfolio of dating websites he had back then. (He had a whole bunch of them targeted to various ethnic groups, religious subgroups and so on.) It became apparent that (a) he had a huge pile of messy PHP, WordPress-based sites, and then (b) expressed contempt for paying $35 an hour for programmers since his opinion was you could get programmers in the third w…
A study found that most American millionaires lived in modest homes and drove used American cars. They made their wealth by being concerned about relatively small amounts of money because it adds up. When we think "millionaire" we think of the dream that is sold to us by Hollywood—mansions, fancy cars, endless parties. But entertainers are paid in the millions and then encouraged to live like billionaires, so that they're desperate enough to continue being slaves to the entertainment-industrial complex to keep the gravy train going.
But $35/hr was a pittance for a programmer even in 2010. Tai Lopez is a gigantic tool for cheaping out on that.
Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme
#10Circa 2010, I met Tai and he wanted some work done for his portfolio of dating websites he had back then. (He had a whole bunch of them targeted to various ethnic groups, religious subgroups and so on.) It became apparent that (a) he had a huge pile of messy PHP, WordPress-based sites, and then (b) expressed contempt for paying $35 an hour for programmers since his opinion was you could get programmers in the third w…
A study found that most American millionaires lived in modest homes and drove used American cars. They made their wealth by being concerned about relatively small amounts of money because it adds up. When we think "millionaire" we think of the dream that is sold to us by Hollywood—mansions, fancy cars, endless parties. But entertainers are paid in the millions and then encouraged to live like billionaires, so that th…
Well actors have a very strong union in the US, they used to be paid peanuts. When you have that kind of labor power, your security comes from the union, not your stored wealth, so they can afford to spend because they know they will be well compensated for their work.