jobs was clearly a criminal

[SteveP]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/03/bu...es-too.html?hp

interesting.

[Christian Fox]

I'm a free market guy, but I truly believe it's impossible to become a billionaire without being at least a borderline sociopath. By that, I mean having the ability to feel nothing about breaking, or at least pushing to the absolute limit, the rules. It also helps to have no capacity for empathy.

[jitahs]

So was Gates. The difference: Bill grew a heart. Steve never did.

[Jaq]

I'm a free market guy, but I truly believe it's impossible to become a billionaire without being at least a borderline sociopath. By that, I mean having the ability to feel nothing about breaking, or at least pushing to the absolute limit, the rules. It also helps to have no capacity for empathy.

If I were better about this sort of thing, I'd work some google-fu and find a link, but not too long ago there was a book (or maybe a Forbes article) about how several (very many) Fortune 500 CEOs satisfy the definition of "sociopath." In my own experience, the very few multi-millionaires I've ever known have all be self-involved to an off-putting degree. Still, that's anecdotal evidence, so counts for nothing.

[devlin]

Most (if not all) successful people of that level rose to that level because they don't care about treading on toes. Most I would imagine you wouldn't really want to be friends with. (my last comment is purely speculative)

[Tom]

Karen has commented that every company chief that she's worked with has been batshit crazy in one form or another. Then again, if you look at just about anybody you could say that, but marked with each one she speaks of has been a certain ruthless streak - sometimes if you're on their side they back you until they don't and other ones they were simply on their own side and nobody else's.

[TMB]

Once upon a time the New York Times was a well respected reporter of news.

[Christian Fox]

I've have worked briefly for two billionaires in my life; one in inherited it and acted like you would expect and the other was self-made. The self made one is completely nuts. The drive to work as hard as he does is not normal. It's not normal to make $100 million and not retire, but rather ship your kids off to a Swiss boarding school so you have more time to work on the next $900 million. You could send this guy an email at two in the morning on a Saturday and get a reply in two minutes. Weird. Neither of the two were pleasant in any way. I do imagine some overnight internet phenom gazillionaire might make it young enough to realize their luck and remain human, but maybe they wind up believing their own hype and act accordingly. Don't know, never met that type.

[EricKeller]

even though it ruins lives, you don't get put in jail for the sort of criminality that Steve Jobs engaged in. I have totally lost any respect I had for him. Started when he went the woo route on "treating" his cancer instead of actually having it treated. I've seen this with people in my life, and it just frustrates the hell out of me. Then to find out that he was joyfully screwing people by artificially keeping wages low through collusion put me over the edge. I'm a hater now. I hope the HR person he made Google fire becomes a millionaire.

[tamaso]

[...] not too long ago there was a book (or maybe a Forbes article) about how several (very many) Fortune 500 CEOs satisfy the definition of "sociopath." [...]

Jon Ronson wrote The Psychopath Test, this interview in Forbes may be the one you thought of

[davids]

My kid attended an ancient New England prep school from K-8th grade and, of course, I got to know a lot of the parents during that time. There was a certain kind who, as soon as we were introduced, would ask me what I did. As soon as they heard I wasn't a captain of industry their gazes would start to wander, scanning the room for someone more valuable to talk to.

When this first happened I felt pretty intimidated and inadequate. As I got to know these various guys (always guys) better, I realized that it was really as if I spoke a language they didn't understand. They couldn't just talk about their kids, what they did last weekend, how the Sox were faring. They had no capacity to not do business.

I still encounter this type occasionally, even in the bike industry. I just smile as they excuse themselves, and let them move along to their next opportunity.

[jitahs]

My two kajillionaire friends are incredibly generous individuals on principle and intellectually curious about a wide variety of topics.

Apparently these two personality traits, taken together, are on the verge of extinction.

P.S. Everyone who's followed the tech industry for 25+ years here has known this about Jobs. It's interesting to see the most iRabid fans completely fall silent in defending his character as a reflection of product. It's doubly ironic his lifting of the Whole Earth tagline was in direct contrast to his ethos, or lack thereof, though at one point he lived it. Some guys turn their backs on humanity when living, then have a revelation when shown the door. This guy did not.

[j44ke]

I've been around some uber wealthy people, and when it comes to the men, there always seems to be this incredible combination of overdriven confidence knotted umbilically to this underlayer of insecurity. The accumulation of money and power is like any other form of self-medication. And I can't say that they are happy or unhappy. Probably neither. They don't really seem to enter into that binary. Once you get into the upper realms of wealth and power, if something bugs you, you just change it. It is a weird planet to live on. Sort of zero gravity. With that kind of money it must seem like you can buy amorality like other people by duct tape.

The things they can't change are the most frustrating to them. Public opinion, societal expressions of will or subjectivity, voting. US Constitution. And so that's usually where they f&ck up.

All of this doesn't prevent them from being interesting people with great ideas and positive contributions to the world. But it does increase the possibility that they'll end up d*cking around with the dark side of the force in the effort to control the uncontrollable.

[Earl Gray]

I don't think anyone that achieves true greatness in any endeavor (business, sports, arts, entertainment, politics, whatever) plays by the same rules as the masses. It is what separates them from the rest of us.

Likely not a popular opinion, but when judging them I believe you do need to consider if they good they have done out weighs the bad.

“Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Spock

[EricKeller]

Likely not a popular opinion, but when judging them I believe you do need to consider if they good they have done out weighs the bad.

Just to put it in perspective, everything Jobs was responsible for is now obsolete. I think people will remember Bill Gates for a lot longer.

[zetroc]

I don't think anyone that achieves true greatness in any endeavor (business, sports, arts, entertainment, politics, whatever) plays by the same rules as the masses. It is what separates them from the rest of us.

Likely not a popular opinion, but when judging them I believe you do need to consider if they good they have done out weighs the bad.

“Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Spock

A Utilitarian, eh? Jeremy Bentham would approve.

[mjbabcock]

So was Gates. The difference: Bill grew a heart. Steve never did.

Gates (and his father) have it figured out so far as I can tell. Keep the company solvent and profitable, but use that $$$ to do some real good. How about trying to cure polio, or addressing education problems, or convincing billionaires to give away their cash, or addressing malaria, or the rest of the crap they've been spending billions on. Add Buffett to the list, and Chouinard. Use it for positive social change and stewardship.

I wish we could get rid of corporations and require families or individuals to hold a majority of their companies. Seems more effective than redistributing the accountability such that no one is really accountable.

As for billionaires, they should be taxed such that they are hundred-millionaires. Fuck'em. Does anyone truly believe its possible to EARN a billion dollars. The Migrant farm workers work harder than anyone else around here and I bet they don't clear $250k in a lifetime.

[Earl Gray]

Just to put it in perspective, everything Jobs was responsible for is now obsolete. I think people will remember Bill Gates for a lot longer.

It would seem you are not a Mac man? I'm typing this on a Mac that Jobs had at least some tiny role in developing and would club a baby seal in appreciation for it.

Being remembered as a few steps below Bill Gates aint all that bad btw.

[devlin]

“Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Spock

This, this, THIS!!! a million times over. So many decisions I see locally and nationally where the change would benefit the community as a whole by a large margin but because five people feel a little inconvenienced by it, it gets canned. Seriously, what comes around goes around. Today you do your hard turn then tomorrow you get the wind at your back. Humans are such selfish arseholes.

[RickM]

This, this, THIS!!! a million times over. So many decisions I see locally and nationally where the change would benefit the community as a whole by a large margin but because five people feel a little inconvenienced by it, it gets canned. Seriously, what comes around goes around. Today you do your hard turn then tomorrow you get the wind at your back. Humans are such selfish arseholes.

Nobody wants to take the Bad with the Good anymore. They feel like they don't have to. From my ivory tower...I know exactly who to blame, too...but it's just Opinion.