• _sideffect@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It’s a lot more than just money that made their companies.

    Anyone can get 300k or something, and would probably be left with a million dollar debt afterwards.

    All these people had contacts, ie they knew many different people that helped them reach where they are now. Bezos knew the ceo of one of those huge book stores, and that’s how he was able to sell books at such a lower price at the start.

    That’s what I read, anyway.

    • LeadersAtWork@lemmy.worldB
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      8 months ago

      You’re right. In theory I could have no money and an idea and if I knew someone who…

      1. Liked me
      2. Liked my idea

      …it is absolutely possible they would go in to fund said idea. The problem here is that people with money and clout tend to only spend time in circles with others of their kind.

      For the rest of us it’s back to scraps.

  • MeanEYE@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Truth be told, Jeff’s (Bezos) parents put mortgage on their house to invest in their sons business. Kind of far from rich parents in position or owning a mine.

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      And Buffett’s dad was just a representative from Nebraska. If a representative from Nebraska passed you on the street, you wouldn’t recognize him.

      His dad “ran an investment company” in Omaha Nebraska, not NYC. It obviously helped Warren at the beginning, but he also learned how to invest from one of the best teachers ever.

      These are just good reasons to help out your kids.

      • MeanEYE@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Well, some of them claim they are “self-made” billionaires. Some have the right, other don’t.

      • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        One of the big factors for both Amazon and Microsoft was their timing in the market. They both got in at seemingly the ideal time to explode with the technology.

        If either guy had come around a few years later with the exact same product/service, there would have been a lot more competition already in development.

  • lseif@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    the concept of a billionaire being ‘self-made’ is irrelevant when they only did it through labour exploitation and barely legal practices. im sure most people in this community know this, but its worth reiterating

  • fluckx@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    And don’t forget the great Donald. He only received 1 million dollars from his father to build his company. And just look how he pulled himself up! Truly inspiring. Much wow.

    • BossDj@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      I mean, he couldn’t talk about all the money that was snuck over to him to avoid inheritance taxes even if he wanted to for legal reasons (which I’m sure he totally wouldn’t lie about).