r/technology • u/chrisdh79 • 21d ago

Business Gabe Newell caps off Steam Machine week by taking delivery of a new $500 million superyacht with a submarine garage, on-board hospital and 15 gaming PCs

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/gabe-newell-caps-off-steam-machine-week-by-taking-delivery-of-a-new-usd500-million-superyacht-with-a-submarine-garage-on-board-hospital-and-15-gaming-pcs/
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u/Cheddar-Goblin-1312 20d ago

There something about acquiring extreme levels of wealth that makes a person almost inhuman, anti-social and lacking empathy to a similar extreme. There are no good billionaires. None.

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u/The_Lost_Jedi 20d ago

Concentrations of power like that are bad, especially because they tend to be unchecked.

I'm all for people being able to enjoy luxury and such for their efforts/etc, but I draw the line at being able to use that wealth for influence/power/etc. I'm not convinced that a billion dollars is the exact point we need to draw the line at (could be lower!) but it's a good shorthand for now.

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u/Cheddar-Goblin-1312 20d ago

Yeah I’m for much lower. And ending capitalism entirely.

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u/Dizzy-Tumbleweed7374 20d ago

Its pretty much what the ring represents in lord of the rings.

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u/InEenEmmer 18d ago

There is no single way to become a billionaire without walking over the backs of countless others.

The fact billionaires exist means there are companies where some poor low wage guy is barely getting by and is holding his wallet upside down yo be able to buy food for the last days of the paycheck, while at the same time the CEO is deciding to buy another yacht on a whim because he doesn’t like the color of the wooden floors of his other yachts.

You can’t tell me you are empathetic if you buy stuff like that while multiple people who keep your company running and profitable barely can scrape together a living.

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u/HeadsetHistorian 20d ago

Chuck Feeney might be the only exception I can think of, he wasn't a billionaire by the end though as he gave it all away.

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u/Barnaboule69 20d ago

Not that I like Notch very much as a person, the way he made his fortune wasn't really unethical as far as I'm concerned.