Hacker News with Generative AI: Billionaires

Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire (bloomberg.com)
Warren Buffett, who built Berkshire Hathaway Inc. into a business valued at more than $1.16 trillion and himself into a celebrity billionaire renowned for his investing acumen and witticisms, will step down at year-end after six decades atop the conglomerate.
Business, Finance, Retirement, Billionaires, Berkshire Hathaway
456 points by mfiguiere 6 days ago | 413 comments
Billionaires dream of building utopian techno-city in Greenland (popsci.com)
A handful of wealthy, politically connected Silicon Valley investors are reportedly eyeing Greenland’s icy shores as the site for a techno-utopian “freedom city.” 
Greenland, Utopia, Technology, Billionaires, Politics
5 points by gniting 19 days ago | 0 comments
Billionaires dream of building utopian techno-city in Greenland (popsci.com)
A handful of wealthy, politically connected Silicon Valley investors are reportedly eyeing Greenland’s icy shores as the site for a techno-utopian “freedom city.” 
Greenland, Technology, Urban Planning, Billionaires, Politics
12 points by geox 26 days ago | 5 comments
Under Trump and Musk, billionaires wield influence over US national security (theguardian.com)
Just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its New Glenn rocket, named for John Glenn, the Mercury astronaut who was the first American to orbit the Earth.
Politics, Billionaires, National Security, Space Industry
12 points by leotravis10 32 days ago | 0 comments
Buy, Borrow, Die: How to be a billionaire and pay no taxes (theatlantic.com)
America’s superrich have always found ways to avoid paying taxes, but in recent years, they’ve discovered what might be the mother of all loopholes.
Tax Avoidance, Billionaires, Wealth, Finance, America
7 points by ryan_j_naughton 52 days ago | 1 comments
The Billionaire Boycott Conundrum (scalzi.com)
Over on Bluesky, where I spend quite a lot of time these days, because it’s an instance of social media not owned by a billionaire and/or ruled by algorithms intended to push vaguely-to-explicitly fascist thoughts and memes into my face every time I look at it, there’s a contingent of folks who have declared — not unreasonably! — that now is the time to be boycotting the billionaires who have explicitly supported Trump, and all of their businesses.
Social Media, Politics, Boycotts, Billionaires
8 points by NotInOurNames 56 days ago | 6 comments
Elon Musk Dubiously Blames George Soros, Reid Hoffman over Tesla Protests (forbes.com)
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, blamed fellow billionaires George Soros, Reid Hoffman and the ActBlue fundraising organization over recent protests targeting his firm Tesla, citing an “investigation”—though it’s unclear what investigation he’s referencing.
Elon Musk, Billionaires, Protests, Business, Politics
24 points by zfg 61 days ago | 14 comments
A World Without Elon Musks. From Germany, a push for a billionaire-free future (inequality.org)
From Germany, a bold political push for a billionaire-free future.
Politics, Inequality, Germany, Billionaires
10 points by Traces 77 days ago | 0 comments
Bill Gates Is Playing Both Sides of the Climate Crisis (jacobin.com)
Bill Gates presents himself as a climate champion, but his trust has actually increased its fossil fuel investments since his divestment pledge. It's just the latest example of the billionaire appointing himself to solve problems he helps perpetuate.
Climate Change, Environmentalism, Billionaires, Capitalism
16 points by zdw 81 days ago | 0 comments
A Billionaire's Biggest Regret (nytimes.com)
Bill Gates recently described the dissolution of his 27-year marriage as a painful “mistake.” As he’s learned, you can’t put a price on a relationship that’s seen you through it all.
Relationships, Personal Reflections, Billionaires
4 points by RyanShook 94 days ago | 0 comments
Billionaires and tech VCs have now set their sights back on Wikipedia (hachyderm.io)
Billionaires, Venture Capital, Wikipedia, Technology, Social Impact
17 points by pabs3 105 days ago | 5 comments
No Billionares at FOSDEM (drewdevault.com)
Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, ousted board member of BlueSky, and grifter extraordinaire to the tune of a $5.6B net worth, is giving a keynote at FOSDEM.
FOSDEM, Conferences, Technology, Billionaires
238 points by Tomte 113 days ago | 195 comments
Campaign aims to safeguard social media from billionaires using Bluesky's tech (techcrunch.com)
As Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg continue to reshape the social media space, a group of international tech entrepreneurs and advocates has launched a campaign to protect social media from the control and influence of billionaires.
Social Media, Technology, Billionaires, Campaign
7 points by marban 116 days ago | 1 comments
Richest People Surpassed $10T in Wealth This Year (bloomberg.com)
The world’s 500 richest people got vastly richer in 2024, with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang leading the group of billionaires to a new milestone: A combined $10 trillion net worth.
Wealth, Billionaires, Finance, Economics
14 points by madihaa 124 days ago | 0 comments
Richest people surpass $10T in wealth in 2024 (ocregister.com)
The world’s 500 richest people got vastly richer in 2024, with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang leading the group of billionaires to a new milestone: A combined $10 trillion net worth.
Wealth, Billionaires, Finance, Economy
37 points by GeoAtreides 128 days ago | 7 comments
Billionaires want you to know they could have done physics [video] (youtube.com)
Billionaires, Physics, Humor, Social Commentary, Video
6 points by NN88 128 days ago | 0 comments
The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code (2018) (bloomberg.com)
Bill Benter did the impossible: He wrote an algorithm that couldn’t lose at the track. Close to a billion dollars later, he tells his story for the first time.
Gambling, Algorithms, Horse Racing, Billionaires
178 points by sebg 134 days ago | 103 comments
Billionaires want you to know they could have done physics [video] (youtube.com)
Billionaires, Physics, Satire, Video
7 points by indigodaddy 135 days ago | 0 comments
Billionaires Have Sidestepped a Tax Aimed at the Rich (propublica.org)
Fourteen years ago, Congress set out to remedy a basic unfairness in the tax code.
Taxes, Wealth Inequality, Billionaires, Politics, Finance
19 points by srameshc 142 days ago | 12 comments
LA Times Owner Personally Reviews Opinion Headlines to Avoid Offending Elon Musk (techdirt.com)
Billionaire media owners are getting bolder in their attempts to suppress opinions they dislike. The latest example comes from LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, who reportedly plans to personally review all opinion headlines to ensure they don’t offend Elon Musk or others that Soon-Shiong is trying to impress.
Media, Censorship, Elon Musk, Billionaires, Opinion Journalism
21 points by hn_acker 154 days ago | 2 comments
The Stone Soup Theory of Billionaires (asomo.co)
In recent years there’s been a strong outbreak of the Great Man Theory of History. This is the idea that single powerful or inspired men - literally men - create history and should be adored, or, on the flip side, reviled.
Billionaires, History, Economics, Social Commentary
11 points by Dogwash24 173 days ago | 6 comments
Elon Musk's PAC spent an estimated $200M to help elect Trump (apnews.com)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk’s super PAC spent around $200 million to help elect Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the group’s spending, funding an effort that set a new standard for how billionaires can influence elections.
Politics, Elections, Billionaires, Super PACs
9 points by donsupreme 177 days ago | 1 comments
America's billionaires are worth a record $6T (usatoday.com)
America’s billionaires are now collectively worth a record $6 trillion. Their wealth has more than doubled since the passage of the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017.
Economy, Wealth, Billionaires, Taxes
9 points by paulpauper 177 days ago | 3 comments
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Billions of Ways to Influence an Election (nytimes.com)
The world’s richest men have their own rocket fleets, their own media and their own schemes to succeed with Donald J. Trump.
Politics, Elections, Billionaires, Media, Influence
12 points by 2OEH8eoCRo0 191 days ago | 1 comments
You May Be Paying a Higher Tax Rate Than a Billionaire (propublica.org)
The very richest Americans win at the tax game no matter which measure you use. ProPublica has published an article, based on a vast trove of never-before-seen IRS information, that reveals the pittance in taxes the ultrawealthy pay compared with their massive wealth accumulation.
Taxes, Wealth Inequality, Finance, Billionaires
16 points by rurp 195 days ago | 10 comments
Of course we can tax billionaires (pluralistic.net)
Billionaires are pretty confident that they can't be taxed – not just that they shouldn't be taxed, but rather, that it is technically impossible to tax the ultra-rich.
Taxation, Billionaires, Wealth Inequality
19 points by ssklash 205 days ago | 8 comments
San Francisco's Next Election Is a Referendum on Billionaires (buttondown.com)
San Francisco’s Next Election Is a Referendum on Billionaires
Politics, San Francisco, Billionaires, Referendums
6 points by giraffe_lady 220 days ago | 0 comments
Epic's 81-Year-Old Billionaire to Keep Her Health Data Empire Private Forever (forbes.com)
Health, Business, Privacy, Billionaires, Tech
3 points by 0xa2 221 days ago | 1 comments
Billionaires and the Evolution of Overconfidence (forkingpaths.co)
To understand billionaires, you need to understand horizontal inequality, illusory control, self-selection bias, quantified self-worth, and the evolution of overconfidence.
Billionaires, Psychology, Inequality, Self-Perception, Overconfidence
16 points by onemoresoop 239 days ago | 5 comments
The Texas Billionaire Who Has Greenpeace USA on the Verge of Bankruptcy (wsj.com)
Greenpeace, Environmentalism, Texas, Billionaires, Lawsuits
10 points by JumpCrisscross 243 days ago | 2 comments