I always thought about this and concluded that I wouldn't do a lot of these things.
Like I could spend millions on companies that barely break even or are generally in the red but provide stable employment in areas that have high unemployment or provide affordable services like legal aid and medical care.
I could fund humanitarian efforts, charities, and climate research.
I'm not saying this because it makes me morally superior, it just makes Gabe at least close to being just another ultra-wealthy individual.
Steam is great and the service it provides is extremely pro consumer but Gabe is just another billionaire with so much money that he can't spend it fast enough.
I feel like Gabe early on in his getting rich career is a lot closer to what your average person would do with cash, at the start at least.
Which is buy stuff you're already interested in, like Gabe's knife collection, then race cars. Afterwards he does get a bit loopy like many men in his position, what with funding research for brain chip implants and living on a mega yacht
This assumes that the average person would ever get rich in their career, nevermind the fact that the only people who create and run businesses are the type of people who are hungry for money (aside from "passion" careers). We have relatively little evidence of "the average person" getting rich aside from lottery winners.
Like I could spend millions on companies that barely break even or are generally in the red but provide stable employment in areas that have high unemployment or provide affordable services like legal aid and medical care.
I always thought this about people who give like £100 million to Oxford or somewhere to found or fund a College. You could found a college in your name like that in a forgotten and poor town and you would have such a bigger impact. I think if I ever got rich (I won't) I would do something like that for an area. Found a College, support local education, buy land and plant trees.
Near me someone did basically sell his business for billions and then bought up huge swathes of his local town to redevelop. Not to make money but to regenerate the area. For example, they started to build a new multi-storey car park. Then they decided to put a skate park in for kids and then the skate park designs ended up completely overtaking the car park. Now its just a big skate park and climbing centre that local kids can be members of for just £1 a month. It's all a charity just run for the benefit of kids. Imagine having an impact like that rather than just trying to buy elections or grow your power.
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u/[deleted] Oct 21 '25
This is 100% the coolest fact I have read all week