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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 20, 2025

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Zuckerburg did a few things right, all more than a decade ago:

That is all you need to become super -successful. A good idea the execute near-perfectly on it, which he had from 2005-2015 or so.

Bought WhatsApp for $19 billion and promised to never advertise on the platform. Even though he has broken the promise, it's unclear how they will ever recoup this

He already has. Same for other purchases. The Metaverse is still a loss, but Wall St. has moved on.

All that other stuff works at boosting ad impressions and engagement. Evidently it semes to be working.

Bill Gates folllowed that model. Maybe Zuckerberg thinks the same way. But it's unlikely that anything he can do with his billions can undo the damage his social networks have done, and continue to do to the social fabric. The irony is that if he had just focused on making Facebook the best version of itself, he would probably be even richer today, and beloved for making the iconic product of the age.

At least Rockefeller's wealth and other Gilded Era wealth was fleeting, which quickly dwindled as the money was frittered away on dubious low-ROI philanthropy or wasteful spending. Today's tech-rich are much better at preserving their wealth and their industries less vulnerable to economic obsolescence or competition, unlike oil, ferries, cars, mining, or railroads.

At least Rockefeller's wealth and other Gilded Era wealth was fleeting

Not entirely. David Rockefeller (grandson of John D.) was worth over $3 billion when he died recently at age 102.

But yeah, the titans of old had large families so the wealth dissipated more quickly. We should seek to recreate that environment by taxing estates based on how many times they are subdivided, with more subdivisions = less tax.

dubious low-ROI philanthropy

Not all of it! Early Rockefeller was a very good steward of his fortune, and a very good spender of it. For example, he essentially cured hookworm in the U.S., for a very small investment. Hookworm stunts growth and lowers IQ by something like 10 points. Before Rockefeller went to work, 40% of people in the American South had it! This might be the single greatest intervention in the history of philanthropy and it wasn't even that expensive.

Early Rockefeller was a very good steward of his fortune, and a very good spender of it. For example, he essentially cured hookworm in the U.S.

that is amazing. perfect example of low hanging fruit. small spending that can lead to huge gains