# How does someone with no business acumen get to be the richest person in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903 "2022-11-14T19:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/421 "2023-11-07T14:19:36Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > He didn’t make a mistake buying Twitter. He made a spectacular series of mistakes _after_ buying Twitter. He may be all that but his ego trumps it. > [@Cervaise](#): > > Heh, beat me to it. “He made a mistake buying Twitter.” Yeah, right, _one_ mistake, and everything after that has been an endless parade of genius actions and decisions? So he’s dead broke now right? The sequence of stupid actions of his has resulted in all his holdings going under, right? Remind me again what your net worth is as a result of all the super smart decisions you’ve made in life. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/422 "2023-11-07T15:10:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Everyone who thinks Elon Musk is stupid and has a net worth 1% or higher than Musk’s, raise your hands. You’re all so smart I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but if your net worth is less than 2.5 billion dollars then put your hand down. “If you’re so smart why aren’t you [rich/president]”? “If you’re not [someone of the same group as the subject] you don’t get to judge?” What a trite cliché. Can’t believe it’s being brought up. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/423 "2023-11-07T15:19:03Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > “If you’re so smart why aren’t you [rich/president]”? “If you’re not [someone of the same group as the subject] you don’t get to judge?” What a trite cliché. Can’t believe it’s being brought up. It works in this case because nobody is providing proof of anything except that Musk is not perfect. He didn’t steal all the money, he’s not going broke. It’s absolutely appropriate in a case like that to question a claim that Elon Musk is stupid. It would be one thing if people were simply talking about the stupid decisions Musk has made, but in this thread there is a leap to calling him stupid without considering the totality of the decisions he’s made that keeps him well able to endure even a very large mistake like buying Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/424 "2023-11-07T15:42:39Z")
Well, that’s what’s come up repeatedly, isn’t it? Tesla was actually founded by some other, smarter folks who did the lifting on the engineering side. SpaceX? He did a good thing in having Gwynne Shotwell actually run things and other, smarter folks do the heavy lifting on the engineering side. And that’s a good thing! He recognized, at least in some cases, he needed to let other people do the important things. So, he may not be a total idiot, but he’s certainly not a genius. But the problem is, it’s not “just” Twitter/X. Several other companies he’s tried to more directly run have fared poorly. That dates back to the original X and getting kicked out of Paypal. And on to the Boring Company, Thud (his failed Onion ripoff), and Neuralink is looking kind of (severely) ethically shaky. And several smaller ventures through the years. That’s one of the things about starting out wealthy - you get to try multiple times and only need to succeed at least once. Nobody will care (or apparently remember) the failures because the successes overshadow them. So, ok, it’s an exaggeration to claim he’s a total idiot. But extreme wealth as a sign of worthiness or intelligence is itself a terrible cliche. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/425 "2023-11-07T16:08:47Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > But extreme wealth as a sign of worthiness or intelligence is itself a terrible cliche. Adam Smith was writing about it in 1759 in his [Theory of Moral Sentiments](https://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Smith/tms133.html): > _That wealth and greatness are often regarded with the respect and admiration which are due only to wisdom and virtue; and that the contempt, of which vice and folly are the only proper objects, is often most unjustly bestowed upon poverty and weakness, has been the complaint of moralists in all ages._ > _,_ > _The great mob of mankind are the admirers and worshippers, and, what may seem more extraordinary, most frequently the disinterested admirers and worshippers, of wealth and greatness._ ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/426 "2023-11-07T19:32:56Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > The reality is that capitalism (as we are seeing right now) has been **fundamentally corrupted** , is being gamed by those at the top, and people keep falling for this ridiculous cult of personality. No it’s not. The problem with companies like FTX, WeWorks, and Theranos, is that there are LOTS of people with LOTS of money seeking places to invest it. And many of those people that have this money or manage this money are actually what I refer to as DUMB MONEY. They don’t really understand the fundamentals of investing, challenging business assumptions. There are numerous great companies out there that are very good sound fundamental investment opportunities. You can’t invest in companies that you heard a stock tip from your friend or even Jim Cramer. You need to do your research if you plan to invest in individual stocks. Otherwise, invest in index funds, thereby spreading your risk across a portfolio of companies. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/427 "2023-11-07T19:44:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Elon Musk became the richest man in the world because he was highly intelligent, savvy, and productive. Being the richest man in the world does not make you the smartest man in the world. I can name at least one person who has more money than I’ll ever have in hundreds of lifetimes and he’s a blithering idiot. I think Musk’s talent has more to do with going all-in on high-risk ventures and having a couple of them pay off in a big way. It’s not so much about knowing how to run a business, more like knowing which horse to back. > [According to Bloomberg](https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-net-worth#:~:text=According%20to%20Bloomberg%2C%20close%20to,well%20as%20other%20miscellaneous%20liabilities.), close to half of Musk’s net worth comes from Tesla shares, while just over 20% comes from SpaceX shares. The rest of his wealth comes from shares in Twitter and The Boring Company, as well as other miscellaneous liabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/428 "2023-11-07T19:54:11Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > “If you’re so smart why aren’t you [rich/president]”? “If you’re not [someone of the same group as the subject] you don’t get to judge?” What a trite cliché. Can’t believe it’s being brought up. Yeah, there are a ton of brilliant people with zero interest in being rich, I wouldn’t even correlate wealth with intelligence beyond a certain point. And I don’t really consider business acumen to be a sign of general intelligence. I know very wealthy people who think vaccines cause autism. I’m smarter than they are and I have way less money. Primarily because I care about a whole lot of things more than making money. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/429 "2023-11-07T19:55:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This thread is baffling. Elon Musk became the richest man in the world because he was highly intelligent, savvy, and productive. He made a mistake buying Twitter. Big deal. Everyone who thinks Elon Musk is stupid and has a net worth 1% or higher than Musk’s, raise your hands. You’re all so smart I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but if your net worth is less than 2.5 billion dollars then put your hand down. “How dare you criticize Musk! Don’t you peons understand that he has money? _Money!_” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/430 "2023-11-07T23:25:54Z")
Wealthy people tend to give little credit to luck and much credit to personal genius. Obviously Stranger understands the rocket scientist game better than most of us amateurs. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/431 "2023-11-07T23:32:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > There are numerous great companies out there that are very good sound fundamental investment opportunities. …the post you are responding to was posted so LONG ago I can’t remember exactly what the context of this post was. I don’t even know what video I linked to because its been made private now. But I’m pretty sure I wasn’t talking about “sound fundamental investment opportunities.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/432 "2023-11-07T23:49:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This thread is baffling. Elon Musk became the richest man in the world because he was highly intelligent, savvy, and productive. He made a mistake buying Twitter. Big deal. Everyone who thinks Elon Musk is stupid and has a net worth 1% or higher than Musk’s, raise your hands. You’re all so smart I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but if your net worth is less than 2.5 billion dollars then put your hand down. This is an odd post. I know lots of very smart people. I also know lots of rich people. There’s… some correlation, sure. But the correlation between “people with rich and well-connected parents” and “people who are rich” is far, far stronger. To get very rich you typically need a desire for lots of money, opportunities to get lots of money, and good luck, as well as some modicum of intelligence. Those opportunities and the ability to hold out until luck shows up are extremely correlated with already having (access to) money. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/433 "2023-11-08T00:25:49Z")
He’s not simply rich, he’s richer than 8,100,000 other people. He didn’t get that from his parents. He got it by making a lot of very good decisions. Certainly luck plays a part in anyone’s success but it doesn’t make someone the richest person in the world. There were a lot of other people who wanted all the money he has, so if he’s stupid then the top 1st of wealthy people who didn’t get it must be complete idiots. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/434 "2023-11-08T00:37:50Z")
I suppose I’d say it this way. Here in 2023, Musk is functionally stupid and is doing functionally stupid things. Perhaps caused by too many years of too many drugs. One of those drugs being mainlining a lot of money and power. Whether he was smart in college or at PayPal or at Tesla or 5 or 15 or 45 years ago is not the issue being discussed here in 2023. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/435 "2023-11-08T00:40:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Whether he was smart in college or at PayPal or at Tesla or 5 or 15 or 45 years ago is not the issue being discussed here in 2023. No, it’s precisely the issue being discussed! The entire premise of the thread is how you square your observations of Elon Musk as a man today with Elon Musk as an objective historical narrative of a man gradually accumulated increasing levels of wealth. What hypothesis you use to explain this disparity reveals your world view and exposing that world view to challenges allows you to deepen it. Was he smart and got dumb? Was he just lucky? Did his family wealth help and how much? Is he really good at knifing the true talents in the back and taking advantage of their success? These are all the theories being batted around. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/436 "2023-11-08T01:09:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > One of those drugs being mainlining a lot of money and power. People have really been pushing back on my theory that money and power rot your brain, but I swear I’m on to something! Maybe one of the impacts is that it makes you believe all of your ideas are good ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/437 "2023-11-08T01:15:26Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > People have really been pushing back on my theory that money and power rot your brain, but I swear I’m on to something! Maybe one of the impacts is that it makes you believe all of your ideas are good ideas. I laid out my perspective and experience on this hypothesis here: > [@How does someone with no business acumen get to be the richest person in the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/37): > > It’s interesting watching the popular consensus narrative shift to whatever confirms most people’s existing priors, independent of factual accuracy (eg: the emerald mine stuff that now gains an outsized prominence in his story). What’s happened to Musk is not unique and not not especially mysterious. Musk made his fortune making bold, asymmetric and correct bets. He was both smart and incredibly perceptive of the world in a way that allowed him to make inferences several steps ahead of other pe… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/438 "2023-11-08T01:30:25Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Maybe one of the impacts is that it makes you believe all of your ideas are good ideas. Certainly, making a billion here and there (either in actual profit or in “market valuation”) will strongly reinforce the confirmation bias about your own sagacity, and not the least because it will provide a lot of buffer for things not working out right away. After you have made enough, you can afford even greater high-risk/high-payoff plays - as **Shalmanese** reminds us - BUT at some point you can wind up having Peter-Principled _yourself_ into a situation where _doing what you always did doesn’t work_. Doesn’t mean you are now suddenly someone “with no business acumen” – no, you are now someone who is the wrong man _for this job_ but you are too invested in yourself to acknowledge it and back off. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/439 "2023-11-08T01:41:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Elon Musk became the richest man in the world because he was highly intelligent, savvy, and productive Sadly, we live in a world where that’s not remotely true. Musk is the poster child for failing upwards. An objective look at his supposed accomplishments is not very impressive. He keeps getting bailed out by people with actual talent and profiting from their ability. Projects seemingly led by Musk himself have been unimpressive at best, and downright moronic at worst. Wealth is not the scorecard for ability. See Trump, Donald J. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903/440 "2023-11-08T03:12:36Z")
I completely agree with you. But also, he uses a lot of drugs, and i suspect he is objectively dumber than he was ten years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-with-no-business-acumen-get-to-be-the-richest-person-in-the-world/974903.md?page=23)