Strange to group those two into a cautionary statement. Bill seems very happy and seems intent on leaving the world much better than he found it by spending his vast riches, while Elon Musk is Elon Musk.
Can we agree that say, at least half the people who strongly dislike one of them probably admires the other to some extent? I know marxists would hate both just on the grounds they're wealthy, but everyone else, I'd argue, probably respects one or the other, likely depending on one's own politics.
It's easy to hate Musk lately, and I haven't forgotten when Gates was a ruthless monopolist who made "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish" Microsoft's unofficial motto. Gates has made a show of philanthropy, yet he's wealthier than ever. Both men associated with Epstein after his release from prison. I respect both of them in the same way I respect pitbulls.
I dislike them both, but for different reasons. I dislike Gates for the serious damage he did to the software industry, and I dislike Musk because I think he's a con artist.
But my dislike for both of them has nothing to do with politics or their wealth.
I admire both Elon and Bill. They are both geniuses in their own respects. Elon is more anti-social, but probably because Bill had a much comfortable childhood.
I'm probably one of the five people on this earth who gets Elon (not in a way his fanbois do).
Let me point out the negatives of Elon
i) He is a bull-shitter. He has no clue about a lot of things, yet he has plenty of hubris.
ii) He is mis-trusting of people (this always comes from upbringing and environment. If people constantly misplace your trust growing up, your default is to mistrust people). I can understand why you wouldn't want to work under Elon. That's a perfectly valid reason
What makes Elon different, and which a lot of people don't get about him (including his fanbois)?
i) He is a true Engineer in the sense, even if he starts with bullshit and hubris, he is a quick learner. He breaks things to learn from first principles (Things he has repeatedly demonstrated everywhere). Media/HN focus on him breaking things, but that's what how everyone learns about complex systems.
People don't appreciate how quickly he went from from 'Alien Dreadnought' to 'Tent in a backyard' and then back to AI Automation at Tesla.
ii) Bias for action with the right amount of risks. Some people have bias for action, some people take risks and some are constant learners. But, I have never seen anyone combine all three like Elon. He is successful not because of his knowledge, but his willingness to take risks despite massive adversity and guaranteed mock by media.
iii) He is narcisstic, but not like Trump. He has several times shown self-deprecating humor and acknowledged his mistakes (and quickly learns from them).
Gates, during his quest for money was a ruthless business man who squashed nearly every business that stood in his way for more money and more dominance for the company he ran.
Musk is very much the same in his destruction of things that stand in the way of him and more money. His attitude isn't the ruthless businessman but rather the unrepentant troll - but his approaches to prevent the funding of things that stand in his way of Tesla ascendant (you get things like https://jalopnik.com/did-musk-propose-hyperloop-to-stop-cali... ).
Gates is largely over his quest for money and now more concerned with legacy, but that doesn't erase his history. Musk is still very much enmeshed in his quest for money.
I believe that Sam Altman doesn't want to have that be part of his goals and with the resources that he already has can fairly comfortably work on what he feels is meaningful now rather than waiting 30 years until he retires.
