> Koum’s decision may be made easier thanks to the $10.4 billion fortune he’s already accrued, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s already sold $8 billion worth of Facebook stock since 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
What's the point of FU money if you never say FU? Good for him.
On the other hand: if he could hold his nose and hang on for another 7 months, he'd make $1B, which, if he donated to a cause, could really change things.
Lots of successful exits recently, many new millionaires and billionaires. Not a lot of causes changing things, at least not that I've been seeing.
I did see a homeless encampment get bulldozed the other day. The day before that I watched a Vietnam Vet take a dump on the sidewalk, we made awkward eye contact.
Not sure where all those billions are going but the "cause" does not seem to be moving forward.
> I did see a homeless encampment get bulldozed the other day. The day before that I watched a Vietnam Vet take a dump on the sidewalk, we made awkward eye contact.
Dude what state do you live in? I must live in a bubble over here...
I'm not criticizing charity I'm criticizing tech millionaires. The world is coming unglued and they seem to care very little about the "scum" around them who make less than six figures.
It might be question of opportunity costs for him. Maybe he has some project or idea that he wants to realise. Seven months can be a long time in the tech industry.
By that fucked up logic, everything anyone might ever want for themselves is rationalized away by a bunch of selfish dicks posting on the Internet telling people what they should do instead of a self actually doing anything for themselves.
Facebook themselves could also "donate" this money, but they aren't because it's some made up bullshit you are seeing in your head, not reality.
> The stock vests in increments until late 2018, with 1.9 million shares due to vest in mid-May and mid-August, plus a final tranche of 2.1 million set to be issued in November.
The guy could have collected $336M, if he had just stayed for 2 more weeks. If it were me, I would have just grinded out those 2 weeks, and given the extra $300M to my favorite charity. I guess he must have really hated being at FB...
It's highly likely his choice was more complicated than that. His net worth is $10B, so $300M isn't exactly pocket change, but it's possible by exiting now he got to make a statement and disavow involvement in future decisions.
Is it possible this is his way of indicating a clear canary event?
Staying longer also has opportunity costs. The article says he will take "some time off to do things I enjoy", but perhaps one of the things he enjoys is a new $10B startup.
> The guy could have collected $336M, if he had just stayed for 2 more weeks. If it were me, I would have just grinded out those 2 weeks, and given the extra $300M to my favorite charity. I guess he must have really hated being at FB...
He he could've given an even larger donation to Signal than his co-founder did.
Jan Koum [verified checkmark] is [sad face emoji] feeling emotional.
April 30 at 2:08pm [globe indicating shared with public]
It's been almost a decade since Brian and I started WhatsApp, and it's been an amazing journey with some of the best people. But it is time for me to move on. I've been blessed to work with such an incredibly small team and see how a crazy amount of focus can produce an app used by so many people all over the world.
I'm leaving at a time when people are using WhatsApp in more ways than I could have imagined. The team is stronger than ever and it'll continue to do amazing things. I'm taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology, such as collecting rare air-cooled Porsches, working on my cars and playing ultimate frisbee. And I'll still be cheering WhatsApp on – just from the outside. Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible.
>The Washington Post reported earlier that Koum is exiting the company after clashing with Facebook over strategy
I think it's a very important point to make that a large part of the strategy that was being debated was weakening the encryption. [0]
At least as far as I'm concerned, that is one of the more important parts of the story that I don't feel is being discussed enough, or in cases of articles like this, entirely glossed over.
There is a difference between buying a small island for fun and buying a small island and building your own fully staffed pleasure paradise with an airport. My imagination has no limit on how to use infinite ever increasing amounts of money.
I sometimes wonder what motivates obscenely rich people to continue working, particularly when that work is as controversial as Facebook. The values of these people are clearly different from mine. In Koum's shoes I'd probably make the same decision, he doesn't need to work another day in his life if he doesn't want to so he has no excuse to violate his personal beliefs.
32 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 84.3 ms ] threadWhat's the point of FU money if you never say FU? Good for him.
I did see a homeless encampment get bulldozed the other day. The day before that I watched a Vietnam Vet take a dump on the sidewalk, we made awkward eye contact.
Not sure where all those billions are going but the "cause" does not seem to be moving forward.
> "It's more expensive to sustain poverty than it is to eradicate it"
When is enough, enough? Do you really need that other billion when you already have a few? Giving money to the poor works: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/06/utopia...
Dude what state do you live in? I must live in a bubble over here...
Facebook themselves could also "donate" this money, but they aren't because it's some made up bullshit you are seeing in your head, not reality.
The guy could have collected $336M, if he had just stayed for 2 more weeks. If it were me, I would have just grinded out those 2 weeks, and given the extra $300M to my favorite charity. I guess he must have really hated being at FB...
Is it possible this is his way of indicating a clear canary event?
He he could've given an even larger donation to Signal than his co-founder did.
Jan Koum [verified checkmark] is [sad face emoji] feeling emotional.
April 30 at 2:08pm [globe indicating shared with public]
It's been almost a decade since Brian and I started WhatsApp, and it's been an amazing journey with some of the best people. But it is time for me to move on. I've been blessed to work with such an incredibly small team and see how a crazy amount of focus can produce an app used by so many people all over the world.
I'm leaving at a time when people are using WhatsApp in more ways than I could have imagined. The team is stronger than ever and it'll continue to do amazing things. I'm taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology, such as collecting rare air-cooled Porsches, working on my cars and playing ultimate frisbee. And I'll still be cheering WhatsApp on – just from the outside. Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible.
I think it's a very important point to make that a large part of the strategy that was being debated was weakening the encryption. [0]
At least as far as I'm concerned, that is one of the more important parts of the story that I don't feel is being discussed enough, or in cases of articles like this, entirely glossed over.
[0] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/04/hours...