If his 'outsiderness' is so irritating and alarming that's just nicely dressed up xenophobia.
And from what I've seen of it SiliconValley is not much prone to that. So why is it different with Milner?
And from what I've seen of it SiliconValley is not much prone to that. So why is it different with Milner?
It's probably going to be hard to get a bead on Usmanov. He's a CIS state extractive industry billionaire with close ties to Gazprom, itself an instrument of the security state. That's unsettling. But then, it creates a huge incentive for people to villify him.
So morally the situation is not as simple as your comment implies.
Makes all you VCs and Angels in the Valley seem like dogs fighting over a doggie biscuit -- or in this case, the looted flesh and bones of the Russian people.
I greatly respect and admire you pg, and god knows you're far more intelligent than I am, but surely you can't be so naive as to think that Milner is doing what he is doing out of some altruism for founders?
He is spending outlandish amounts on startups for the same reason Abramovich spends hundreds of millions on yachts, why the Sultan of Brunei spends millions on cars, and why the Saudi princes spend millions on trips to the Riviera. Because he never worked hard for the money, and so he doesn't care about throwing it around.
When a man works hard, he is loathe to spend it carelessly, because he knows the sacrifice in time and effort it took to acquire the money. In the words of the great Milton Friedman: "Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own". This applies not only to government officials but to the criminal element as well, from hoodlums to ponzi schemers and everything in between.
People like Milner and others associated with Russian oligarchs spend lavishly because the money they have came with no sacrifice on their part. The sacrifice came from all those miners working in subzero temperatures in the Kazakh steppe for kopeks a day, their bodies broken down prematurely, with the share of wealth that was promised to them stolen away. And instead of those who betrayed them being brought to justice, they instead depart to the West where they are greeted with applause by those who mistake cunningness with intelligence.
I don't know Yuri - you do.
He may as well be the only honest Russian oligarch (or a front for the only honest Russian oligarch).
But what GP posted is the state of affairs everywhere in eastern block and by far the norm.
Thus you must understand if people think less of you because of your associates. It is an prejudice but a well founded one.
In the end it won't matter anyway. But this is the way things work. I believe I read somewhere that yourself are of Russian ancestry? If so I believe you should be familiar with long tradition of tyranny of the few in Russia.
Pg it~s time yo returm the $$$$ back you sold you sole and sold out Nuff Said
pg didn't say or imply that. If you read what he's written about investing (e.g., http://paulgraham.com/future.html, http://paulgraham.com/control.html), you'll see there's a much simpler explanation: pg thinks being founder-friendly is a good (i.e., profitable) investment strategy.
(In this particular case it an investment strategy, so your theory doesn't apply either).
Much of the authenticity that comes through in your essays is based on being truly committed to the things you talk about. They are often controversial and authoritative (in a good way), but the possible discrepancy between what you say and what you do could easily undermine that authenticity.
Saying that other VCs do not care where their money comes from, does not make sense here. They are not judged as authorities on topics you write about.
Do you disagree with any of these points?
- You can use the profits from investing tainted money for further investments, but the money still stinks.
- The money that came from DST's partners is tainted.
After finding out more about Milner, I am now more convinced that he is not at all the "robber baron" Al Capone type, but a genuine businessman who is both lucky and smart.
Wrote this just to explain the possible reasons behind the initial worry, being myself from the former USSR. I think this also explains why Milner cares about establishing a reputation in the Silicon Valley as opposed to being completely aloof to what other people think.
Al Capone wasn't a robber baron. He was a criminal entrepreneur. The robber barons have universities, foundations, and financial institutions named after them. The distinction between mobsters and robber barons is germane.
Why is picking correct friends wrong all of a sudden?
> buying all the television stations
Surely you mean buying television stations from one of the most vile and controlling governments in the history of the world.
And yes, when the TV stations are bought by companies that are effectively instruments of the state: that's a bad thing. The ruling party shouldn't buy TV stations.
Your beef isn't with me, though. Re-read this thread. I'm hardly the most cynical person here. I can sum my take on it up this way: I'd like to believe I wouldn't accept Milner money, even if I needed it; at the same time, people I consider friends have accepted it, and I don't think less of them for it.
As you can probably tell, I have little patience for mediocrity and "beta" strategies.
Reaching for power with integrity has its own set of rewards. Credibility for one.
People with attitudes like yours are destined to be used and discarded. Because a man of true power knows not to trust such and also knows that using the same standards on people that they use themselves is not amoral.
Superficial achievements are worthless to me. Therefore I believe that only integrity, wit, boldness and favor of Fortune will breed true glory.
I suspect that the influence of growing up surrounded by cultured Russians, as few of them as they were in Soviet Times is why he always stands a little bit disconnected from the crowd.
The air of Russian culture is gentle but always restless.
Russia is a land of big crowds but the intelligent among that people always desire to be a little bit aloof, if not in solitude.
As for his character, I don't think he is picked on anymore than Donald Trump. I reserve the right to make jokes about both of them.