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Comment by super256 | Hacker News Reader

I know that the Albrecht brothers (Aldi) were running around without security for decades, Meckerle (Ratiopharm) did so too until his suicide due to the Volkswagen short squeeze and financial crisis, and Dieter Schwarz (Lidl) still does today.

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Albrechts aren't a great example, considering one of them was bloody kidnapped. Although I don't know if the lack of security was before the incident or did they carry on guard-less even after that?

Well, that’s one thing that could happen without security, but imo that doesn’t necessarily make him as bad example.

I remember seeing a DW documentary a couple of years ago about how differently billionaires behave in Germany compared to the US ("The discreet lives of the super rich" was its name apparently). If one accepts the basic premise of the documentary (that the German billionaires avoid flaunting their wealth and strive to maintain privacy), it might explain why billionaires in Germany could live their lives without security while it would be unthinkable for their American counterparts.

Even in America, there are many discreet billionaires that’ll likely not need round-the-clock security.

Bezos, Musk, Gates, and the likes are high profile…but I don’t think anyone will notice if Jeff Yass or Jay Chaudhry walks on the street.

Years ago, I saw one of the household-name tech billionaires on the sidewalk in Cambridge, Mass., with (I think) their spouse, no security in sight.

It's not LA or NYC for celebrity saturation, but a lot of rich & famous people come through Cambridge/Boston (and their kids often go to school here), and nobody cares.

Mick Jagger went to a little bar in Charlotte before he was due to play in 2021 with The Rolling Stones at Bank of America Stadium, and nobody noticed him at all.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/mick...

Here's the link for the interested: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NXaVLXSZdEw

Apparently Steve Jobs had no security, and lived fairly simply:

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-17-la-fi-tn....

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