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Comment by firefoxd | Hacker News Reader

At an investor event, a desperate journalist was running around the room asking people their age. He ended up at our table, with a drink in hand, and a defeated look on his face. He had given up.

We talked a bit, and he asked me, "are you under 30?" I answered "No. But this guy is." I pointed at the 28 year old cofounder of the start up I was part off. Before the evening was over, my colleague made it to the list of forbes 30 under 30.

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Being on the 30 under 30 list only means you are more likely to scam people out of money than make it:

> The Forbes 30 Under 30 have collectively raised $5.3B in funding. They’ve also been arrested for frauds and scams worth over $18.5B. Incredible track record.

Some of the more notable: Martin Shkreli, Elizabeth Holmes, Charlie Javice, SBF, Caroline Ellison, Nate Paul.

Fun fact, filter for Stanford in those numbers and the disparity grows starker still.

The people I know who made the 30 under 30 list approached it like a massive campaign they had to win. It was a full-court press to get in front of the right people and their startup's PR releases were all timed to impress for the 30 under 30 during that period.

Maybe times changed since it became more of a running joke. At one point it was a selling point for fundraising that people would compete hard over.

Every person I personally know on this list made it their life mission to be on the list. It was lost on them that the whole thing has become a running joke that everyone else thinks is just full of grifters.

The one person I know who made that list drunkenly confessed to doctoring his high school transcripts to get into college.

Do you know the journalist's name? I'd love to be part of Forbes' 10 billion under 10 billion.

The Onion had a listicle entitled "80 Under 80 -- and five 79-year-olds to watch out for." Once again they nailed the inherent vacuousness of modern news.

The forbes 30 under 30 to prison pipeline needs to be studied.

I'm thinking a "Wharton <-> Prison <-> 30 Under 30" Venn diagram would have a decent sized center.

Stanford actually, but yeah.

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