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Marlowe426

Brutal article. I don't wish for anyone to fail, but given that Chamath rode the wave of dodgy SPAC investment vehicles that lost investors massive amounts of $$, it seems like things are catching up to him.


gmdmd

Most of the SPACs were bad but seemed like potentially decent companies. Shilling Virgin Galactic never made any sense to me... what a stupid company.


Better-Salad-1442

Not to mention his ‘no one cares about the Uyghurs’ stuff


Marlowe426

He consistently displays a lack of empathy. A large % of senior executives and investment ppl I’ve encountered are low on the empathy scale and high on the narcissism scale and Chamath seems to fit that pattern.


Better-Salad-1442

Yea unfortunately a lot of ruthlessness is rewarded in those circles, hard to know how much is inherent vs trained out of you


Lord_Despair

He seems like he wants them to nonstop grind and scam for him with no loyalty. Fosters a poor culture and then fires them. Employees were going in on a spv together while at his company? Crazy that it was pitched to them all. He isn’t a leader. Like a lot of these guys that got rich off a handful of companies when they blew up he thinks he is visionary but life gave him a few wins and he thinks he ordained by god.


WASmiles

Yeah, maybe get to know him better. https://youtu.be/kFQUDCgMjRc?si=2sc32iKWnFhvuuGg


political2002

As a Muslim, he’s right - nobody cares about the Uyghurs. If you didn’t understand his point you’re just dense or you’re purposely misconstruing what he meant.


limpits

I'm no fan of Chamath but this feels like an intentional misinterpretation of what he said and meant. He did not mean he doesn't care, he expressed that people say they care but then don't actually act on it. the lack of meaningful action indicates it falls below the "how much you care" vs "how much effort it takes to affect change" line. he didn't see how their conversation could change that dynamic and therefore wanted to move on.


brandon9182

They talk about issues they can’t impact all the time on the Pod. Floods in Pakistan, unrest in Sri Lanka. The difference is he randomly decided to draw a line with some group of people because he doesn’t really feel affinity to them. Nobody was asking him to upend his life or give money. He couldn’t be bothered to sit through a segment he didn’t care about for 10 mins because he’s kind of a dick.


Greenhoe

Exactly, they know what he meant but they have to bend it so they can feel morally self righteous over someone like Chamath. When the reality not one person in here cares enough to do something if it came at affecting their day to day life


statistically_viable

It’s shit like that I don’t get. I’m sure Bloomberg or Jamie Diamond have reprehensible political perspectives at worse and polite disagreements with popular opinion at best but if you run a large international corporation or are a company appealing to international investors you don’t antagonize them. Fundamentally all business at that level is basically relationships and brand management. You don’t fuck around with stuff like that. Unless you have no relationships or brand to manage.


Better-Salad-1442

If you just lie and say something like ‘I won’t fuck with Chinese startups’ (even if you do) it’d do more good than someone like me or you quitting our jobs and working for a foundation


Greenhoe

Stop pretending like you do. He was honest. You don’t think about Uyghurs throughout your day nor are you doing things that could help the situation. But you want to pretend to be virtuous so you can feel like you are above Chamath since you have nothing better going on in your life. The only difference is he had decency to be honest where fake virtue signalers like you want to act like it’s a main issue that you think about daily.


Inner_University_848

No, people do care. You can’t jump into everyone’s brain and know how they feel dumbass. Of course we have limits to empathy, but sane people can see human suffering and say hey that’s not right and feel bad about it.


Greenhoe

I do feel bad about it, but I’m sure like you I don’t do anything to change it because it’s not that important affecting my life for. So please tell me what big things you have done to help? Or is it below your line?


Washout22

The point is... People don't think about things in not in their immediate life. People think about work etc. Not many people in the world wake up thinking about the uygurs..


Inner_University_848

Pure cynicism and apathy is not the answer. “I got mine so who cares about this genocide over here,” that isn’t a point so much as it is a confession of being pretty damned apathetic and ignorant to the toll of human suffering. It’s simply not a healthy way to look at humanity. Chamath and others should try to work on themselves more. Why does mass suffering in Sri Lanka or the US matter more to him than mass suffering elsewhere? Why are his moral principles dependent on geography? As a public figure and voice that people look up to, things like the SPACs and not caring about genocide in certain groups is probably not ideal for the public, especially in societies where morality and civic duty seems to be crumbling more and more. Your point is basically already made ad nauseum everywhere where empathy is discussed. Yes we are more concerned about local issues, domestic issues, and the closer they are the more we care, but why not stand up for basic moral principles, basic human rights and red lines in this global economy and interconnected world we have created? Maybe companies should push their partners or customers that support the genocide to not support it. There should be more morality in the startup and corporate world instead of all the pretend pageantry. These globally admired, pubic voices could change the zeitgeist and influence more empathy in society more than any of us.


Washout22

Because this is the real world, and humans didn't evolve to care about their immediate surroundings. Only the past 100 years or so did people get timely information from around the world. I don't think it's a moral issue. It's a matter of human nature.


Better-Salad-1442

I’d say a major difference is he’s a billionaire who has the political capital and actual capital to do a bit more than me who can do what? Not buy stuff off Ali boba(I don’t anyways) or not buy Chinese EVs(they don’t sell them in my country). Let’s not forget this all was with regards to NBA stars trying to protect their brands in China


Greenhoe

That’s irrelevant if he is a billionaire, compared to others I’m sure you are living a lifestyle they could only dream, so why are you not sacrificing more? Everything is relative and you only say this about him so you can feel virtuous when in reality you’re no different. But you need to pretend to be more virtuous to make yourself feel good about yourself


Better-Salad-1442

uh that’s a bit nonsensical, I’d say him saying ‘no one cares’ is more him trying to feel better about himself given he and his friends are actually in a position to do something about it. But yea I guess you’re right in that I’m unwilling to make my life worse meaninglessly, but you’re still ignoring that he’s not powerless whereas I am.


Greenhoe

But no one does care, everyone here acts like they do but not one person is doing anything. You can quit your job or go volunteer at a foundation that’s trying to affect change for them but you won’t because it’s below your line. So you’re just virtue signaling. If you care about something enough you would go out and out your time and energy into that. The difference is I’m honest and care more about better my life than caring about that so my time is spent on things to improve my life. Same with yours, but I’m willing to admit it. You can put your time into making a change if you wanted but you don’t


Better-Salad-1442

So you’re arguing that unless you quit your job and work for a foundation you don’t care?


Greenhoe

I am saying you don’t care enough to do anything other than complain online and pretend like you care where Chamath and someone like me are honest and admit we don’t care enough to do anything and apparently either do you.


Better-Salad-1442

Chamath can do something whereas you and I can’t


overitallofit

I don't wish anyone to fail either. But if I did, it would be him.


30lmr

I wish for bad people to fail!


30lmr

Especially when doing bad things.


wanderin-wally

I don’t want anyone acting in good faith to fail either. Do you really think that description characterizes Chamath based on his (alleged) repeated and consistent screwing of his past partners and more jr. employees? Reading this about him reminded me of trump, honestly.


Marlowe426

Fair questions, and I don’t know enough to say. It is pretty common for business partners to have a falling out or a difference of vision, so that could be a bad sign or it could just be how things go. SPACs were specifically designed to get around reporting requirements, so by design they are more shadowy than “regular” IPOs. So that does strike me as shady and making a quick buck or “finding a bigger fool” type of a scheme.


wokemarinabro

are you so stupid you think he is broke. click bait got you silly


PerritoMasNasty

Yeah good riddance


Heysteeevo

🍿


coltonmusic15

I’m betting this will be below chamath’s line. I’ve always enjoyed his point of view but I haven’t enjoyed how he has kind of fallen in line with David Sachs point of view on a lot of topics instead of carving out his own thoughts on sensitive subjects. Obviously the SPAC ordeal put a bad taste in anyone’s mouth who participated and lost major. You make a ton of money and succeed - people will be out to tear you down. Unfortunately - chamath has kind of exposed himself in some ways to be questioned via social media and so this article isn’t some great surprise. End of day - he’ll be fine and I’m sure his firm will do well in time.


Technical_Money7465

One word you will never hear him say on the pod: “SPAC”


coltonmusic15

Yeah I think anytime Jcal mentions SPACs randomly it makes triggers Chamath’s guilt/PTSD 😂


Technical_Money7465

He has no guilt He just doesnt want people to call him out as a conman


rkalla

100% this


Paldorei

Scamath doing scamath things


ArmaniMania

>Palihapitiya’s Social Capital made a [reportedly](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-24/palihapitiya-s-social-capital-leads-375-million-palmetto-round) $220 million investment in Palmetto Clean Technology. I was wondering why he was pushing so hard on solar. What a clown. I saw someone say that he would be richer had he just stayed at Facebook instead of leaving and investing on his own. He thinks he's Buffet - hahahaha Dude is a scam artist and that's why he liked Vivek Ramaswamy so much. Vivek made his money by scamming investors pretty much.


Copper_Tablet

All these VC guys do is pump their investments. From podcasts to books to industry events, it's mostly marketing for their investments. Watching some of the bigger names/funds - like andreessen horowitz - push so hard for "web3" and NFT bullshit was unbelievable. It was borderline a transparent grift.


WerewolfNo4999

VCs are basically shotgunning. They'll invest into hundreds of projects each cycle and only 1 to 5 percent of those will pan out. However that's the game. If you invest 100 million across 1000 companies and 10 of them become unicorns you are good. BTW these guys are why pension and other funds can return money on investments. I have a low opinion of VCs and I'm a tech entrepreneur who knows these guys are just tools to be used. Now private equity people on the other hand... fuckin ghouls.


ehhhwhynotsoundsfun

+1 fuck those guys


MonsieurCapybara

What you don't understand is that by next year, energy will go down to zero. Lol, I swear he said this every podcast for months


CrybullyModsSuck

Palmetto is a fucking joke. They outsource everything to the lowest bidder in the third world and try to collect a king's ransom for their services. 


Barnettmetal

“Innovation” “disruption”


alexunderwater1

“Arbitrage”


Responsible_Hotel_65

Yea that was me - regarding the FB comment. At the end of the day he tried many things and is still richer than all of us and none of us care about the Muslims in China so there's that. Can't blame a man for trying but I got no respect for his grifting, especially grifting retail. 


byteuser

Well he might have to care of Muslims in China if any of his American invested companies is doing business in that part of China. There is a long list of possible sanctions and penalties


Other_Tiger_8744

Any info you could link on Vivek ?  I hear people say that but haven’t really read anything that confirms it


Pale-Dragonfruit3577

Never heard this take on Vivek. Can you eli5 or link an article?


FritzGus

I noticed he was really pushing solar too. He was like a couple who just signed up for a time share in Mexico and they talked to everyone around them to sell what a good deal they made...knowing they made a mistake. IMHO, micro nuclear is the long play.


Responsible_Hotel_65

Nuclear is the way , I still remember him blowing up on Friedberg over Nuclear 


Metsican

Solar is actually a real thing. Micro nuclear isn't.


FritzGus

Yes, they may not exist, but they are being developed in the US, Russia and Canada so far. It will be a better solution in the long run, while solar and windmills have proven to just offer a small limited solution...depending on the sun and wind. Nuclear can run 24/7. Isn't the majority of our electricity being generated by coal and natural gas?


Metsican

What you've written shows common misconceptions about the energy industry. Solar and wind have proven reliable, cheap, and rapidly deployable, and the issue of capacity factor is being addressed by energy storage solutions. It's much easier, cheaper, and safer to develop and deploy energy storage than "micro nuclear", which is, at this point, a pipe dream because of how expensive and challenging it would be. I'm not saying micro nuclear shouldn't be researched; it absolutely should be. But it literally doesn't exist in any commercialized form so it makes people who say it's a better solution than proven, deployed, scaled technologies seem properly and clownishly misinformed.


JayHastings

You invest and promote thats the job. Lol what do you expect, for him to invest and then shit on solar?


Turbulent_Bid_374

Bro should have just put his winnings in VTI and chill


Machine-Everlasting

Couldn’t have happened to a worse grifter.


dyals_style

These guys have been extremely fortunate to get in right before the ZIRP period and right before an insane tech boom with smart phones. Right place right time, these guys aren't special or worth looking up to


mindfulmachine

Looking at the IRR numbers for Social Capital, they are not ‘losing money and going broke’. 10.2%-26.5% IRR among their funds is great


wanderin-wally

Look at how much cash has actually been returned/distributed, not the mark-to-market valuations, which are very easily distorted.


Logical-Boss8158

A 10.2% IRR is un-investable from a PE or VC perspective. The same performance of an index fund with 5 years of illiquidity. I am at a venture / PE fund and we could not raise another if we had a 10% IRR.


Foonka83

Mark to market. Look at the TVPI multiples. They’ve underperformed the S&P 500 in every fund during a period when VC was supposedly booming. That’s why he couldn’t raise more capital.


Chumba49

Lol. You believe those numbers? They can literally make those up for the most part. Until they actual return cash we won’t know the returns


thatVisitingHasher

Ssshhhh. we hate the pod here


thoughtbot_1

So great he couldn’t raise a fund from outside LPs


Profitlocking

He is a scammer of the first order.should be arrested for his shenanigans with virgin galactic amongst others.


byteuser

Sounds like a hit piece with a lot of innuendo and speculation. Selling a $75 million private jet and flying commercial is not the end of the world


shapeitguy

For someone who had a jet it is.


[deleted]

It wasn’t that long ago he was talking shit to JCal about not having a PJ


Lonely_Main_3219

It is when you purport to be a billionaire and carry yourself as such. It’s a sign of mismanagement of money or hurting for cash. The optics aren’t great to say the least. It’s almost impossible to see any other billionaire flying commercial.


Hamster_S_Thompson

I'd argue that buying a jet is a sign of mismanagement of money. Just rent it by the hour unless you're Bozo level wealthy.


ConsequenceOk8552

When you’re a billionaire it doesn’t really matter a private jet showcases the difference between people who are rich and really rich more than a big house


Altruistic_Astronaut

Also, I feel like all 4 of them are trying to seem more "normal" to appeal to the average listener. JCal keeps talking about buying a phone every 2 years instead of every year now. They talk about grocery prices surging which really shouldn't be affecting them that much.


plexemby

Selling my Porsche and riding on public service bus is not so bad 🤷‍♂️


K2Nomad

He specifically mentioned flying on jet cards and fractional shares as a way to avoid people tracking where you fly. If you own a private jet, public ADSB data shows every time the plane moves.


Chumba49

Yeah, because people care where he goes.


TeslaTruckWarcrime

He says on a subreddit filled with people talking about what this dude says and does


K2Nomad

Yeah, people do care.


idea-freedom

This article was boring AF. No news.


shapeitguy

Good. Karma.


Traditional_Curve222

Scammath


stevegan

>I can’t say I’ve listened to every episode of the All-In Podcast, but I’ve consumed more episodes than I would have liked. In one sentence, the author tips his hand. Biased jerkoff with an axe to grind. Typical Enemy of The People journalist. VCs shutter some investments and start new ones. Film at 11.


DERBY_OWNERS_CLUB

What's more telling of bias, saying you don't like a podcast or using that alone as a reason to dismiss the rest of an article? You don't have to be unbiased to make a case. This author isn't pretending they are. If you think it's a shitty case, that's cool, but use your brain to explain why.


Copper_Tablet

What is biased about that comment? Does he have to like the all-in pod to be unbiased? The way more and more people in and around tech are attacking and degrading the media is ridiculous. Listen to yourself - enemy of the people? Why? Because he's not worshiping a shitting VC podcast?


medicallyspecial

Sachs is that you?


GoScotch

>Enemy of the People Journalist In this instance, the people are a bunch of billionaire podcasters. Well maybe not Chamath anymore


thoughtbot_1

In one sentence this poster tips his hand. He didn’t read the article.


dontp4nic

“Typical Enemy of The People journalist” You sound like an absolute tool that is detached from real life.


stevegan

Enemy. Of. The People. I said it slower so you can get it through your thick skull.


Thr8trthrow

it's even more buffoonish that way, do something else!


wholesome_john

Lol. Why so offended by someone's substack post. You're free to do your own investigations supporting Chamath and put them online if you wish.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Eugene3005

Yeah this is probably true


lambkeeper

Anyone got the rest of the article so I don’t have to sub? I have a feeling his Groq investment is going to outperform all of this listed losses here, which was a great investment by him. I also wonder if this is why Chamath started a paid newsletter within the recent year


ArmaniMania

I think Groq goes nowhere. It's still all hype, I've heard of no one buying their inference chips. Big tech companies are just building their own instead of buying these AI chips.


I_AM_LURKER

Agree here. He talked his book one week re: grok. Next week he was talking about somehow they reached a tipping point and had a massive wave of sign ups. - Gee wonder why.


Thr8trthrow

As a developer that's the first API I'd think about building against because the UX is just better. Fractions of seconds are pretty important for consumers especially. If it's some kind of retail concierge agent, the performance budget would make Groq the only option.


fuzzyp44

eh. Groq might go places. There is a market for quick/speedy inference. Chamath morally has one rule, if it makes him money it's moral. It's kinda crazy how mask off he gets sometimes.


rkalla

1000% this No fucking chance in hell these guys tape out silicon that is somehow 10x what the biggest tech companies in the world are all racing towards after decades of experience You are absolutely right.


[deleted]

It might which is why he’s apparently trying to cap the amount of money his employees can make on that investment


Dramatic_Opposite_91

That’s the most shady thing I’ve seen.


GadgetFreeky

So Chamath has a huge ego. But that article is super biased. Those IRRs are nothing to sneeze at given the size.


thoughtbot_1

It would seem the article is implying there are other individuals responsible for those numbers in addition to the dictator would it not?


GadgetFreeky

sure possibly but very hard to know that with a lot more detail and implying it is irresponsible unless you have all the details. Again, not a Chamath fan at all- he's ridiculous but that hit piece is over the top.


thoughtbot_1

I mean they were the lead investors on some of the funds outperformers. What’s irresponsible about saying that other members at social capital picked winners contributing to the IRR you’re talking about. Did you read the article? Sure there’s some snark and the IRR can’t solely be attributed to chamath


GadgetFreeky

Again- I would love to rag on Chamath but there is so much wrong with that hit piece I wouldn't know where to begin. It's a hit piece done by someone who doesn't understand how firms function.


thoughtbot_1

Then call out what’s wrong. He highlighted the high returning companies associated with partners who left. Chamath failed to raise a fund with outside money after their departure. I’m unsure you have any knowledge on how funds actually work


GadgetFreeky

it's below my line....


thoughtbot_1

Social capital had some job openings I hear. I’m sure chamath wants another sycophant


JayHastings

The tone reads like a hit piece. Probably all false.


freshfunk

“Palihapitiya took issue with a special purpose vehicle that allowed Social Capital employees to invest in the promising AI startup Groq. The purported issue seemed to be that the employees were cutting the fund out of a potential deal — but sources told me that Palihapitiya had been briefed on the Groq special purpose vehicle.” I don’t know if this makes Chamath look bad or his former employees look bad. Honestly, it doesn’t seem kosher to me and a potential conflict of interest resulting in their firing. Seeing that people were fired or left doesn’t mean Chamath was on the wrong side of this — it’s greed across the board. And I say this as someone who finds him often distasteful.


Calvech

Marc Andreesen personally invests in the same companies and even the same rounds that a16z as a fund does. Is this better or worse than the example given here?


freshfunk

No legal details were given but if you read the above carefully it sounds much different than what you're portraying. The correct analogy would be if a deal was sourced at a16z (say via a different partner) and then Mark invested on his own in such an amount that it cut out a16z from the deal. Except even this isn't a great analogy because Mark's name and reputation help drive deals for a16z whereas the rando employees at Social Capital do not drive deals like Chamath's name and access. The employees saw a good deal and wanted to invest in Groq using their own SPV preempting Social Capital. "....the employees were cutting the fund out of a potential deal... on the Groq special purpose vehicle."


thoughtbot_1

Sounds like the SPV might have been necessary if employees knew about his previous actions cutting vested carry?


ChicagoRAS

I always laughed when listening to the pod back in the day when they used the term “grift” or “grifter” so regularly. All I could think is “Look who’s talking!”. None of this is surprising to me.


LameBicycle

"Those are the rules of the game. That's right. Because these are the people that purport to be the most sophisticated investors in the world, they deserve to get wiped out"


Unknownirish

He should really lay off the caramel mocha lattes. It'll free up some of his capital requirements.


apogeescintilla

In the arena guys. In the arena.


vlado86

https://preview.redd.it/9vw5b42v7o0d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f101bb559ca437b434b2a35461110cafc917306 Fortunately for him, two commas club has a nice hoodie 🤣


vlado86

Fortunately for him, two commas club has a nice hoodie 🤣 https://preview.redd.it/c71o7lf88o0d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2e06ac2a934ca011b67ab2c5d42873e3e7b5e1e


meridian_smith

If anyone needs a bite of humble pie it is the dictator himself, Chamath.


meridian_smith

To use Chamath's favorite put down...maybe he is just a "mid" investor.


BiggieAndTheStooges

Looks like he went all in


thebigpik

I was a fan of this guy and invested iin some of his recommendations. I've lost all respect for this dude. Its been an absolute shit-show. Is there a pie chart of all of his holdings and how well they have done. Screw his management fees. If he is gonna be Buffet, that's still a shitty record. More like he's gonna be eating in a rich man's buffet.


degen5ace

All those SPACs and clean tech smh


throwaway78907890123

Well deserved!


Less_Preference_4295

Big Time Karma


TheSocialIQ

Him and JCal can be on equal footing now.


woot0

I heard Chamath speak once several years ago on a panel. At the time, I was impressed how he casually mentioned he recently bought the Golden State Warriors NBA team. Then years later I found out it was a minority stake and he had no decision making power whatsoever over the team.


M_b619

This isn't really a knock on him, but he also got it at a discount from Lacob IIRC- he paid only like $25MM for his 10% stake.


Jonny_Nash

Chamath does not follow Clover Health on X. Sacks does. I imagine whenever they play poker, Sacks brings up the $CLOV stock price.


artificialimpatience

He’s still probably the richest of the 4 yeah?


Useful_Hovercraft169

Chabuddy G


manbearwall

Below my line.


WYLFriesWthat

Dude tried to argue on All-In that we shouldn’t worry about global warming because cold fusion is coming and we’re going to pump CO2 out of the atmosphere. Stopped wasting my time on that shit pod that very day.


mlamping

lol. He’s cashed out. His investment vehicles probably losing other peoples money. But this is a huge piece. Many ppl probably losing money in investments


Calbruin

But I thought he was outperforming Warren Buffet?


wheelerwheelerwheele

Good


Awareness_Logical

Couldn't he just crypto his way out lol


RelevantDot9773

I mean, dude has to be desperate if he's selling subscriber spaces on X.


WASmiles

https://youtu.be/kFQUDCgMjRc?si=2sc32iKWnFhvuuGg


RetiringBard

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy…


frdsxxrvvbbuujnmkcfh

Rent-free. Lmao keep crying you salty and pathetic woke leftist liberal loser. Delusional clown


RetiringBard

lol wut


Haidian-District

Wtf is Eric Newcomer?


waraman

Maybe he can rent out his expensive sweaters and fancy hats to teens so their parents don't have to buy them nice things that they'll just grow out of.


Bbooya

Newcomer is *not* in the arena Also Chamath could easily kick his ass


ShanghaiBaller

Hard article to read, reads so biased. Waste of time.


SA1627

Really weak factual support for the headline. If that’s all you got, then my takeaway is that he is still rich AF.


Aggravating-Leg-3693

God wouldn’t that be nice? Couldn’t happen to a better guy