There was a fascinating Bloomberg column in August of last year, looking at the question of Why Jeff Bezos Grinds Trump’s Gears.
Virginia Postrel astutely notes the basis of the animus between POTUS and Amazon’s founder. It is about a whole lot more than the Bezos-owned Washington Post. (Note that everything that follows is more or less lifted wholesale from that piece; just assume its all in quotes).
The key element Postrel points to: Trump’s image of alpha male is based on a lot of falsehoods: The comparisons are not very favorable:
He inherited his wealth, did not much with it, has had ongoing family issues with affairs and divorces, was not very respected by the elite, either Manhattan Real Estate or Wall Street or Media or Academia or whoever.
On the other hand, Bezos is a far more admired. He is not only the world’s wealthiest person, a self-made member of the tres-commas club, and a far more influential and successful businessman than Trump ever was.
Bezos is the opposite of Trump in nearly every dimension; he is the Anti-Trump.
In Trumpworld, intimidation, not value-creation, is what business is all about. Bezos has created massive value for his shareholders.
Bezos has a sense of humor, laughs at his own expense. Trump is humorless.
Bezos speaks clearly and has amazing message discipline; Trump’s disjointed ramblings have led to question of cognitive decline, and actual medical tests.
Trump grew up rich, went to private schools, and had an undistinguished college career. Bezos grew up middle-class, went to public schools, and knocked the top out of Princeton, graduating with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa in electrical engineering and computer science.
One had a rich father; the other has brains.
And then there are their families. Bezos is famously close to his. “They are such a normal, close-knit family, it’s almost abnormal”
Here is the thing: Trump has been going after Amazon, making numerous false claims about what they pay in taxes, and other related nonsense.
My question to you as investors, consumers and voters: If you had to pick either Bezos or Trump for any reason you could possibly imagine, which one would you select?
I know who I would select . . .
Source:
The Real Reason Jeff Bezos Grinds Trump’s Gears
He’s the opposite of Trump in nearly every dimension
Virginia Postrel
Bloomberg, August 18, 2017
See also:
See also Trump hates Amazon, not Facebook (Axios, March 28, 2018)
