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by jonathanjaeger 5716 days ago
I think it's a combination of both. Many angels are rich already, but they want to contribute to the ecosystem. They can dabble in many different startups, so it never gets boring and they don't have to sink all their time in with one idea. If they come out making a solid buck (either on par with the stock market or better), then that's all gravy. If they make less than they would have in the stock market, then it comes down to whether they did it for the fun ride. When/if there is a bubble burst, we'll see who gets separated out as the "real" angels.

On a side note, here's a good follow-up by Chris Dixon on Graham's post http://post.ly/15hcU.