[ink_13]

Lutke's not a hero, he's a mini-Zuckerberg: he still runs the company he founded as CEO, but he has already made more than enough money to comfortably retire. Also like Zuckerberg, his company might be better off without him at this point, since being practically unaffected by success or failure makes continuing as CEO something of a vanity project.

[idopmstuff]

Virtually anybody else who they'd hire as a CEO would also have more than enough money to comfortably retire. Lutke has more reputation/passion/history/identity tied up in the company than anyone else would - where money isn't a driving factor, deep connection to the thing you're working on is probably the most important motivation.

[ink_13]

Lutke and Zuckerberg are billionaires. It is literally impossible for them to run out of money. Their grandchildren's grandchildren will be born incomprehensibly wealthy. They have won at capitalism.

But they also captain their first large enterprises: do they know what they're doing? Can they transition these firms into businesses that will endure? Or will they capriciously chase shiny objects while they waste the trust and goodwill of investors, the people who work there now, and the people who will want to work there in the future? They might have seeded the garden, but it took thousands of smart people to build it up, and it takes a constant supply to maintain it.

A new CEO will probably be rich, sure, but not "endow a historical dynasty" rich, and might know how to take a successful company and reposition it for the long term. Maybe the younger guys can do it. But it would just be for vanity at this point.

[pcthrowaway]

> It is literally impossible for them to run out of money

Musk has reminded me that even billionaires are one accidentally legally binding agreement away from pissing away $40B

[ink_13]

But he's still a billionaire!

There is no tangible difference between being worth $1B and $100B beyond social cachet. It is impossible to spend meaningful money at that level.

[pcthrowaway]

Sure, but if a billionaire can piss away 40B during an ego trip (which I imagine billionaires are susceptible to), most billionaires would no longer be solvent after making such a mistake