Apparently, billionaires who made their money by inventing things people want have a tendency to do other cool things that benefit people.

Billionaires who got there by, say, making giant bets with the downside backed by the public purse, tend to be absent from these sorts of ventures.

It's too soon to tell - so far it's all pie in the sky. And a pie in the sky upside is not enough to counterbalance the quite obvious, very real downsides to enormous concentration of wealth in the hands of private individuals.

(My suspicion is that I'm happy with wealth concentrated into the hands of people who agree with me.)

I thought I'd echo your comment here and note that this is the third extraordinary concentration of capital I'm familiar with... a) gates foundation b) the give-my-billions-away-pledge c) this

There is an underlying theme here, that tech/valley-generated wealth is causing a level of change we are only barely beginning to comprehend as the $ are pooled and focused. Now that is exciting. And that will create a brave new world.

But if today's attitudes give us any indication of future behavior, then I think the outcome is sad.

A century from now, those who had the vision, and the willingness to risk so much for something that would benefit all of mankind so much, will be even more fabulously wealthy (if it goes as planned). Yet the masses will be shouting that it's unfair that those few should have such unimaginable wealth, just because they made a lucky bet a few years back.

I picture "Occupy Cape Canaveral" protesters pillorying those who took the risks and made the future possible -- all while those same protesters are wearing platinum jewelry and using electronics that the iridium, rubidium, etc., made possible.