I saw parts of an interview where he openly states,in substance, that a Ponzi scheme is a valid investment, the new way of doing things. I was puzzled and took a mental note to check on how he fares I once in a while.
I had no idea the sums involved were this big, and the operation this much amateurish.
I had, once, in a HN comment a couple of months ago. It said that he was lobbying on some political race, which is something he was doing because he believed in "Effective Altruism". This was presented as a good thing, as though billionaires giving money to politicians was a novel idea. I guess this is the type of person who found him worthy of mention.
> how did anyone serious think this guy was brilliant?
He made a lot of money by bucking norms. Hacker news of all places should recognize that people are drawn to those who project an appearance of improbable success through skill despite a lack of underlying competence (see also: Elon Musk)
If his texts are normally similar to this, how did anyone serious think this guy was brilliant?