American historian and biographer.
Pulitzer Prize for History for "Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America"
Pulitzer Prize for Biography & National Book Award for Nonfiction for "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt”
T.J. Stiles
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The problem is that if Musk's fortune is overvalued, the effects could be widespread if the price of SpaceX shares collapses. The company is so huge in value, so widely held, the entire financial system will suffer a shock if it turns out to be a balloon of hopes and FOMO, not real profitability.
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T.J. Stiles
Out: Canadians
In: Targaryens
In the 19th c., people feared gouging in order to pay dividends on "excess" stock. Today it's different. Musk's trillion is pumped up by FOMO plus some legit anticipation of future profitability. *Future.* No profit for now. His fortune is a mirage that may or may not reflect reality in time...
The whole thing is so absurd, since “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center” implied that Trump was dead.
I keep seeing mentions of Theodore Roosevelt in reference to the cage fight on the White House lawn. Pay attention:
TR *himself* boxed and practiced martial arts in the White House. He never staged blood sports, let alone at the White House. He believed in exercise, self-development, self-defense.
As I explain, the 19th c. idea of stock was
1) it represents concrete stuff
2) it pays dividends.
Musk doesn't have a trillion in cash. His holdings are valued at that level by the hopes of market participants. The old idea didn't account for intangibles, but it demanded profits. Not all bad...
Our ancestors had a concrete economic mindset, but it was hardly foolish. It reflected the economy of the time. And it imposed limits on personal wealth and corporate size. Those limits were broken—and with them the discipline of profit (represented by demand for dividends)....
