[asinclair]

In Reno, just about everyone knows that “if you don't bet, you can't win.” That holds for poker; it also holds for a new, innovative business. Both are, excuse the pun, crap shoots. Think Federal Express, which was capitalized at Las Vegas gaming tables; the fledgling company could meet the immediate payroll, and has moved on to become a giant.

When you think large, successful corporations, at their heart are (initially) a small number of people who build something a large number of other people are willing to buy (or in the case of The Facebook and Google, a large number of people supplying eyeballs that can be sold to lots of client companies). Some of those companies are monopolies, others get in before the cost of market entry rises too much.

What is a billionaire? Someone who was either very lucky or very astute in the choice of efforts. Sometimes breaking the law and getting away with it. Sometimes building their pile on the backs of others without paying them much of anything.

[Jamestown1630]

I just wish that, in my neighborhood, FedEx was as good and reliable as UPS...

[DennisR]

It could also be stated that a billionaire is someone who was able to convince a lot of investors that their product is worth investing in. Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, Apple, Costco, the list goes on and on. But for the many winners, there are probably a lot more losers.