

Minecraft Billionaire Markus Persson Hates Being a Billionaire - syldor
http://recode.net/2015/08/29/minecraft-billionaire-markus-persson-hates-being-a-billionaire/

======
dang
There have been numerous threads about this in the last few days, including
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10139734](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10139734)
and
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10144309](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10144309).

The Schadenfreude in many of the comments is vicious. Those of you posting
those ought to reflect on why you do that.

Beyond that, it's wrong for us to be conducting message board threads about
the happiness and mental health of a human being. It's off-topic for HN in any
case, because it's garden-variety celebrity gossip. But it's also wrong, and I
wish I'd realized this earlier.

It's time this stopped. Since more of these threads are sure to be posted,
please flag them if you see them before we do.

~~~
andrewstuart
I thought you guys manually chose what went on the front page? Or is it an
algorithm?

~~~
dang
It's an algorithm, of course, but humans make moderation decisions too.

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andrewstuart
I got the impression from the article that Markus is looking to the money and
saying "money, are you making me happy?". He is spending it partying and
dancing and doing gods knows what in Ibiza. He appears to not find happiness
in that either.

For me I find happiness in having a small number of true friends, trying to
have the best family relationships I can, trying to be as fit as I can be,
being a good father, doing computer programming which I love, and pursuing my
other interests like kickboxing and going to movies. It's not a billionaire
lifestyle, and I'm very, very far from rich. Even if I had money though I
wouldn't pursue much else for happiness except maybe some travel too.

I wonder if Markus might find happiness not in billions and the associated
lifestyle but by finding happiness in the very ordinary.

Someone wise once said to me "You'll only become happy when you truly accept
your mediocrity.". I think that's especially true for people who think they
are not mediocre for some reason.

When he is not happy, he appears to blame the money.

~~~
forrestthewoods
A common refrain of the rich, and especially the newly rich, is difficulty in
cultivating such "true friendships". This is especially true when it comes to
romantic relationships. The impossible to know if someone like you for who you
are or for the money you have.

------
sosuke
I vow that when I do become a billionaire I won't do that.

Happiness is relative, yes I understand that logically, but you just won't be
able to illicit empathy from others for the pain of having too much money.

His last tweet has it right, the guilt will pass, just relax, go somewhere no
one knows you and disconnect for a while. Hell, you're in the billionaire
club, go ask Musk how he handled it. He handles it by taking on larger
problems I imagine.

~~~
andrewstuart
>>when I do become a billionaire

I like your confidence! Are you actually doing anything to make that happen?

~~~
sosuke
Yes, but my goals are more modest for the near term. I have a better chance of
pulling of a "life style business" in the 6-8 digit yearly revenue which is
what I'm working on now. Small team, unsexy and reliable market.

The billions come into play after that, when I start investing into
infrastructure and community services. I figure I could hit that mark in 30
years, well probably a lot less considering inflation, but then we'll all want
to be trillionaires.

------
skore
Notch makes a bunch of early-morning tweets, these get dissected in the press
with sentences ending in ", no really" and explanations of how much the
toilets in his new mansion cost. And now the comments (even in here) mock him.

He has a history of mood issues and blogged about how his father killed
himself due to depression. [0]

He is a human being in trouble.

You can do better, HN.

[0] [http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/13/3763968/notch-father-
minec...](http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/13/3763968/notch-father-minecraft)

~~~
sosuke
He is in emotional distress and anyone who wants to be helpful should suggest
he not turn to Twitter for support. Anywhere but Twitter in fact. There are
specializations psychologists go into helping people deal with the problems he
is facing.

~~~
skore
Of course. To always turn megaspotlights on him every time he decides to
utter... anything, really, publicly isn't helping either, though.

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orthoganol
At least he's not deluding himself that he's not still a regular human being.
I prefer a super rich guy trying to identify as a regular person, even if
cringey, than a rich guy who's suddenly convinced himself that he's special
and gets to live in a different world just because he made money.

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peteretep
Until he figures out what he wants, the money is going to be a distraction
rather than helpful. If I had that much money, and was finding life tricky,
I'd start with a call to Tony Robbins...

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arithma
From all the stuff I've read about and from Persson, it looks like he has an
inclination to depression. Billions of dollars are not a known effective anti-
depressant.

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jamesrom
He and everyone here knows what he needs to do.

He just needs to do it.

Create.

~~~
pyrophane
Your comment seems little different to me then telling someone who is
depressed that they just need to "get over it." I don't think it is at all
that simple.

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thesis
Oh poor him. There's a rather easy fix for this if he chooses.

~~~
onedev
and what would that be? I feel like people here are trivializing his situation
without really trying to understand it.

~~~
peteretep
Buy an annuity that pays out $1m a year, and donate the rest to the Gates
Foundation.

Was that so hard?

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everyone
Seems illogical. Why did he buy a super-mansion in LA and go partying in
Ibiza? Did he really want those things? If I got billions I would set up an
enclave to withstand future societal collapse, like somewhere in Siberia.

~~~
sosuke
You would be the uber doomsday prepper!

