Uh, we can know exactly how many early mined bitcoins are being kept and how many aren't; it's a matter of downloading the public transaction block and following them. You don't need to "hope" it's not true.
And in either case, I don't see what's the problem with that. People don't refuse to invest in Google just because the founders control the majority of stock votes. As long as one benefits from using Bitcoin, why should we care?
It is not possible that we can know to whom they once belonged nor to whom they currently belong.
"And in either case ..." We are now several levels deep in this thread. Even if I agree with your point - and I do - the point is almost entirely lost already. Most would have stopped reading at the grandparent of my first post. Notwithstanding the special case of the hackernews domain. In the wider world, just a little shit that sticks - smells. So how do we manage the perception - not just the fact - of this problem? Because it WILL be necessary if bitcoin is to flourish.
And in either case, I don't see what's the problem with that. People don't refuse to invest in Google just because the founders control the majority of stock votes. As long as one benefits from using Bitcoin, why should we care?