this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2024
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"he wasn't actually paid in money. it was just the value of the gold bullion he received".
Is that better somehow? I never understood this logic. Money itself is existentially just paper with no value until you spend it on something, and its value also rises and falls based on other factors. It's basically stock in the US economy.
Why is it not okay to give someone one kind of paper but not another?
Because those stock grants are conditional on a lot of things. It's not money yet, it's potential money if certain things happen. Yes, those things are likely easily achievable - they either unlock over time, or on the IPO, as long as he is still with the company. But until they vest, they don't fully exist yet.
FWIW, when they do vest the IRS will consider the value of the stock on that day as income. They don't mess around with that shit. Even if he decides to hold the shares, he will still need to pay taxes on them based on their value on the day of vesting, but not before. He has people to advise him on what is best to increase his treasure horde, though.
Are you asking why stock of a single company is different from "stock" of the richest country and only superpower on earth?
Also, money is liquid, can be spent immediately. Stock is not liquid, it has to be traded, vested, etc. and given enough stock will tank yje value if too much of it is liquified at once.
Yeah, they don't sell it or trade it usually, they use it as collateral for loans in cash.
That much stock is not easy to sell, he'd tank the value of the entire company and never retain anywhere near 193M. You could sell that much gold.
Money is not wealth. That's a very big difference.