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Crowdfunding: Where are the billionaires?
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Mr.Everwood
will see you now ;)
I recently helped fund the horror-game Agony on Kickstarter. It's a game I'm really, really, really looking forward to play. I'm so glad it has been successfully funded, and I'm hoping that it will achieve as many stretch goals as possible. The ultimate stretch goal is at 666 666 dollars, but considering that it only required 66 666 dollars to be successfully funded, chances are low it will reach it (and yes, in case you figured it out, the game takes place in hell).
The other day a thought occurred to me: Imagine if I was a billionaire, and was very excited to see this game reach all its stretch goals, I could make it happen in the blink of an eye. All I have to do is invest a tiny fraction of what I own, less than one million of all the thousands of millions in my bank account. That would be wonderful, for me, the fans, and the people working on it, right?
This got me thinking: has it ever happened that a billionaire has single-handedly funded a small crowdfunding campaign? If not, then why? Are their bank accounts and the way they use them different from ours? Do they just not care? Are there too few billionaires in the world to bother with a campaign that only requires a few hundred-thousand dollars? I find it hard to believe that no billionaire in the world would share the interests of someone in the middle-class, like a very promising horror-game. And if they have the power to easily make such projects a reality, with the best possible outcome for themselves and everyone else involved, why wouldn't they use it?
I'm not that well-versed in the everyday life on billionaires, so I wouldn't know if it's just a coincidence or something else that prevents Agony from reaching 666 666 dollars in this very moment. But is there anyone else who could give a bit more insight?
Where are the billionaires?
The other day a thought occurred to me: Imagine if I was a billionaire, and was very excited to see this game reach all its stretch goals, I could make it happen in the blink of an eye. All I have to do is invest a tiny fraction of what I own, less than one million of all the thousands of millions in my bank account. That would be wonderful, for me, the fans, and the people working on it, right?
This got me thinking: has it ever happened that a billionaire has single-handedly funded a small crowdfunding campaign? If not, then why? Are their bank accounts and the way they use them different from ours? Do they just not care? Are there too few billionaires in the world to bother with a campaign that only requires a few hundred-thousand dollars? I find it hard to believe that no billionaire in the world would share the interests of someone in the middle-class, like a very promising horror-game. And if they have the power to easily make such projects a reality, with the best possible outcome for themselves and everyone else involved, why wouldn't they use it?
I'm not that well-versed in the everyday life on billionaires, so I wouldn't know if it's just a coincidence or something else that prevents Agony from reaching 666 666 dollars in this very moment. But is there anyone else who could give a bit more insight?
Where are the billionaires?
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Billionaires have their own "kickstarters" that they develop. They put their money into far larger projects and make safer, more profitable investments than Joe Smith's idea he came up with in his mother's basement. When you command that kind of money you can literally change the world. Look at what Elon Musk is doing. That guy is singlehandedly pushing a lot of different ideas that could potentially launch us into a new era. I think most self made billionaires are big picture people who just don't really have the time or interest in our everyday hobbies.
