Here's a poetic eulogy written by Kurt Vonnegut for his friend Joe Heller. (HN messes up formatting, but it reads well as prose)

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JOE HELLER

True story, Word of Honor: Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer now dead, and I were at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island.

I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel ‘Catch-22’ has earned in its entire history?” And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.” And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?” And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.” Not bad! Rest in peace!

Individual business owners often have that attitude. It’s when they go public that the profits are not also linked to the social standing of the owner and the appetite for dollars runs away.

I had suggested that possibility in a recent thread about a niche of businesses that dont continue in perpetuity and the consensus here was nobody walks away from a money making business so therefore we have to assume the businesses were financial disasters for the founders and equity holders

Couldn't read that behind the pay wall.

Meanwhile: https://www.economistgroup.com/results_and_governance/result...