I'm wondering if that can be qualified as "mean". Doesn't look like a nice thing to do. I also can't see what was the motivation other than "Look, I'm rich".
The employee responded to say that money wasn't his motivation. Instead, it was the idea of creating and building stuff.
To prove his point, he threw the bonus money out of the window in paper planes.
This could imply that money really wasn't/isn't the motivation.
Maybe this was slightly foolish given the media's/public interpretation. I don't think this act had a "mean" intention.
It certainly wasn't "mean". But given the hardships many people in Russia (who don't happen to be petrochemical, banking, and/or internet oligarchs) face, it went well beyond "slightly foolish."
Thanks, that seems like a valid explanation.