CEO Worked Way Up From Son Of CEO

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Though today he holds a powerful position as head of a leading information technology firm, MergeMedia CEO Gary Lightman told reporters Thursday he, amazingly, worked his way to the very top of the company from humble beginnings as the son of the previous CEO.
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[@diedertspijkerboer]

We need more people like him: so many people today are not willing to be born into wealthy families.

[@tedcrilly46]

Youngsters need to stop wasting their money on avacado toast and start using the avacado toast that their parent worked so hard to buy for them.

[@rein7015]

😂😂😂

[@diedertspijkerboer]

@@rein7015 Glad you liked it.

[@arentr9024]

This is actually how businesses die. Incompetent kids could not run the business.

[@DoesThisWork888]

@@diedertspijkerboer She probably likes you as well, she did put 3 laughing emojis after all

[@ozzyc2662]

He started with everything and worked his way up to everything. Don't give up people.

[@jayclause4674]

Dude, it was not all fun and games...somedays he did not have any grey poupon

[@MAGEBEATS]

Jay Clause 😂

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

You mean like Trump?

[@agapon2023]

He still has to go to work, though 🙃

[@calebroberts1341]

@@80s_Boombox_Collector why try to bring politics into this?

[@marcaveli7791]

8 hours a day? When does he sleep?

[@k_e3735]

At work. He didn't say he works 8 hours a day, just 'here for nearly 8 hours a day'. Plenty of nap time in his executive office!

[@idontcare7961]

Lmfao cracked me up, love sarcasm

[@Dylan-hc2lu]

I love this channel

[@pkyamaha17]

Nearly* 8 hours

[@brachygobius_xanthozonus]

Well... for sure his personal secretary will find some time for him betwen snoring coco and driving lambo.

[@TacitusR]

I did a poor job of picking my parents. Wish I had been as smart about it as that guy.

[@Tjalve70]

Well, here is a good suggestion on how you can fix that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3-1Xqtno8qnY6M

[@amphibeingmcshpongletron5026]

@@Tjalve70 Holy shit...I miss the 2000s.

[@PeterLawton]

It's OK. You were so young -- don't be hard on yourself.

[@wenhong5852]

You should be ashamed of yourself. Once I picked the wrong parents when I was 1, but then I traded place with another baby. Now I am the prince of Nigeria, I think i have a good chance at the king’s position if they don’t realize that I’m a Chinese dude who doesn’t know where Nigeria is.

[@PeterLawton]

@@wenhong5852

[@OriginLinear]

Maybe if I work hard enough, one day I too can be the son of the CEO of a large company.

[@zan7838]

lmao

[@samiamrg7]

Just gotta invent a time machine.

[@kenichikenuzo7352]

Like Jeff bezos, or zukerberg you can too

[@aryanbhaskar6502]

I really wanted to like this comment, but it is just so perfectly poised at 666.

[@Freezer003]

Maybe if you work hard enough, your son may one day be the son of a CEO

[@austink641]

“When I started this company I had but two things in my possession: a dream... and 6 million pounds.”

[@shafqatmahmud592]

I forgot people were bri*ish and was wondering if the punchline was about just being fat

[@udarasamarasinghe8811]

Is this a good time to highlight some irregularities in the pension fund?

[@GlarusGaming]

IT Crowd was brilliant

[@cryo2156]

@@udarasamarasinghe8811 *jumps out the window*

[@cryo2156]

"Our profits this year are projected at 18 hundred billion billion! I hope it doesn't sound arrogant when I say, that I am the greatest man to have ever lived!"

[@jingthethief]

truly a heartwarming story of riches to riches. I think I feel a tear in my eye.

[@osahju914]

It ain’t a tear of joy lol

[@comradebanana129]

josh miller holy shit u posted this 9 hours ago lmao I guess KZbin is recommending this in the algorithm

[@Oh_God_not_him_again]

@@comradebanana129 It sure is.

[@GurDieFry]

Its like Donald Trump except this guy will prolly never try to be president as his work ethic is pretty garbage. I hate Donald but kudos to him for becoming president or whatever.

[@87togabito]

The poor dude lived a sad life of being born with with a silver spoon in his mouth. Have you seen what that shit does to vampires? Dude clearly deserves all that he has now despite his clearly have his life stacked against him.

[@kennethfisher7013]

wow we have a lot in common. my dad was the head janitor a major company and I started out cleaning toilets and in less than a year I was given a brush to use instead of my hands!

[@mightypurplelicious3209]

Lucky. I’m still at toilets.

[@ThatNerdAlbert]

Wow, nice work buddy.

[@misriahproductions6280]

First day tomorrow, really excited:) Any advice for the new guy?

[@jony6107]

🤣🤣🤣

[@roop5318]

You are an inspiration to us all!

[@reilley7734]

my 30 year old mother married an 89 year old man, she tells me she's working hard and we're going to be rich soon i'm so proud of her

[@PeppyZeb]

Bernie Ecclestone?!

[@BigDickMcFlick]

How's that inheritance coming along?

[@71dembonesTV]

Oh, she is. do you have any idea whats involved in giving a wealthy 89 year old man an erection? show some respect

[@BigDickMcFlick]

@@71dembonesTV Hugo said "i'm so proud of her" what more show of respect do you expect out of them?

[@TierTalis]

Um what part of her is working hard sir?

[@cheemsoftheocean7569]

"Work hard. That's what I tell my kids" was the line that broke me xD

[@GurDieFry]

And by work hard he means work 8 hours a day and take 3 days off the week

[@86Corvus]

he is correct.

[@lazyhomebody1356]

That might be true. If he has 4 kids, only one can be the CEO

[@J040PL7]

@@lazyhomebody1356 yes, it will be decided with a battle to the death.

[@enriquez4461]

don’t be salty you have to work 12+ lmao

[@dangusprime]

"it's like starting a game of monopoly where they already own all the hotels and important spaces."

[@thesenate5291]

Fucking railroad barons I swear

[@mrsmucha]

So true.

[@habibbialikafe339]

What's with the quotes

[@acebalistic1358]

If you work hard and save, maybe one day you can buy a single house on Mediterranean avenue

[@PROUDTOBEANAMERICAN55]

That's life

[@billbradford7898]

I love the way he just slips in that he STARTED OUT as a senior executive... lol

[@hapeenes2927]

yea what a tragedy, he clearly deserved better. Good that this unjustly treatmeant has been revised and now we can all be at peace.

[@limitededition3712]

I noticed that and thought, "wait, what?!😩"

[@phenadoz-topicmusic8122]

So unjust :/

[@dbergerac9632]

Is this Hunter Biden?

[@dbergerac9632]

@doomscyte There's no denying that.

[@merylwang4193]

I thought The Onion was supposed to report fake news, not real news.

[@jt4369]

Hahaha, good one.

[@davidtitanium22]

The onion is a satire news company because no real news company will report this kind of truth

[@ejej_shej7958]

@@davidtitanium22 so ironic

[@Greenpie101]

@@davidtitanium22 This kind of truth is satire and the onion is a news company no real news company would report on.

[@mho...]

well there *IS* a fine line, isnt there?!

[@vio1583]

Finally someone that shows that hard work eventually pays off

[@alexandercrush]

True. Work hard and your son won’t have to 🤔

[@paddymills]

@@alexandercrush “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

[@neth8446]

paddymills12345 where does this quote come from?

[@paddymills]

@@neth8446 www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/53173998-those-who-remain

[@cerberus8462]

easy when you rich

[@stevenstone307]

This was my reaction when BBC News said Kendall Jenner was the first self-made female billionaire

[@Trackratz-zl9di]

Like her dad who was one of the first self made females .

[@yoramgt]

In any case Oprah beat her by decades. And she really did start poor.

[@And_Sun_Yk]

​@@Trackratz-zl9di😂😂😂

[@David-lr2vi]

@@Trackratz-zl9di. 😂. Fucking hilarious.

[@schadenfreude000]

​@@yoramgtExactly. Oprah's is one of those stories that is genuinely inspiring.

[@an0nim0uz]

CEO making his son the new CEO? An unconventional and bold move.

[@imzjustplayin]

I know this is sarcasm but for a major company, that's far more unusual than the public would like to believe. I'd argue it's pretty rare except for small cap companies that are essentially family businesses such as farms, restaurants, etc.

[@gabe8168]

@@imzjustplayin or any company run by politicians lol. They give everything to family

[@harshbansal7982]

imzjustplayin well maybe not Ceo but I assume they give them some sort of good position in the company .

[@imzjustplayin]

@@harshbansal7982 Like I said, in publicly run companies, that sort of nepotism is much more rare than it's portrayed. The only way someone could get away with something like that is not if they're the CEO (an employee) but an actual owner/significant shareholder of the company which sort of goes without saying... Many CEOs are also major shareholders but you don't need to be one to be the other.

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

@@gabe8168 nah, those give the ceo role to whichever politocians they have in their pockets after they end their carreer. (Wallstreet does this a lot actualy).

[@TumblinWeeds]

It’s kinda sad that that these people actually do exist in real life, and people look up to them for motivation not knowing how much was handed to them from birth.

[@Katt1n]

Why? Wold you not want to give your childeren every possible opportunity to be successful?

[@Tynos5ives]

@@Katt1n It's about the guy, not his father. You can look up to the father, maybe he achieved something in life, but the son did not. You also don't applaud for the baker son becoming the baker

[@Katt1n]

@@Tynos5ives So what? I can do what i want with my property. The fact that i have the freedom to work hard in order to give my kids a better life is not sad.

[@Tynos5ives]

@@Katt1n It is not about the fact that you give your kids a better live dude, did you even read the first comment? It's about the fact that some people find someone as depicted in the video inspiring although this person in the video did not achieve anything from his own power. It's nice that he has a good life because his parents worked hard for him, but there is nothing inspirational about a guy who just inherited a billion dollars and then has them (in a more metaphorical term)

[@Katt1n]

@@Tynos5ives ​ That is not the part of the comment that i addressed. The original commenter said that it is sad that these sort of people exist, which I do not agree with.

[@tiyopaenguin]

So inspirational. It goes to show that nothing is impossible if you have a dream, goal, action plan and a really really ridiculously rich father.

[@grisflyt]

The life of Mitt Romney in 1 minute 20.

[@acrobaticswitches]

Donald Trump

[@acrobaticswitches]

George Bush

[@austinm.9832]

@Littleton Trump took over his dad's business....

[@grisflyt]

@@Dougy359 Actually, no. Trump has the same money today as he would have had he had placed his money in a stock portfolio. I would be happy with it, but it's not the measure of a good businessman. Bezos is. I don't like either one. At least Trump is harmless, whereas Bezos is an existential threat. His business is killing small businesses all over the US, subsequently small communities as well.

[@kic8523]

@@austinm.9832 And bankrupted it a few times lol.

[@munkhtuvshinmt]

M is super cute

[@eddiew2325]

u sure it wasnt per week?

[@michaelmendiola5015]

"I was here for nearly 8 hours every day"

[@Escap1st7]

He only took 3 days off the week! Can you believe it?

[@zub41r75]

Escap1st and only 12 weeks paid holiday per year. Damn that’s how you get to the top. He even took a pay cut from $10 million a year to $9.99 million so his staff could feed their kids. He also generously donates a THOUSAND dollars to charity every month! Wow this guy is one hell of a capitali.... I mean motivational person.

[@steveneumeyer681]

8 hrs a day will beat you down man

[@Kyleplaysgames567]

Can you imagine working 8 hours a day, 40 hours every week. The sheer commitment is impeccable.

[@judaspriest9843]

"Just work hard bro"-Son of CEO who turned CEO

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

Nah dude, he's gonna sell you an online course on how to get as rich as he is (but never really tell you how to do so).

[@user-hs5vb6kc9o]

Just work hard, SON

[@ironhell813]

Of course you should work hard you’re the only one doing it and someone needs to do it. -The US

[@drawmaster77]

Sir, you are an inspiration to us all!

[@ironhell813]

Yes, to find a bucket 🤢🤮

[@jerrylawson192]

True Story: I once worked in a real estate company. There was a story going around that there's an employee there who worked for 7 years as a regular office staff and eventually got promoted to executive VP. I, of course was skeptical (I worked my butt off in a previous company for four years and I only got promoted twice). The younger guys believed the story anyway. The actual truth: He was one of the owner's son and started as apprentice to manager , then office manager then EVP. What sucks is they used it as an inspirational story for their employment drive.

[@themobstar58]

if you don't get promotions, promote yourself to another job

[@OnePieceSS23]

@@themobstar58 lol

[@danitho]

@@themobstar58 If only it were that easy. Finding a new job, one that's better than the one you currently have, is a true grind. It can take months, even years. Competition is fierce, the interviewing process can drag on and on, and you still might not get a job. I have put in applications and wasn't asked for an interview until 6months to a year later. And it's not like you can just quit either. Because then you still have the same problem but with no source of income. That's why people typically stay in their bad jobs for so long.

[@alexmarsh1839]

You could start your own business.

[@Masitu0031]

At least, the CEO's kid worked from the (relatively) bottom. Let's hope he learnt right lessons and know the business inside out, not a crony-ism supporter.

[@eoghan.5003]

"if that guy can do it, why can't you?"

[@Tjalve70]

I am sure that if I had wanted to, and had worked hard, I could have done the same. Become the CEO of my dad's company. Too bad my dad's company only had one employee. Which was my dad.

[@lazyhomebody1356]

@@Tjalve70 I think it's obvious what you have to do. Don't put it off.

[@Tjalve70]

@@lazyhomebody1356 Well, given that my dad is retired, and his company no longer exists, I guess I'm a bit late.

[@lazyhomebody1356]

@@Tjalve70 Oh. That's good! Because I think you know where I was going.

[@Tjalve70]

@@lazyhomebody1356 It wasn't entirely impossible to figure out.

[@berkpick]

Started no where near the bottom, now he's here yall

[@youarelife3437]

He's an inspiration to so many poor children in Africa today.

[@onthatileasermakgate9387]

As someone who is South African I can agree. He is definitely my role model.

[@naterk9460]

Out of college, I worked for a software company and during orientation we were told a story. I later learned that the CEO that was dealt with in this story was essentially a guy like this: he inherited the company, but really couldn't give two craps about it. Anyways, the short version of the story is that we have several different packages of our software we can sell to companies like this, we'll call them A, B, and C. During the sale, it's pretty much already decided they want our software, and our salesmen tell him "Based on your company's needs, you're going to want package B. These are the things it can do and the reasons why package B is the best fit for your company." After some debating, their CEO decides "Yeah, we're going to go with package C." Despite the salesmen's warnings that package C isn't what they need, it's his call, and he decides to go with C. Some time later, their company runs into a bunch of trouble with this, blatantly realizing "Oh, crap. We should have gone with package B", and they call us up and berate us for "Not doing a good enough job to convince them they needed to go with package B." The dumbest part is, our boss doing the presentation is on their side when telling this story, telling us that yes, it is our job to basically force them to go with the package we think they need, and not stop until they see our point of view. Yeah, I didn't stay at that company and from what I heard about a year after I left they started having to lay off workers because of a steep decline in income. Can't imagine why with such brilliant leadership -_-

[@loluntilmypie]

lmfao that is awful. I wonder how long it'll be before he has to take a fully paid 5* holiday package from "work stress" when the company is on the verge of collapse.

[@cattysplat]

When leadership screws up, it's never their fault, always those working under them. Just keep paying them more and give them a promotion instead. Corporate hierarchy is braindamaged.

[@hughgarectshenn4243]

Whats his name I want to call the company.

[@dogsdreamtoo8427]

@Aurora O. bill gates has donated like 50 billion dollars to charity

[@dogsdreamtoo8427]

@Aurora O. well since you said that rich people are so fucking entitled it seemed fitting to say

[@TheOnion]

Are you surprised by Lightman's rise to power? Share your thoughts.

[@knoven-]

Yes

[@SGT_Canicide]

@@knoven- yes

[@Mexicunny]

Love you onion 🧅

[@IllIlllI]

My thoughts: shared!

[@mustafaozgurokuyucu6576]

Why are all replies from today?

[@sonnydelight5737]

I worked for a guy like this once, but he only worked 2 hours a day. His father gave him 3 restaurants. He never missed a chance to tell people he started with nothing. The employees knew the deal, If only he knew the way everybody talked behind his back.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

They should start talking to his front.

[@ironhell813]

Wouldn’t make a difference. Life’s been like this for thousands of years.

[@maxdudomite]

He started with nothing until his dad handed him everything.

[@centuryt91]

wish there was a way for us to knew how delusional these people actually are

[@iank8660]

sounds like such a hardworking and honest young man, hope he and his business continue to find success!

[@truthmango1227]

No one should have to be overworked THAT much to get to get the position he got

[@Ayr-me7vb]

I know, imagine having to be born to get your job! This guy is truly inspiring

[@octoberland5970]

@@Ayr-me7vb You were born?

[@rayridern]

8 hours...thats just crazy, what will he do in the few 16 hours left? Some people deserve to have a life. God bless this poor guy.

[@ironhell813]

In a world where you have to be to get that maybe none of us really was born….

[@MrGilRoland]

With a lot of dedication and hard work, anyone can be the son of a CEO. Never give up 💪

[@grinningchicken]

The always show like the Facebook kid or the google inventor to show hard work pays off. That's like showing the lotto winner and saying gambling is a way to make money. Of course in a gold rush one or two miners will get rich but it isn't a repeatable long term strategy for success.

[@JohnnyJohn12503]

Mark zuckerburg and what this video is about are two completely different things. Mark zuckerburg had a gift for programming. He saw a need in the market and took it and grew. He may have been an asshole but he did work for it.

[@grinningchicken]

Johnny CEOs work but they don't work there way up from the bottom. Its more its right place, right time, right connections. The facebook guy worked but he was as much right place right time right connections than he out work and smarter than everybody. Can he teach class and everyone who graduated get similar results? Can he start up a dozen more co. with a laptop and an idea and all of them be billion dollar companies? My point is meritocracy is a myth to keep people in their place and the media uses the exception to prove the rule.

[@Asatru55]

Johnny Pardon? There were other social networks before facebook. Loads of them. And a lot with way better features and more appealing design. Facebook just had better marketing and a little luck to it. It also isn't much work to build a site that is, in its core, as simple as facebook. The only thing it needs is connections. Mark Zuckerberg is exactly what this video is referring to.

[@JohnnyJohn12503]

Asatru55 You act as if Mark Zuckerburg had facebook handed to him. HE still programmed the website. HE still took the initiative to go off and start it. HE was not a rich man at the start. You cant say he had it handed to him just because facebook had superior marketing, design, and accessibility. And if you knew anything about programming (which you clearly don't) you would know that its a TON of work to program a website like facebook with the manpower zuckerburg had.

[@natesdevices]

Johnny no he didn't. he had no idea Facebook was going to become a thing. he is a perfect example of the point that other guy made. he was a miner at the start of the rush, and he got lucky. and once again, as it seems you people can't understand this, it doesn't matter if he worked 15 hours a day, every day, which he didn't, he till wouldn't deserve to possess billions of dollars. maybe a couple mill, but billions of dollars? preposterous. working hard neither guarantees success, or is the most prominent causation factor for those who are successful. it is entirely random, subject to THOUSANDS of preexisting factors and conditions. stop bleating the message of your shepherds. they want you to buy into this nonsense so that it will be easier to control you, or at least make money off you.

[@youtubasoarus]

That guy bootstrapped his way up to CEO... from having a basically guaranteed in from his pops. Man what a champ. All us poor suckers working day and night just to break even. Ha... we're so dumb.

[@maxismunchies6302]

You all know that it is a satirical video... right?

[@djsaidez271]

@@maxismunchies6302 This comment was also satire

[@ironhell813]

You’re definitely saps for doing that. To him that thirsts for the waters of life, I give freely…. -God in the book of Revelation.

[@YouTubeLate]

“There is no substitute for hard work” is what I always tell my underlings -CEO

[@ironhell813]

Nope because his name is light man not “substitute” 😂

[@WildHorseProductions]

My Father Gave Me ‘A Small Loan’ Of $1 Million ....

[@jonasthemovie]

Have you multiplied what your father gave you?

[@zach99998]

@@jonasthemovie if your name is Trump the answer is no

[@nagualdesign]

😆 And your casino made a loss?!

[@sadstormtrooper]

Hahaha, I've heard it recently, can't remember the reference tho

[@nagualdesign]

@Josh Nonya *He's a _moron billionaire._ 😉

[@bigchungus920]

Rich celebrities telling you to work hard and chase your dreams.

[@zan7838]

i'm curious to know what they did yet I'm one jealous mf

[@DeosPraetorian]

but a lot of celebs didnt start out rich

[@nonamed56]

@@DeosPraetorian but a lot of them have a level of talent that normal people just don't have

[@rasta7655]

This is a certified Drake moment™

[@nonamed56]

@Duke Hugh Johnson I'm talking about guys like Eminem and Michael Jordan

[@kaylaisnothere4397]

Literally this is the origin story of 99% of rich people and they always pass it off as "extreme dedication and hard work"

[@maythesciencebewithyou]

Most of them are from upper middle class families with good connections

[@BritishRepublicsn]

@@maythesciencebewithyou or at the very least, middle income families well above expenses

[@dave1927p]

My parents worked hard to provide what they could for us as their parents did before them. Although I may have some opportunities not everyone has, I work my hardest to earn them. I should not feel guilty and if I have kids one day, I will want to do the same for them providing an even stronger foundation. But Working nearly 8 hours a day is draining so I have to take Friday and mondays off.

[@BritishRepublicsn]

@@dave1927p *ok*

[@great207]

@Kayla Ogden Actually, the majority of millionaires are first generation, meaning they did not inherit their wealth from parents (at least in the U.S.) The Millionaire Next Door is a good book to read.

[@amsterdammancom]

I was so inspired by this video I sent it to my dad, He was really blown away and sent it to my granddad! So the wheels are in motion!! Cha Ching!

[@ElChocoLoco]

No pain....no pain!

[@ren4issance-754]

“I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth- It was palladium.”

[@lazrustosadow5880]

Just remember that if you work long and hard enough, you can make your CEO's son your next boss!

[@THETRIVIALTHINGS]

A truly admirable man. It's an insult that he's not yet given a Nobel prize.

[@Juppie902]

Manager: do you know how hard my childhood was, I had to be friends from 1st grade with my coworker so he could bring me in to the company as a senior executive, man did I have to put so much work and sweat to get this job.

[@lazyhomebody1356]

I bet it was hard not pushing him off the swingset when he wiped his boogers on you. You earned it man!

[@morelthemickiller6802]

Wow he’s so humble despite the obvious hardships it took him to get there

[@JohnSmith-ti9uq]

My dad needs to work harder so he can make me ceo of a company.

[@U.S.President]

such an inspirational story.

[@gjthelegend6597]

Idk why this was in my recommended but I mean if the son of a CEO can do that I definitely can

[@smellyrobert4448]

It feel just like yesterday since I STARTED off as a SENIOR EXECUTIVE, the details men the details!

[@okrajoe]

Hard work and maximum efforts always pays off.

[@TCt83067695]

@皮燕子 misunderstood?

[@carousel9325]

No, smart work pays off

[@mentoscokeenema]

@@carousel9325 no, actually coming out of the right nutsack pays off.

[@carousel9325]

@@mentoscokeenema can confirm

[@nagualdesign]

@皮燕子 You recognize satire in the video but not in the comments section? 😕

[@gorgefood9867]

When you immigrate to America and thought it was an equal opportunity meritocracy only to realize the game is still all about nepotism and connections except this time they lie about it.

[@theyoshi202]

Well... it’s better in the US than most countries (notable exception being Europe). But yeah “equal opportunity” is a lie, it’s more like “limited opportunity exists for everyone”.

[@s55558]

Business is all about building connections

[@jonathanandrew2909]

Comparing what you have to those around you isn’t the point. The point is that if you work hard and get a bit lucky, your children will hopefully be a bit better off. Multiple that over a few generations.

[@lazyhomebody1356]

When you are unbelievably stupid. Do you still believe in the Tooth Fairy too?

[@billybobjoe198]

If you're part of a "insider" group then you get to be part of that nepotism. Just ask any Jews or Indians moving to the United States. People woefully unqualified come here and make over 200k a year over night because of their ethnicity. Even if you're part of the "less fortunate" not powerful ethnic groups, you still have a leg up over Americans. Immigrants to America freely get grants and tax breaks hand over foot. As an immigrant to America you can start or buy a small business with no money of your own, and go for years without paying taxes while operating it.

[@rohandubey3268]

I don't even consider these satire, these are real heart warming stories.

[@dannyd5727]

Such a motivational story. Never forget that even billionaires often started from humble families of millionaires. Keep working hard kids.

[@FireTriode]

The thing with Onion News... It's classified as "sattire," but actually more based in reality than anything else.

[@viewtiful1doubleokamihand253]

Good satire always is. Literally. It comes with the territory.

[@sleepdeep305]

Do you know what makes satire effective?

[@rugguggla8766]

That's the point of satire.

[@8964TS]

I worked for a family firm worth billions in which the founder's four sons all head up one of the divisions. Of course, they all 'worked their way up' ... by getting promoted every six weeks according to what was an obvious preset schedule. It was just something they had to get through before the cushy board role. Hearing them say they how 'started at the bottom' without any sense of shame or irony really grated.

[@belalabusultan5911]

we need more hardworking people like him in our world, you should always become a CEO like your father was.

[@rummagingchaos]

this is so accurate it makes me angry

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

You know this doesn't actualy happens, right? Share holders choose the CEO not the previus CEO, and they normaly choose who ever makes them more money.

[@tdb517]

@@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding The general idea of nepotism is still accurate. Look Trump and Ivanka or jared Kushner

[@internetperson9813]

​@@tdb517 And it also influences politics so most of the people who are in charge in DC are related to some other random senator

[@kieran6057]

....but it's not though. CEO's dont choose the next CEO, they're chosen by the company's Board of Directors

[@internetperson9813]

@@kieran6057 Well the accurate part is mostly how sons of CEOs will become CEOs of some company or another because they are rich.

[@m00nkinftw]

Started from the top now we're here

[@mfritz1830]

Truly a self made man

[@josephcalcagno627]

This is the type of dude you people defend and say "he earned that wealth"

[@befer]

okay ? give a real life example of who " we " talk about ?

[@vittocrazi]

@@befer trump...

[@befer]

@@vittocrazi and who the fuck defends him exactly ? noone. Trump supporters are some of the most close-minded people there is. They'd defend him even if he publicly would steal a car

[@vittocrazi]

@@befer you are taking this way too personally...

[@spht9ng]

@@befer Dude literally every youtube video about any anti-trump news is flooded with dislikes and trump supporter comments. It's scary but that's the country we live in. We love to glorify assholes like him that didn't truly earn their wealth. It's in our DNA and all we can do is be ashamed.

[@ANTSEMUT1]

The acting in this is fucking top notch i wouldn't be able to keep a straight face ever.

[@purpleperson7113]

What a hardworking man! These are the stories that inspire me to get where I want to be in life.

[@jplayzow]

Finally a good old fashioned American dream success. He worked long and hard for at least a few days for his first promotion, now in charge of the entire company! Dreams truly do come true here

[@ironhell813]

“Yep, good old fashioned American hard work.” - freemasonic founding fathers Don’t forget, the USA was founded by wealthy land owners and slavers and never represented the common man - and that wasn’t satire….

[@tommylandrix6070]

He has such a sense of ease about him. Poor people who were not born into wealthy families would do a lot to learn from him.

[@tenbeihazard1968]

Jesus fuck really? I never noticed that someone who's been financially secure their entire life would be more at ease and happy than someone barely skidding by! Thank you for this incredible insight, Tommy Daniels!

[@tommylandrix6070]

@@tenbeihazard1968 Your jealousy is showing. Humble yourself and you might learn a thing or two.

[@bryanjordan8876]

This is how I felt when I was 19 and everyone was like "oh yeah my uncle got me this job starting off at $25/h, what do you do for work? Like bitch, I work at subway and all of my relatives are fucking poor. lol

[@hazardly4679]

The Onion. Making fanfictions about real life.

[@tabithak.9923]

This implies that fanfiction is the satire of fictional media and I'm honestly here for this based take

[@fjdhxicytxh6jf]

He was the first to get born. He is truly a hero our kids need.

[@ayami7372]

& he didn't even secretly poison his father so he could get the company faster what a brave & kind soul 😍

[@lazyhomebody1356]

His father is still living, actually. But this guy better watch his own kids...

[@caddyshack68]

Started from the top now we’re here.

[@masterdon187]

I knew someone who moved up from a junior position to right below the CEO within 6 months, and he was genuinely confused why other people couldn't do the same. I knew the guy was below average in school so when I pushed him for more details turns out it was his dads company but he was so convinced that had nothing to do with it.

[@grimsleeper5945]

When people say that CEOs are "self made".

[@gengarzilla1685]

Started from a million, and worked up to a billion. A true success story.

[@dataassassin280]

That's not easy though millions to billions

[@CrazeeFy]

@@dataassassin280 much easier than thousands to millions tho

[@dataassassin280]

@@CrazeeFy not necessarily. Many billionaires have said that growing millions to billions is way more difficult than thousands to millions

[@CrazeeFy]

@@dataassassin280 you are a fool if you trust what billionaires have to say. Their interests don't align with 98% of the population anymore

[@dataassassin280]

@@CrazeeFy i trust broke people too

[@nii_amart]

The work ethic of this man is unmatched.

[@lostinthewoods3918]

Trump: if you told me yesterday that my rich father would give me a small loan of a million dollars, I wouldn't believe it

[@filip9564]

@Neal DoubleAA Ehm no. 1 mil USD then(1950) is pretty much the same as 10.6 mil USD now. www.usinflationcalculator.com/

[@spicerc1244]

I'm so sorry this is happening to you, snowflake

[@lostinthewoods3918]

@@spicerc1244 that response makes no sense 🤣 what exactly is happening to me? You dumbass lmfao

[@safaricalamari7613]

@@spicerc1244 yeah lmao, wtf happened. I wanna know as well?

[@suicideistheanswer369]

Ah dang, it's so difficult to be born into a wealthy family. Massive props to this man for being able to accomplish that.

[@ironhell813]

Maybe in a previous life….

[@RevealedFilms]

Hi guys I’m a 36 year old black guy and I’m currently in process of trying to be adopted as a son by Elon Musk. Maybe I can then end up the CEO of Tesla & Space X. Wish me luck 🤞

[@pearspeedruns]

Good luck, we’re rooting for you! 🎉

[@ayushprasad6159]

Son of an Emerald Mine Owner in Apartheid South Africa to CEO of tech companies. How I rose from the bottom. | Elon Musk

[@Samuel-wl4fw]

Would like to see the source for that, as far as i know he didnt like his farther and moved to USA against his wishes, cant find the source that his dad is a CEO.

[@dannybenhur6123]

@@Samuel-wl4fw Some sources say Errol Musk owned a part of mines in Zambia...

[@jacobgoldenofficial4321]

Very interesting

[@reggiestickleback7794]

Apartheid wasn’t that bad. Look at South Africa today

[@nielsvandenkieboom5034]

This myth has been busted a few times already

[@kadoodledo]

I remember having to work so hard. I remember struggling on an annual salary of 500,000 dollars for so long. It was when I was 20 that my dad finally decided to recognize my efforts. You see, I had been working a grueling three hours a day for the past three months. I remember one time my pay got so low that I had to stop driving my fourth Lamborghini every day. For two years of my life, I was struggling harder than ever. That’s when my dad started to recognize my efforts. But not enough. He only raised my annual salary to 15 million. I realized that I had to work harder. Much harder. So I decided to give up two of my ten five minute snack breaks in my thirty minutes of daily work. My dad then decided to retire. He gave me the company. I then realized how hard I was gonna have to work much harder. I now work 3:30 hours a day. It’s tough, and the reward is little (I still have to pay an insanely high total of $32 a year in taxes and I only makes 30 billion a year) but my work as the ceo of an affordable office supply company (each pencil is only sold for 5 dollars- what a steal!) really makes a difference to all the everyday people who can afford our cheap prices!

[@odizzido]

It's nice to see that trickle up effect working so well. Yay capitalism.

[@hibye7385]

@xxyyzz "in my opinion the company should have been dissolved and the profits should have been wasted by the government as it hires diversity training for its employees" Who told you this garbage? What people want is UNIVERSAL employment for everyone without having to unnecessarily suffer from easily solvable poverty. Also it is not personal property that should be dissolved it is PRIVATE property. Property that has the purpose of making PROFIT for a minority of absurdly wealthy people who hog the resources of society without even having to work in their lives. Capitalism has long outlived it's usefulness to humanity, you can see for yourself how it is dooming our world before our very eyes due to its inefficiency. Also you're never going to be rich no matter how hard you work, meritocracy under capitalism is a myth.

[@hibye7385]

​@xxyyzz Look if you want to understand capitalism you have to take a moment and look at the context as to how it came to be. In this case before capitalism there was feudalism, in this system social systems rigid and structured in such a way to make it so that each of these societies had a long-lasting aristocracies and peasantries that had generationally inherited their social status. In terms of work, peasants had to ownership of their means which they had some degree of autonomy over. It was seen as their responsibility to fulfill a duty to their lord who ideally acted as an administrator who often handled issues such as security and military organization. In Europe this system was all sanctioned under the church which was at the forefront of administration, religion played a key role in operating this system and provided a explanation as to how it was organized with a king being appointed through "god's will" etc. Even as a peasant you were still no doubt living a lesser existence compared to an aristocrat but you still had some sort of guaranteed existence, you still owned your own land and as a serf you were outside of competition. However with the onset of capitalism through various bourgeois revolutions such as the French revolution and the American revolutions these relations would change. These revolutions put forth new social laws and classes to bring forth a new class to replace the old feudal aristocracy. This class is known as the bourgeoisie, these are owners the various different means of production which is key to operation of society itself. With the onset of these revolutions, various laws rights were established to act as a bedrock for this new class's interests one such being the firm establishment of private property relations and competition. This class is accompanied with the proletariat which is the working class under capitalism, these workers have no ownership of the means of production and engage in competition with one another. Unlike the peasant, the proletarian does not have a guaranteed existence and must sell their services at an hourly rate to survive. They can easily lose means of living and can be cast aside and abused by their employer with no way of standing up for themselves alone. You can own things, like I said personal property is not what people want gone. It is PRIVATE property which exists under capitalism that must be abolished. Private property is mark of economic tyranny which is used as a means of propelling few lazy business owners with the grips of power off the backs of the vast working population. With this power they act with tyranny and brutal repression for their own interests while society at large suffers. Just look at the history of the American labor movement itself, before unions or any sort of collective bargaining power being established workers were treated HORRIBLY which even had children toiling in workplaces. The problem with resources today is not production but rather distribution. There is enough resources in the world to give everyone a decent standard of living but under the system that we have now the majority of that generated wealth is owned by a minority of private owners who hog the wealth that is generated by workers. Just look at the enormous global wealth gap that exists with about 1% of the world population owning about 50% of the world's wealth. These resources can be distributed with everyone's needs being taken care of and training should be organized based on society's needs rather than who has enough disposable income for a training. There are plenty of services and work that can occupy everyone's lives without everyone having to toil relentlessly for important tasks, humans still have plenty of needs to be fulfilled and taken care of. This burden of work can be shared among more people and for the interests of society at large instead of a minority of private owners.

[@hibye7385]

@xxyyzz Are you sure you even read what I wrote? Go ahead and ask me what confuses you about what I've written and I will try to clarify the specific passage. In order to understand something like capitalism you need a context hence the long response.

[@phenadoz-topicmusic8122]

a truly inspiring riches-to-riches story. always pulls at your heart strings

[@BernardAnlageIV]

What an inspiration!

[@fancyf33t295]

Now that that's over, I guess I'll get ready for my 12hr shift

[@TheOnion]

CEO Worked Way Up From Son Of CEO Subscribe to The Onion's KZbin Channel: bit.ly/xzrBUA

[@dexterdyall3425]

Best headline ever!

[@DavidConnor]

The North Korean method of advancement comes to the U.S. Or is that vice versa?

[@luisbarberena6447]

He's overcame so many obstacles.

[@saulvillicana292]

#thestruggle

[@JohnBiaggio]

So true.

[@datedjr1]

“Humble beginnings”

[@Eden-vb4qr]

A dad who takes care of his family, i like it!

[@Eden-vb4qr]

Yep totally not attempting to trigger

[@edge21str]

Man, I'm so glad we're not living in a monarchy where your birth into nobility almost ascertains your success and being born a peasant renders your chances for lifting yourself out of poverty almost zero, otherwise we might possibly have to think about revolting against that class of people.

[@noahgreene7565]

It’s a good thing most millionaires are first time millionaires who accumulated that wealth in their life time.

[@tabithak.9923]

@@noahgreene7565 Noah's like "I'm a self-made millionaire, my dad only had $999,999.99"

[@noahgreene7565]

Tabitha K. Small loan of a million dollars

[@tabithak.9923]

@Inquire about it and you sound like a bootlicker

[@tabithak.9923]

@Inquire about it cry some more about how people disagree with you, bootlicker

[@user-oe2jp5eh8i]

plot of succession.

[@mikethebeginner]

This made me think of an actual guy I knew. Born on third base thinking he hit a triple.

[@stevewhite7084]

Just like Ekon Musk worked his way up from being only extremely wealthy to insanely wealthy. Such a inspiration. I think their is something in that for all of us.

[@Xbox360mIRC]

Yeah, it's a lot easier to maintain being rich or getting way richer when your family is extremely wealthy. Lot harder to turn $1000 into millions than millions into billions.

[@alexander-yf3bp]

To be fair elon family were upper middle class,not rich but rich enough to alow elon to be a spoiled brat

[@Narser612]

​@@alexander-yf3bp Elon's parents had emerald mines on South Africa. That definitely had to give them lots of money.

[@alexander-yf3bp]

@@Narser612 they were just the shareholders.prolly what made them from slightly richer then average middle class to rich.

[@winzyl9546]

​@@Narser612elons family had a trust fund

[@robertwinslade3104]

"That just sounds like *feudalism* with extra steps"

[@ArthurDamato]

The acting is so good that I rolled my eyes when he talked about working hard.

[@johnchambers3312]

A lot of people don't realize the dedication it takes to be born into a wealthy family. Those first few years of being raised by nannies in a mansion are where the true success is found.

[@matthewgray2789]

I know this is satire but it still boils my piss

[@someonespadre]

It’s easy to climb the ladder of success when your Father owns the ladder.

[@k0valus585]

such an inspiring success story, i never had the motivation to try to be born into a rich family before

[@quietcorner293]

Good for him! Stories like this inspire me to tell my kids that they aren't going to amount to JACK SQUAT.

[@S2I2]

Such a wholesome story

[@Discitus]

Reminds me of when I was trying to get a coop job. It seemed everyone in my class had parents, neighbours, friends, or relatives who hired them for coop or in previous years, getting them into the field and providing them with crucial experience. Then there was me, starting out with no connections, no experience, and ending up with no job. When you're a stranger without experience, no one takes a chance on you unless you apply to be an easily replaceable drone working retail or food service.

[@enkidu9298]

There was a girl in Uni who got a job from her accounting-firm-partner father in her first year of studies. She similarly used her looks to acquire some doctor boyfriend. (the dude was dorkier than the dudes she would otherwise mock, and the only male teacher she didn't speak ill of was the hot one, who she instead praised for that very reason) She had an air of, "I earned this, even though I've had to retake classes on numerous occasions". Most of the teachers hated her, and at the time, I was too young and horny to understand why. I never managed to get a job in accounting, despite literally building an automated accounting system. Instead, I happened to run into a minor nepotistic connection and immediately got a job as a full-stack web and app developer at a tech firm, in a place where the market is inundated with very-capable programmers. I doubt socialism would end up being less nepotistic (the Xiangshai region comes to mind), but I also understand why people really, really hate corporate culture. It genuinely isn't fair, and I only happened to get lucky. I hope people can have a greater appreciation for the Spongebob's of the world.

[@montecristo1845]

Also, in Hollywood (never mind children of actors becoming actors), I love how all these writer/directors who are sons of famous writer/directors “made it on their own” because they didn’t have good relationships with their fathers.