I with I was as starry-eyed as to think he did it because of his "hacker skills"...

>the reason we're all posting on Hacker News during the workday and he's running a centibillion dollar company is because he's an immensely intelligent and talented and focused man and we are... well, the kind of people who post on internet forums during the workday.

There are people who post regularly in HN (even in the top-50 contributors) who as hackers and programmers (and work ethic) run not just circles, but the 10-dimensional equivalent of a circle, around Zuckenberg, and have no "multi-billion dollar" companies...

There are millions of people just as smart and smarter as Zuckerberg. He had access to computers when they were expensive and had an affluent life that sent him to Harvard where he was around people who could do stuff like fund new businesses.

>competent as the guy who founded the eighth or so most valuable company on Earth

That usually has more to do with machiavellianism than competence

Of course some would consider machiavellianism a kind of talent.

It's this exact kind of false, retrospective meritocratic judgment that makes gods of mere men. Don't do that, please, it poisons the discourse by distorting reality.

Six hectobillion dollar company

Meta is a 10 million dollar company?