• JoeHill@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    He’s rich not because of his salary (what Reddit pays him). He’s rich because of his equity/ownership in Reddit. But he can only monetize that if there are buyers.

    For years this wasn’t a problem because private buyers and banks were happy to buy his shares or lend against them as collateral. However that market has been drying up over the past 18 months.

    So he desperately needs to get to an IPO so he, and his Board of Directors and other stockholders, can dump their shares on an unsuspecting retail public market that doesn’t realize that the “profitability” was only achieved by destroying the user base, and that what they’ve actually bought is a ticking time bomb.

    • jayandp@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I really hope the IPO bombs just to spite all the people, including Spez, that drove Reddit into the ground.

      • MerliSYD@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        The problem is that if the IPO bombs, it’s the public investors that will lose money, as fuck u/spez and other shareholders will have dumped their steaming pile of shit shares onto the market from the start to reduce their shareholding and cash in.

        • driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br
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          1 year ago

          It would be the Institucional investors that have the opportunity to buy before the share is open in the market. After that is fair game to anyone stupid enough to buy it.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          When people say that, they don’t mean they hope it bombs after the IPO…

          They mean they hope It bombs before the sale so Huffman and the others with a stake don’t make much money

          Anyone that buys the stock after the IPO would get a lower price.

    • zos_kia@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Nah I’m pretty sure he got some preferential liquidation a few times and is cash rich.

      • JoeHill@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Thank you for making my point. That’s not salary. That’s equity sold in a secondary.

        • zos_kia@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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          1 year ago

          I meant he’s not theoretical rich, he’s got actual money in the actual bank. But you’re right, his worth doesn’t come from salaries as he’s paid around 200K according to the internet.

        • Bear@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Gonna admit my ignorance, I’m not sure exactly what is and using possible with an IPO. I know it can go poorly, and I know stocks can be shorted. I just hope they get no financial success.

    • atempuser23@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s not just spez , there are going to be a LOT of folks in reddit willing to burn it to the ground to create valuation for an IPO. The next Mod blackout need to happen the night before and the day of the IPO.