It’s boating season in Seattle. Maybe that’s why Mark Zuckerberg has had two of his three enormous yachts brought to town.
At 390 feet, Launchpad is the length of four Mayflowers and is certainly vastly more comfy than the old ship that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth.
I can appreciate Zuckerberg’s passion for boats. I’ve got a boat, too, although it is exactly 370 feet shorter than his. I wonder, though, does the guy really have a love for the sea? Something tells me people who own these huge personal watercraft are not just lured by the chance to cruise through the San Juans.
Boats as big as Zuckerberg’s are a statement. They say, “My owner is the king of the world and he has more money than you can even comprehend.”
This display of unimaginable wealth probably is not sitting well with any of the 1,400 Meta employees in this region who just got laid off (or the thousands of other folks who got fired by Zuckerberg in May.) They are scrambling to find work in an economy being taken over by artificial intelligence and dominated by a few fortunate men who entertain their rich and glamorous friends on massive yachts that need other big yachts to support them.
I could argue that it’s a case of insensitivity and bad taste, but, hey, this is a country with a billionaire president who puts his face on money and builds ballrooms to glorify himself. So, welcome to the new Gilded Age.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
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