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- Jun 28, 2006
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I was thinking about Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos, two quite different billionaires. One is a bully. He has a fleet of lawyers and is often suing, or threatening to sue, anyone he thinks he can crush. The other has never made the news, that I could remember, over lawsuits. So, I went to Google.
"Jeff Bezos believes that billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is out of line for using his fortune to back lawsuits designed to cripple Gawker Media.
"I don't think a billionaire should be able to fund a lawsuit to kill Gawker," the Amazon CEO said Tuesday during a wide-ranging interview with Recode's Walt Mossberg at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. "The best defense against speech you don't like is a thick skin. If you can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting."
Bezos' comments come less than a week after Thiel admitted he was the bucksbehind a defamation lawsuit that Terry Bollea -- better known as former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan -- brought against the online publication. Thiel reportedly paid roughly $10 million to back Hogan, who won more than $115 million from Gawker in a Florida jury trial in March.
Widespread speculation holds that the lawsuit was the result of longstanding animosity between Thiel and Nick Denton, Gawker Media's CEO. In 2007, Gawker attempted to out Thiel, who is gay, before he was open about his sexuality. Two years later, Thiel told PEHub that Gawker's now-defunct Valleywag was "the Silicon Valley equivalent of Al Qaeda."
"Seek revenge and you dig two graves. One for yourself," Bezos said, bringing up a familiar proverb. "How do you want to spend your energy?"
Jeff Bezos slams Peter Thiel's funding lawsuit against Gawker - CNET
I thought that was interesting. ""The best defense against speech you don't like is a thick skin. If you can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting." That's a mature way to look at it. Of course, Donald Trump prefers to sue little people.
"Jeff Bezos believes that billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is out of line for using his fortune to back lawsuits designed to cripple Gawker Media.
"I don't think a billionaire should be able to fund a lawsuit to kill Gawker," the Amazon CEO said Tuesday during a wide-ranging interview with Recode's Walt Mossberg at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. "The best defense against speech you don't like is a thick skin. If you can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting."
Bezos' comments come less than a week after Thiel admitted he was the bucksbehind a defamation lawsuit that Terry Bollea -- better known as former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan -- brought against the online publication. Thiel reportedly paid roughly $10 million to back Hogan, who won more than $115 million from Gawker in a Florida jury trial in March.
Widespread speculation holds that the lawsuit was the result of longstanding animosity between Thiel and Nick Denton, Gawker Media's CEO. In 2007, Gawker attempted to out Thiel, who is gay, before he was open about his sexuality. Two years later, Thiel told PEHub that Gawker's now-defunct Valleywag was "the Silicon Valley equivalent of Al Qaeda."
"Seek revenge and you dig two graves. One for yourself," Bezos said, bringing up a familiar proverb. "How do you want to spend your energy?"
Jeff Bezos slams Peter Thiel's funding lawsuit against Gawker - CNET
I thought that was interesting. ""The best defense against speech you don't like is a thick skin. If you can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting." That's a mature way to look at it. Of course, Donald Trump prefers to sue little people.
