reposting a comment that is no longer available because r/chapo got banned:

Here is, specifically, what Bezos did:

• Recognize that an Internet storefront could gather huge amounts of data on customers
• Recognize that by selling books, he could stock a non-perishable product that is attractive to upscale, middle-adopter consumers (i.e. the best for long term gains)
• Recognize that the big delivery-based operations like Sears had horrible logistics and poor delivery times and service It all spun out from there. That's all he did, and he didn't even actually do that himself, he just got it started and built it beginning with a $250,000 "investment" from his parents.

Amazon did a lot of things since then- but Bezos didn't do them. Bezos hired people to create Amazon Web Services, to provide a product that alread existed on the market. He didn't invent eBooks or even popularize them; he paid people to come up with a way to exploit them and strongarm authors into submitting to unfair business practices.

He didn't invent or design or create anything. All of the creative work done at his company is done by other people.

I've been thinking of writing a book on the taxonomy of billionaires, because they're all basically the same: Ruthless sociopaths who notice, and viciously exploit, a particular combination of business practices, products, and markets while taking credit for the actual work done by other people.

Unfortunately no one would read it because I'm just some dork.

by /u/catgirl_apocalypse