Financial Samurai

[ChpBstrd]

Authenticity has historically been the underlying currency of the Lifestyle Blogging genre, so it shouldn't be controversial for bloggers' integrity in their representation of their actual life to be held dear by readers. The relatability aspect rests on readers believing the blog is portraying truth; FW are far from unique as a lifestyle blog that's been criticized for violating this expectation. And the criticisms about the income situation are not baseless or out of left field at all.

To be honest, I don't understand the angle of "well I don't care, why do you care so much just stop reading" like what is really being said there? what's so bothersome about somebody raising a criticism that you 1. don't care about and 2. is about integrity. Personally I'll always side on supporting speaking out about integrity issues. When it comes to FIRE communities, or any program that requires factual information to effect change, it's just going to be harder for people to learn how to do something well for themselves if they encounter inaccurate, unquestioned information in the sphere. Questioning things should be a welcomed part of the process, not an opportunity to be dismissive.

I see FS as someone who is purposefully bucking the "authenticity" trend with algorithm-optimized, outrage-first content that generates interest from a contemporary social media approach.

You're certainly not wrong, but given the state of the internet there seems to be an inexhaustible fountain of anti-authenticity, and that raises questions about how to deal with it. Becoming irritated at every such instance would be a waste of life. Fighting some battle to eradicate the people being fake on social media would be futile. Then there is the issue of clickbait, and the people making money from producing a false appearance of a possible lifestyle.

Skeptical approaches are certainly more rational than simply believing whatever the internet tells us, but they can be a trap in their own way. The people saying FIRE is not possible fell into such a trap and lost a valuable opportunity to their own cynicism. So there is a type 1 and type 2 error to avoid, and the enshittification of the internet makes such tradeoffs more common.

[torso2500]

Authenticity has historically been the underlying currency of the Lifestyle Blogging genre, so it shouldn't be controversial for bloggers' integrity in their representation of their actual life to be held dear by readers. The relatability aspect rests on readers believing the blog is portraying truth; FW are far from unique as a lifestyle blog that's been criticized for violating this expectation. And the criticisms about the income situation are not baseless or out of left field at all.

To be honest, I don't understand the angle of "well I don't care, why do you care so much just stop reading" like what is really being said there? what's so bothersome about somebody raising a criticism that you 1. don't care about and 2. is about integrity. Personally I'll always side on supporting speaking out about integrity issues. When it comes to FIRE communities, or any program that requires factual information to effect change, it's just going to be harder for people to learn how to do something well for themselves if they encounter inaccurate, unquestioned information in the sphere. Questioning things should be a welcomed part of the process, not an opportunity to be dismissive.

I see FS as someone who is purposefully bucking the "authenticity" trend with algorithm-optimized, outrage-first content that generates interest from a contemporary social media approach.

You're certainly not wrong, but given the state of the internet there seems to be an inexhaustible fountain of anti-authenticity, and that raises questions about how to deal with it. Becoming irritated at every such instance would be a waste of life. Fighting some battle to eradicate the people being fake on social media would be futile. Then there is the issue of clickbait, and the people making money from producing a false appearance of a possible lifestyle.

Skeptical approaches are certainly more rational than simply believing whatever the internet tells us, but they can be a trap in their own way. The people saying FIRE is not possible fell into such a trap and lost a valuable opportunity to their own cynicism. So there is a type 1 and type 2 error to avoid, and the enshittification of the internet makes such tradeoffs more common.

I wasn't trying to say anybody needs to wage a battle against everyone who is being fake online. It's more the attitude that someone is "triggered" and needs a rebuttal for choosing to bring up specific concerns about a specific narrative in the space that I am feeling critical about. What is really being said when someone doesn't engage in a discussion on the actual criticism leveled, but rather aims to devalue voicing them in the first place? All while insisting they "don't care" in the first place? Voicing specific criticism is not necessarily the same thing as expressing some need to eradicate the entire issue at hand. Being skeptical of a story like FW, where there is evidence supporting, is not a trap for the FIRE-interested: the math has to work to achieve it and their math did not add up! It's completely fair to bring that up if I feel motivated to do so.

It might be a waste to (general) you but I just don't understand the motivation to backlash expression that's worth it to someone else. I think it's at least as much a waste to type up a response to those who choose to bring up considered criticisms with dismissiveness and hand waving that everyone lies online.

[mathlete]

Skeptical approaches are certainly more rational than simply believing whatever the internet tells us, but they can be a trap in their own way. The people saying FIRE is not possible fell into such a trap and lost a valuable opportunity to their own cynicism. So there is a type 1 and type 2 error to avoid, and the enshittification of the internet makes such tradeoffs more common.

I'm reminded from a quote from The Dark Knight Rises, of all things. "Maybe it’s time we all stop trying to outsmart the truth and let it have its day."

The truth is somewhere in between naïve and cynical. All these things are true:

-Everyone in the Western World can benefit from rethinking their relationship with consumption
-Virtually everyone in the United States can retire before 65 if they avoid a few major pitfalls and then consistently save a manageable percentage of their income
-FIRE Bloggers are usually well-meaning people who give good advice
-Cost cutting measures like cutting your own hair and wearing clothes until they disintegrate will save you money
-These small dollar things don't really move the needle on retiring early
-Many popular FIRE personalities were 1 percenters during their working career
-The sacrifices they made to retire early would not even be identifiable as sacrifices to anyone making the median US income
-There are financial and non-financial incentives to overplaying the role that frugality played in their path while diminishing the role that a 1 percenter income played

I understand the perspective that getting too cynical makes you miss out on the valuable inspiration that these personalities can provide. But I have a high opinion of people and I think they can hold all these thoughts in their head at once without succumbing to bitterness.

It kind of makes me think of stuff like... thirst trap moms on Instagram. They lost the baby weight super quickly. Good for them. But that's literally their job. I wouldn't want a mom making $38K a year seeing that and thinking it has any relevance to their own life. There are better sources of guidance and inspiration, IMO.

[eyesonthehorizon]

...
It's unfortunate because I see so much opportunity to talk about the FI side more. He is so beyond FI and has been for a long time. That changes a person and their engagement with the world. There's so much meaning that could be explored, but as I said, it can be very hard to evolve a writing persona.

Agree completely! I'd love to see MMM reflect on the challenges and opportunities of FI life with the same hard-nosed humorous clarity he brought to the journey to get there. Dr.Doom's post in 2021 was a compelling example of a "warts and all" account of post-FI life. But that was his last post. https://livingafi.com/2021/03/17/the-2021-early-retirement-update/ 

From quite a few posts on this forum and my own experience, reaching FI with or without RE, can leave us feeling a bit like the dog who caught the car. Now what? A whole new journey beckons and it would be great fun to have a committed MMM-type along for the ride.  I read and enjoy a few post-retirement blogs but none give "face-punches". :) :)

I’d love this too, though I wonder if MMM is mostly past his facepunching days. This may be wisdom - facepunches work better on a lateral or upward basis, & as a wealthy, semi-famous, established FIRE personality he can generally only advise down nowadays. His peers for net worth or reach now are few, unlike the middle & upper middle class audience he set out to persuade. I hope he'll keep writing, but he's keeping himself busy.

I worry that the landscape is sufficiently hostile to anyone not performing a monetizable persona that we're unlikely to get many rambling blogs with distinct perspectives anymore, because the algorithms are set up to promote as much animosity as possible. Even away from monetized content, as is increasingly occurring to academics & scientists, the discourse on algo-media will funnel hostile folks to you. Who wants to sign up to receive the same good faith & human respect afforded a brand (none) without being paid for the work? The value of knowledge & connection lost to this is incalculable.

I value the rigor of old mustachianism enough to have (gulp) started a thread about the possibility of a frugal, facepunch-friendly subforum, sort of like a mosh pit people asking to be talked into luxury cars could easily avoid. But I would never want to be the face of such a community without a check for all the aggression, so I also lose out on the consolation prize of being able to gripe nobody's out there doing it. Instead I'm just frustrated that we have this problem at all - that it feels patently unsafe to either "be the change" or encourage anyone else to walk into that snakepit.

[Fomerly known as something]

Why is the Millennial Revolution considered an unrealistic lifestyle?

Ah I don't want to criticize MR unduly because I think they're a valuable resource for a younger crowd who is just getting started. Their investing ideas are pretty mediocre, I find their financial analyses to be simplistic, and I find their presentation style to be aggravatingly juvenile.

Their greatest limitation, IMHO, is presenting FIRE as an extreme lifestyle - in their case living out of a suitcase in other peoples' homes. I personally want to own a house and a dog and a car - none of which they have, and some of which they love to insult people over - and am happy to work an extra few years to have those things. I feel like this is one of MMM's great advantages, he sold FI as "I have a car and a nice house and nice things, you don't have to sacrifice a normal quality of life".

Of course MR just had a child; I look forward to seeing their ongoing journey.

To each their own - some want to be digital nomads with a blog side hustle, others want quiet anonymity with the normal trappings of the modern day American middle class. However, I suspect that the vast majority of folks aren't interested in full time travel, so that's why I would characterize them as glamorizing an unrealistic lifestyle.

Fair enough. I didn't even know they had a kid. I recall when they first started, they were paying an expensive Canadian financial advisor to manage their investments. I guess things have changed since then.

The kid is new.  I have heard them in interviews this year and found that they are less aggressive now as well.

[tj]

Why is the Millennial Revolution considered an unrealistic lifestyle?

Ah I don't want to criticize MR unduly because I think they're a valuable resource for a younger crowd who is just getting started. Their investing ideas are pretty mediocre, I find their financial analyses to be simplistic, and I find their presentation style to be aggravatingly juvenile.

Their greatest limitation, IMHO, is presenting FIRE as an extreme lifestyle - in their case living out of a suitcase in other peoples' homes. I personally want to own a house and a dog and a car - none of which they have, and some of which they love to insult people over - and am happy to work an extra few years to have those things. I feel like this is one of MMM's great advantages, he sold FI as "I have a car and a nice house and nice things, you don't have to sacrifice a normal quality of life".

Of course MR just had a child; I look forward to seeing their ongoing journey.

To each their own - some want to be digital nomads with a blog side hustle, others want quiet anonymity with the normal trappings of the modern day American middle class. However, I suspect that the vast majority of folks aren't interested in full time travel, so that's why I would characterize them as glamorizing an unrealistic lifestyle.

Fair enough. I didn't even know they had a kid. I recall when they first started, they were paying an expensive Canadian financial advisor to manage their investments. I guess things have changed since then.

The kid is new.  I have heard them in interviews this year and found that they are less aggressive now as well.

They are still going to pursue nomadic lifestyle in cheap countries with the kid?

[mizzourah2006]

Speaking only for myself time seems to have changed me and I could see it doing something similar for a lot of these bloggers. Time and the additional safety of getting very close to FI at a much faster pace than expected forced me to confront a few things. We were pretty frugal early on when we had kids. We had two kids in daycare and a mortgage and we were spending around $60k/yr after taxes, about 50-55% of which was the mortgage and the daycare. But as the kids have gotten older, our incomes have risen substantially more than I expected and we're approaching our FatFI # (already hit lean FI) while both enjoying our jobs and the flexibility they provide and having kids in school, it doesn't make sense to deprive my kids of a nice vacation or playing ice hockey or even me playing ice hockey in a beer league just to save an extra $5-10k/yr. I don't anticipate having to pay for my kids to play ice hockey when they are 25 nor do I anticipate myself being able to play ice hockey when I'm 65 (although I sure hope I still can), so I don't think those temporary expenses are inflating my retirement expenses, even if they are doing so today.

I could easily see how a lot of these bloggers went through something similar. Now I do agree with the lack of transparency being an issue, but from their perspective they've turned it into a business and they are catering to their reader base. Leaving out a few "tidbits" that don't add to the story they have crafted is almost certainly purposeful. But for me most of the bloggers FW, MMM, RofG, were useful early on for ideas, but I am mostly just in cruise control now, so how they actually choose to live after their blogs and careers take off is of no real relevance to me. The truth is that following their lead early in my career is what put me in the position I'm in today where money is of little concern to me at this point and I'm grateful for that.

[Just Joe]

I only starting reading these blogs after going to grad school and 3 year post doc, with a not high income career choice, with 2 kids. My intention was I realized I didn't want to be in a situation where I was working till my 70s like my Mom or 80s like my Dad. So maybe not Re according to this blog definition but my own definition. I'm already getting push back from my mom and sister why I would retire 60-62, Instead of the usual 65-67. So I don't talk to them about it.

Similar. Moving back home was never a choice. I get along better with family I don't see often.

There should be a clever acronym for people who utilize FIRE strategies for financial or housing security rather than retiring early.

FINE - financially independent, no expenses?

[Fomerly known as something]

Why is the Millennial Revolution considered an unrealistic lifestyle?

Ah I don't want to criticize MR unduly because I think they're a valuable resource for a younger crowd who is just getting started. Their investing ideas are pretty mediocre, I find their financial analyses to be simplistic, and I find their presentation style to be aggravatingly juvenile.

Their greatest limitation, IMHO, is presenting FIRE as an extreme lifestyle - in their case living out of a suitcase in other peoples' homes. I personally want to own a house and a dog and a car - none of which they have, and some of which they love to insult people over - and am happy to work an extra few years to have those things. I feel like this is one of MMM's great advantages, he sold FI as "I have a car and a nice house and nice things, you don't have to sacrifice a normal quality of life".

Of course MR just had a child; I look forward to seeing their ongoing journey.

To each their own - some want to be digital nomads with a blog side hustle, others want quiet anonymity with the normal trappings of the modern day American middle class. However, I suspect that the vast majority of folks aren't interested in full time travel, so that's why I would characterize them as glamorizing an unrealistic lifestyle.

Fair enough. I didn't even know they had a kid. I recall when they first started, they were paying an expensive Canadian financial advisor to manage their investments. I guess things have changed since then.

The kid is new.  I have heard them in interviews this year and found that they are less aggressive now as well.

They are still going to pursue nomadic lifestyle in cheap countries with the kid?

They are for early kid life, once school age they will make a decision based on the needs of the kid, but it sounds like they would like to “world school” if the kid is good with it.  It sounds like kiddo is about 6 months right now so they have time.

[mathlete]

They are for early kid life, once school age they will make a decision based on the needs of the kid, but it sounds like they would like to “world school” if the kid is good with it.  It sounds like kiddo is about 6 months right now so they have time.

What is "world school"? Traveling home school?

[Fomerly known as something]

They are for early kid life, once school age they will make a decision based on the needs of the kid, but it sounds like they would like to “world school” if the kid is good with it.  It sounds like kiddo is about 6 months right now so they have time.

What is "world school"? Traveling home school?

That’s my impression.

[VanillaGorilla]

Go Curry Cracker posted a 2023 recap today.

Seems like Jeremy's economic optimism is alive and well, and they're really leaning into a FatFIRE lifestyle. I appreciate his willingness to recalibrate based on his experienced economic state, and it reminds me of all the things that can go right as an investor, where mostly people discuss what can go wrong.

Harder to relate to than the plucky young man from a decade ago, working hard and scrimping and pinching to achieve the impossible.

[GilesMM]

Go Curry Cracker posted a 2023 recap today.

Seems like Jeremy's economic optimism is alive and well, and they're really leaning into a FatFIRE lifestyle. I appreciate his willingness to recalibrate based on his experienced economic state, and it reminds me of all the things that can go right as an investor, where mostly people discuss what can go wrong.

Harder to relate to than the plucky young man from a decade ago, working hard and scrimping and pinching to achieve the impossible.

 Curry spent $170,000 last year?? What on earth?

[spartana]

Go Curry Cracker posted a 2023 recap today.

Seems like Jeremy's economic optimism is alive and well, and they're really leaning into a FatFIRE lifestyle. I appreciate his willingness to recalibrate based on his experienced economic state, and it reminds me of all the things that can go right as an investor, where mostly people discuss what can go wrong.

Harder to relate to than the plucky young man from a decade ago, working hard and scrimping and pinching to achieve the impossible.

 Curry spent $170,000 last year?? What on earth?

I think it was $117k but still WOW! Food is $14k, childcare cars $8k, and "miscellaneous" was $27k which didnt say what that included but sounds like stuff from Costco, Amazon and Target lol

[GilesMM]

Go Curry Cracker posted a 2023 recap today.

Seems like Jeremy's economic optimism is alive and well, and they're really leaning into a FatFIRE lifestyle. I appreciate his willingness to recalibrate based on his experienced economic state, and it reminds me of all the things that can go right as an investor, where mostly people discuss what can go wrong.

Harder to relate to than the plucky young man from a decade ago, working hard and scrimping and pinching to achieve the impossible.

 Curry spent $170,000 last year?? What on earth?

I think it was $117k but still WOW! Food is $14k, childcare cars $8k, and "miscellaneous" was $27k which didnt say what that included but sounds like stuff from Costco, Amazon and Target lol

Plus $52K in "transfers" to mortgage, massive credit card debit and savings.

[dandarc]

Go Curry Cracker posted a 2023 recap today.

Seems like Jeremy's economic optimism is alive and well, and they're really leaning into a FatFIRE lifestyle. I appreciate his willingness to recalibrate based on his experienced economic state, and it reminds me of all the things that can go right as an investor, where mostly people discuss what can go wrong.

Harder to relate to than the plucky young man from a decade ago, working hard and scrimping and pinching to achieve the impossible.

 Curry spent $170,000 last year?? What on earth?

I think it was $117k but still WOW! Food is $14k, childcare cars $8k, and "miscellaneous" was $27k which didnt say what that included but sounds like stuff from Costco, Amazon and Target lol

Plus $52K in "transfers" to mortgage, massive credit card debit and savings.

To be fair, half of that $52K is going into IRAs (we don't call that spending here typically either) and they've got cash earning 5% off-setting the $50K at 0% in CC debt.

Edit: Actually nothing listed in that section is necessarily an expense - even the mortgage principal and car loan principal are often not considered expenses. On the car for sure you'd want to record the purchase as an expense, either all up front or depreciating if you're not counting principal payment.

[AnotherEngineer]

Why is the Millennial Revolution considered an unrealistic lifestyle?

Ah I don't want to criticize MR unduly because I think they're a valuable resource for a younger crowd who is just getting started. Their investing ideas are pretty mediocre, I find their financial analyses to be simplistic, and I find their presentation style to be aggravatingly juvenile.

Their greatest limitation, IMHO, is presenting FIRE as an extreme lifestyle - in their case living out of a suitcase in other peoples' homes. I personally want to own a house and a dog and a car - none of which they have, and some of which they love to insult people over - and am happy to work an extra few years to have those things. I feel like this is one of MMM's great advantages, he sold FI as "I have a car and a nice house and nice things, you don't have to sacrifice a normal quality of life".

Of course MR just had a child; I look forward to seeing their ongoing journey.

To each their own - some want to be digital nomads with a blog side hustle, others want quiet anonymity with the normal trappings of the modern day American middle class. However, I suspect that the vast majority of folks aren't interested in full time travel, so that's why I would characterize them as glamorizing an unrealistic lifestyle.

Gorilla, fair assessment and I've read nearly all of all of the blogs you listed. My biggest issue with MR and FW is that they go to all the trouble of writing a case study, but don't actually ask any questions of the poster! So they have to make assumptions. Sometimes the poster seems surprised they were chosen when they post in the comments of their own case study. Incomprehensible laziness or maybe just slapping together on a deadline. Also, ERE's takedown of MR's views on investment strategy and the finances of homeownership are pretty hilarious for an economist: https://earlyretirementnow.com/2019/10/16/how-to-lie-with-personal-finance-part-2-homeownership/

My blog reading suggestions are:

• find someone in your life stage, family status, income, priorities, etc, even if that is where that popular blogger was 10 years ago
• in fact, only reading posts from 10 years ago is probably a good filter
• don't idolize them or take every detail to seriously, but see what they offer, e.g., RootofGood for college on a budget; GCC, ERN and MadFIentist for serious number crunching; FW for how and why to make your own hummus and fizzy water; 1500Days and newer MMM for lifestyle/value musings, and older MMM and all JLCollinsNH for well-rounded good advice 
• Vet everything you hear for how it aligns with your situation and their authority. I wouldn't read FW for homesteading advice, for instance, nor shape my FIRE based on MR.
• Don't  expect or demand too much of the bloggers and be grateful when they stop posting instead of the many undesirable alternatives of monetization. Godspeed Profit Greenly and Mr Crazy Kicks!

[NorthernIkigai]

This is very good advice. I’m already doing a version of the “read blog posts from 10 years ago” by randomly jumping into the forum for discussions that are about the same age.

The expectations around here were different then, it’s interesting to read people’s thoughts knowing how things turned out later (both on a macro level and even for some individuals), and it’s easy to just pick those topics that yielded long conversations.

[Fru-Gal]

I’ve defended FS for years on this forum for various reasons. I receive his occasional newsletter.

Today I’m pissed, because it’s become increasingly obvious he’s pro-Trump and today’s newsletter took the cake. He writes:

A heated Oval Office meeting took place with Zelensky, Trump, Vance, Rubio, and a room full of reporters. Zelensky made a cryptic remark: "In war, everyone has problems. You have nice oceans. You don’t feel it now, but you will feel it in the future."
 
Since English is Zelensky’s second language, it’s possible he didn’t express himself exactly as intended. But his words sounded like a warning that the U.S. could face future attacks if it doesn’t support Ukraine—something that Trump and Vance did not take kindly to. For now, no peace agreement is in sight.

Wow. Blows my mind that he can interpret this exchange in this way. Zelenskyy has made the same point many times with European leaders, and it seems obvious that what he’s saying is that appeasing Russia and failing to defend Ukraine will only result in Russia turning its sights on other neighboring countries and eventually all of Europe — and even the US. How can Sam /FS possibly defend a country that has threatened to nuke London RECENTLY?!

The only explanation I can think of is that Dogen wants tax cuts.

Anyway, FUCK Sam Dogen/Financial Samurai.

[Metalcat]

I’ve defended FS for years on this forum for various reasons. I receive his occasional newsletter.

Today I’m pissed, because it’s become increasingly obvious he’s pro-Trump and today’s newsletter took the cake. He writes:

A heated Oval Office meeting took place with Zelensky, Trump, Vance, Rubio, and a room full of reporters. Zelensky made a cryptic remark: "In war, everyone has problems. You have nice oceans. You don’t feel it now, but you will feel it in the future."
 
Since English is Zelensky’s second language, it’s possible he didn’t express himself exactly as intended. But his words sounded like a warning that the U.S. could face future attacks if it doesn’t support Ukraine—something that Trump and Vance did not take kindly to. For now, no peace agreement is in sight.

Wow. Blows my mind that he can interpret this exchange in this way. Zelenskyy has made the same point many times with European leaders, and it seems obvious that what he’s saying is that appeasing Russia and failing to defend Ukraine will only result in Russia turning its sights on other neighboring countries and eventually all of Europe — and even the US. How can Sam /FS possibly defend a country that has threatened to nuke London RECENTLY?!

The only explanation I can think of is that Dogen wants tax cuts.

Anyway, FUCK Sam Dogen/Financial Samurai.

Really??

I don't find this position at all surprising coming from him. It fits perfectly with his very strongly represented identity and ideology that he's freely shared over the years.

I'm kind of surprised that you're surprised by this.

I mean, yeah, fuck Sam Dogen, but this is very consistent for him.

[Zikoris]

I don't know why you'd be surprised that a random person supported the political party that won the election? Statistically that's going to be a pretty regular occurrence. Maybe you live in a bubble where everyone in your immediate circle believes exactly the same things, but obviously that's not representative of the general population.

[Fru-Gal]

I'm surprised at his specific interpretation of events quoted in my post. It's shocking to see someone twist events to fit their perspective. But I'm also always grateful for alternate takes on things. Dogen is parroting a take that does not comport with the history of the involved countries.

[Metalcat]

I'm surprised at his specific interpretation of events quoted in my post. It's shocking to see someone twist events to fit their perspective. But I'm also always grateful for alternate takes on things. Dogen is parroting a take that does not comport with the history of the involved countries.

It's very normal for people who live in regions where politics are a matter of personal identity to be able to twist whatever is happening to fit with that identity narrative.

People are not rational creatures, they're rationalizing creatures.

I spend my days deconstructing people's identity constructs. It's not reasonable to expect people to behave rationally, no such person exists.

As I said before, this framing is highly compatible with what we've seen from him and his world view for years. I don't find it at all surprising.

[Fru-Gal]

I'm surprised at his specific interpretation of events quoted in my post. It's shocking to see someone twist events to fit their perspective. But I'm also always grateful for alternate takes on things. Dogen is parroting a take that does not comport with the history of the involved countries.

It's very normal for people who live in regions where politics are a matter of personal identity to be able to twist whatever is happening to fit with that identity narrative.

People are not rational creatures, they're rationalizing creatures.

I spend my days deconstructing people's identity constructs. It's not reasonable to expect people to behave rationally, no such person exists.

As I said before, this framing is highly compatible with what we've seen from him and his world view for years. I don't find it at all surprising.

Yeah, to your point, he lives in San Francisco and runs in VC-adjacent wealthy circles. Very useful to see the mental machinations from plutocrats living in the city that produced monarchist Yarvin. That is definitely a minority position in San Francisco.