> I think he's made a lot of money investing in startups
That's not how I see it.
He got lucky being in one of the first YC batches, had his failing start-up Loopt acquired for a very slight premium over all investments up to that point.
Then for some reason Paul Graham made him CEO of YC. Now, Paul is anything but dumb so obviously Sam Altman has some qualities and quite possibly he will be instrumental in leveling up YC. But so far all that has happened is that he's tended the garden that others have built.
Making money when you start with a large pile of money is a reasonably sure thing.
I believe he made a good amount of money investing independent of YC before he joined. He was a scout for sequoia and invested from his proceeds from the sale of loopt. That doesn't necessarily qualify him to lead YC but I do think he has an angel investing track record independent of YC that is quite good compared to peers. But you're right, his relationship with PG probably had more to do with him getting his current job
That's not how I see it.
He got lucky being in one of the first YC batches, had his failing start-up Loopt acquired for a very slight premium over all investments up to that point.
Then for some reason Paul Graham made him CEO of YC. Now, Paul is anything but dumb so obviously Sam Altman has some qualities and quite possibly he will be instrumental in leveling up YC. But so far all that has happened is that he's tended the garden that others have built.
Making money when you start with a large pile of money is a reasonably sure thing.