Google Founders Buy Fighter Jet

Ponca City, We love you writes "The NY Times reports that H211 LLC, a company controlled by Google's top executives, including billionaire founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, appears to have added to its fleet a Dornier Alpha Jet, a light jet attack and advanced trainer aircraft manufactured by Dornier of Germany and Dassault-Breguet of France. The 1982 Alpha-Jet seats two and was originally used by European air forces, but is now being sold relatively cheaply to civilians. The jet has landing rights at Moffett Field, the NASA-operated airfield that is a stone's throw from the Google campus. It is not clear who exactly flies the fighter jet, although Google chief executive Eric Schmidt is an avid pilot. If the top Googlers indeed own the fighter jet, they would be following in the footsteps of Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison, who has owned several aircraft, including fighter jets."

Comments

Pot, meet Kettle

[Thiez]

I see you own a computer. Surely you could have sent your money to Africa instead?

Re:Pot, meet Kettle

[turtledawn]

Hmm. Using the fighter jet to take out clumps of corrupt African officials may be the single best piece of charity Sergei and Brin could ever offer them, as at least them the money us regular folks send over might have a chance of actually reaching the citizens and being used for its intended purposes. :-)

Re:Pot, meet Kettle

[DaveV1.0]

Wouldn't work. What ever governments replaced the ones wiped out would become corrupt in a few, short years. Just look at Zimbabwe if you need an example.

Re:Pot, meet Kettle

[Anonymous Coward]

Larry and Sergey have shown unquestionably that they are utterly out of touch.

Lets see... you state a bunch of things going on in a country, then you use that as a basis to criticize how private personal funds are used by private personal people to buy something they want? Really? Who's the one out of touch? Have you bought anything recently... like say a video game, movie, or music? Then you're as much as fault as these guys, who happen to just have more spending power than you and you're jealous about it.

I won't go into the fact that these guys probably just saved a few people their jobs by spending their money... but oh well.

Re:That's right, mods

[somersault]

So everyone with more money than you should give it all to charity?

You think those starving children in Africa wouldn't go out for a meal at a fancy restaurant if they were given a billion pounds? Then perhaps buy some nice shoes? They could just use it to buy everyone in their country just the right amount of food to make sure they're not classed as 'starving' for a while, but I highly suspect they might want to enjoy themselves a little too. They might even buy a bike or a car. You know, some people like to have fun occasionally, when it is within their means?

I'm very sure Larry and Sergey have caused more money to go to charity than you ever will. Just because they also want to use their money - money that they have earned by creating an excellent business - to have a bit of fun doesn't make them evil. It's easy to point the finger, but I bet you'd buy a nice car and house if you were a billionaire, rather than live in a slum. Any of us slashdotters could survive on a lot less than what we have. Why do you even have a slashdot account and access to a computer? Why aren't you out there earning as much money as you can so that you can redistribute the wealth?

The problem is not with our "consumerist culture", it's with corrupt and moronic governments who run their countries into the ground and treat their citizens like shit. No amount of charity is going to turn a country like that around if its leaders are corrupt.

Re:Far out thought

[BlowHole666]

This is beyond the realm of reality so cut me some slack... Corporations (or their top execs) are starting to buy military hardware. Do you think we will ever see a corporation declare war on another corporation? Gives a whole new meaning to hostile takeover...

You mean like the East India Company?

It's a trainer

[confused one]

It's an advanced trainer. It's a toy. (albeit a rich man's toy). What's the big deal -- he already owns several aircraft. This isn't even uncommon.

Now, if you told me he bought a couple of fully armed F22's, THAT would be news. (you may, of course, substitute your plane of choice for the F22)

Re:That's right, mods

[MBGMorden]

Hmmmm. And Sarah Palin's $150,000 was also good fiscal prudence, too?

I'm not voting for her either way, but I fail to see why people pounce on her for this. She's a public figure that is engaging in the mother of all popularity contests. Like it or not, appearance makes a HUGE difference to the American people. That $150,000 is an investment in her campaign plain and simple. If she stood up there in K-mart clothes people would have perceived her as less sophisticated.

Essentially, consider it part of the advertising budget. When you're trying to sell yourself to a nation packaging is important.