> They don’t realize how much sidling up to FTX is gonna fuck them, do they?
Why would it fuck them? On the longtermist thinking that it's now clear has been at the core of EA from the beginning, there is no dollar better spent than a dollar spent internally on EA salaries, promotion, facilities, etc. This stuff isn't a momentary lapse of judgment, it's the outcome well-founded on the principles that the EA management have not lost the slightest commitment to.
Some of the useful idiots who buy their public-facing advertising message will be perturbed for a bit, but that's nothing another couple million dollars of astroturf won't fix.
Yeah, I doubt much comes of this. They *effectively* buried this asset into another non-profit organization, and they will be able to run it under whatever blanket terms they wish. "Rationalism" has had a "hit" from this but it will probably go quietly back to being a grift. I mean, how could they not continue grifting with these castles as staging grounds for their donors?
Found more about the castle: https://www.chateau-hostacov.cz/en/contact
They made him remove the address of the castle: [EDIT removed addresses at request of Irena. The larger point is that the addresses on the websites of ESPR, The Czech Association for Effective Altruisms and EA Prague don't include this chateau.]
Almost $5 million dollar chateau in Vysočina, I went on a reality site (to look up prices) and we're talking a massive building. Will be interesting if people can find it.
edit: I found it! https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/ftx-krypto-burza-bankman-fried-kryptomeny_2212060500_sto
All public information. Shame that they would make this LW user censor their post.
That's incredibly dumb of them. Posting an individual's address is more than a tiny bit sus, but organizations don't have anywhere close to the same privacy rights legally or morally. Especially when they put the address on their own website!
I didn't post the actual address just the name of the castle and location. This shit is so bonkers it belies belief. I am sure they are trying to hide more assets as we speak.
” You accuse me of making false claims yet this response doesn’t say
which claims in either my post or my comment are false. In fact, you
don’t even quote my writing at all, and the comment is mainly about why
you think this project is a good idea.”
To have one multi million dollar castle and then now another multi
million dollar real estate purchase, I think this is probably the tip of
the iceberg on questionable spending. It seems to me that EA developed
as a critique of bad charity spending but without recognizing why some
charitable organizations evolved into cludgy behemoths throwing money
after their own salaries, they are going to travel the same path. The
secrecy involved around some of this spending also seems like a
relatively straight forward admission that they know it will look
bad.
No worries, I also have no idea how much of this is true. But just the idea that there [is a second](https://i.imgflip.com/73ygyp.jpg) (perhaps a third? Come on EA release an extended org chart and all their assets, show us the castles, yachts and megamansions!) castle is funny as fuck.
It gets better: ["Are you suggesting everybody returns all the stolen money?"](https://old.reddit.com/r/EffectiveAltruism/comments/zhwf03/espr_should_return_the_ftxfunded_chateau/izofa7c/)
They admit to it here (on the other castle post, probably to bury the fact that it is a **second** castle): https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/xof7iFB3uh8Kc53bG/why-did-cea-buy-wytham-abbey?commentId=KWnqd6Hw5BdEbeKD3
This is amazing. Imagine just getting millions of dollars and being able to buy your own castle because SBF just throws other peoples money at you.
effective feudalism
Lol, I love how the response from the community is “nuh-huh, no we didn’t”. They don’t realize how much sidling up to FTX is gonna fuck them, do they?
wat
” You accuse me of making false claims yet this response doesn’t say which claims in either my post or my comment are false. In fact, you don’t even quote my writing at all, and the comment is mainly about why you think this project is a good idea.”
Bob slowly realizing what EA is all about.
Looks like that user tried to explain the benefits of socialist firms in their last post. It went over about as well as you would expect.
Thank you Mario, but our altruism is in another castle!
The difference between FTX and CEA: one uses embezzled money to buy properties in the bahamas, the other…. yeah.
Now if you ask me they could have picked a more interesting post-Soviet country to play Dr Doom in
lol, lmao.
How many sex party venues do you need?
“… to acquire a second castle looks like carelessness.”
To have one multi million dollar castle and then now another multi million dollar real estate purchase, I think this is probably the tip of the iceberg on questionable spending. It seems to me that EA developed as a critique of bad charity spending but without recognizing why some charitable organizations evolved into cludgy behemoths throwing money after their own salaries, they are going to travel the same path. The secrecy involved around some of this spending also seems like a relatively straight forward admission that they know it will look bad.
This is the exact same castle as the last one, though? unless I’m missing a joke here :P