Billionaire Golden State Warriors Co-Owner Chamath Palihapitiya Is In Hot Water For Ignoring Uyghur Abuse
ByJoey Heldon January 21, 2022inArticles›Billionaire News
When you’re a billionaire, people tend to listen a bit more closely to what you have to say. Of course, it’s unreasonable to think more money automatically makes people more intelligent and well-spoken—in fact, we’ve seen the opposite happen quite a few times—but that feeling still persists. If the dollars are there, so is the audience.
Chamath Palihapitiya , billionaire investor and Golden State Warriors minority owner, just had a crash course in this harsh reality.
During an episode of the “All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg” podcast, Palihapitiya participated in a discussion around the Uyghur genocide. For those who do not know. the U.S. has accused China of genocide while repressing the Uyghur minority—a largely Muslim region—of the Xinjiang region in China.
Palihapitiya, who served as an early Facebook executive and has invested in several startups through the Embarcadero Ventures venture capital fund, said the genocide doesn’t concern him—and his words aren’t sitting well with people.
Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
“Let’s be honest, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, okay?” Palihapitiya said. “You bring it up because you really care. And I think that’s nice that you care. The rest of us don’t care. I’m telling you a very hard, ugly truth, okay? Of all the things that I care about, yes, it is below my line.”
Palihapitiya tweeted an apology , saying “important issues deserve nuanced discussions” and that he “come[s] across as lacking empathy.” But not everyone is buying the apology.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom has been one of the league’s most outspoken players on social injustices around the world. He shared the clip, adding “when genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen.”
When @NBA says we stand for justice, don’t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like @chamath the owner of @warriors , who says “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs” When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen Shame! pic.twitter.com/27j2GxGhCU — Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) January 17, 2022
Palihapitiya chipped-in a little bit of money when the Warriors were acquired in for $450 million in 2010. His owns roughly 10% of the team today and he remains a board member. Let’s say he chipped in $45 million in 2010. Today the Warriors are worth $5.5 BILLION. So that 10% stake is now worth $550 million – $100 million more than the team’s entire value 12 years ago.
The Warriors released a statement saying Palihapitiya’s views don’t reflect those of the organization and claimed he was “a limited investor with no day-to-day operating functions.”
Though Palihapitiya is facing backlash online, he hasn’t yet seen any repercussions from any organizations he works with. However, with the Winter Olympics in Beijing less than a month away, the spotlight on China and its relations with Uyghurs, Hong Kong, and the United States will shine brighter.
With that added focus, perhaps people like Palihapitiya will be a bit more careful with their words.
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The Warriors Will Spend $82 Million On This Player Next Season — And It’s Not Who You’d Think
ByJoey Heldon November 25, 2020inArticles›Sports News
Thanks to myriad injuries, the Golden State Warriors were the worst team in the NBA last year. As a result, they received the number two pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, selecting Memphis big man James Wiseman. While they won’t be the favorite in the West, the Warriors should be better this season.
However, they’re spending a ton of money to compete. In fact, they’ll pay a whopping $82.4 million for one player.
This player must be a star, right? Surely it’s someone like Steph Curry or Klay Thompson , or even Draymond Green , a multi-tool player that makes his teammates better. Maybe Kevin Durant is returning to the Bay Area?
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Nope, it’s journeyman wing Kelly Oubre Jr. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski , the Warriors traded a 2021 protected first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Oubre.
It was the second time in less than a week that Oubre got traded. He had been playing for the Phoenix Suns but was moved in a trade for Chris Paul .
Oubre wasted no time in taking shots at his former team, particularly Suns owner Robert Sarver . In an interview with 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, he expressed his excitement at playing for the Warriors.
“I can play for an owner — somebody who actually cares about the organization and not just the perception of the organization on the media end of it,” Oubre said. “It’s all about the foundation for me, man. You have a beautiful foundation, can build a beautiful [future].”
The Warriors acquired Oubre after Thompson went down with a season-ending Achilles injury. Oubre’s 2020-21 salary will only be $14.4 million, but the Warriors are already well over the salary cap. The way the league’s luxury tax rules work, teams pay additional money for every dollar they’re over the salary cap.
Golden State tax bill is currently $66M The addition of Kelly Oubre would see it increase to $134M $14.4M of Oubre + $68M in taxes= $82.4M — Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 19, 2020
Oubre sadly won’t receive any of that additional $68 million, which will go to the league instead. But it’s a stunning price to pay for a player who won’t replace Thompson on either the offensive or defensive end of the floor.
He’s only 24, and maybe the Warriors are hoping he continues to improve on his career-best season last year, where he scored 18.7 points and grabbed 6.7 rebounds per game. However, this is only a one-year deal. It’s entirely possible Oubre — who again, was primarily brought in to replace Klay Thompson for this season only — leaves for a bigger role next summer.
We’ll have to see how that shakes out. For now, the Warriors and owner Joe Lacob are totally fine paying a premium for their new player.
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