Manifestation: BBC NEWS | Business | Profile: Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Monday, April 11, 2005

At 1:30 AM, David said...: I have heard of this guy and his oil company Yukos. I'm not sure what I think of him. In general, I don't particularly like business tycoons. They often build their wealth at the expense of the very hard work of thousands of people who do not share in that financial success. However, they are not all bad. Andrew Carnegie was the world's richest man around the year 1900. He made his money by creating the modern steel industry. he was ruthless to his employees and associates, however, late in life, he had a change of heart and he began to give all his money away. Even today, his charitable endowments still exist and they still are helping people. A more modern tycoon named Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart. While he was alive, all his employees were treated very well and were given opportunities to buy stock in the company. Thousands of his early employees are very wealthy today. Unfortunately, his children, who run the company now, are very greedy and don't care at all about the employees. Maybe Khodorkovsky is not such a bad guy. Maybe, as the article suggests, he was arrested because he wants Russia to be more democratic. Well, I'm in favor of that. I think that Putin has way too much power. In the Soviet times, he used to run the KGB. He is a man used to great power, and it seems unlikely that he will willingly give up his power. I think that the outcome of Khodorkovsky's trial could be very important for Russia's future.