Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya has drawn a comparison between companies that adopt a “woke” ideology and those that largely shun the philosophy, suggesting that the latter are doing better financially as consumers shun the former over their progressive stance.
Southern Financial Advance
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the CEO of venture capital firm Social Capital said southern US states were outperforming their counterparts in the north of the country, where more companies typically adhere to a progressive ideology, while in the south they tend to be more conservative.
‘Higher GDP in South’
Palihapitiya wrote: “Go woke, go broke … For the first time ever, six states in the South – Florida, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee – are contributing more to US GDP than the northeast corridor of Washington-New York-Boston.”
‘Swing in Income’
The Sri Lanka-born entrepreneur continued: “Just in the past few years, there has been a $160B swing in income between these two groups (South + $100B, NE – $60B).”
Due to Ideology?
And Palihapitiya asked: “Is the major differences between these two groups only ideology? Or is it something else like genetics, health, etc., etc. that I’m not understanding?”
‘Which Companies?’
Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban didn’t waste any time answering Palihapitiya’s questions, responding directly on X by asking: “Can you name one woke company that has gone broke?”
List of Bankrupt Firms
Palihapitiya then shared a list of 473 companies that had gone bust, saying “this list isn’t entirely of woke companies but I suspect a few of these companies fit the bill.”
‘Weak List’
The list drew the ire of Cuban, a businessman, investor and Shark Tank star. He blasted on X as the pair continued their discussion: “A list of STARTUPS failing is weak, and you know it Chamath.”
Another Bust List
Palihapitiya then dropped another link into the X debate – a Wikipedia page showing companies that went bust in 2022. He said “[t]his includes many non startups and is for 2022 only, but other years are linked therein. I’m sure some of these will also meet the mark.”
Hitting Back
The chat between the two then fizzled out when Cuban said that if Palihapitiya was “so sure” about companies that have shuttered due to their woke ideology, he should “just list them” himself.
Woke Ideology
The term “woke” generally means being aware – or more aware than other people – of issues relating to social and racial inequality. In recent years it has broadened to encompass issues like LGBTQ and transgender rights. Some major corporations have adopted wokeism in their marketing and advertising, sometimes with disastrous results.
Bud Light Controversy
Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, Missouri, faced a severe backlash from drinkers of its Bud Light products when it hired a transgender influencer to advertise the beer. Conservative Bud Light consumers were enraged by Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman, promoting their drink and switched to rival beers, boycotting the brand. Sales of Bud Light plunged by up to 26 percent, the company’s stock price crashed by 20 percent and Bud Light was no longer America’s top-selling beer.
Gillette Boycott
Shaving and personal care brand Gillette, owned by Cincinnati-based conglomerate Procter & Gamble, was also accused of going woke when it ran a “toxic masculinity” ad, with many men viewing it as a lecture on how to behave. A boycott also erupted and many men who bought Gillette razors and shaving foams and gels changed to other brands.
Costco
Retailer Costco has been branded the “most woke company” in the United States, over a range of LGBTQ merchandise it introduced in its stores. Many customers were also outraged and knocked over pride signs in some stores, forcing the retailer to pull the items from some stores for what it said was the safety and wellbeing of its staff.
Cuban’s Final Thoughts
Cuban wrote on X what he thought about the issue surrounding companies and the so-called “go woke, go broke” mantra. “Personally, I don’t think what happened to any of these companies had anything to do with being Woke, or Partisan. Not even close.”
‘About Social Media’
Cuban added: “I think this is about social media being so performative. Come up with something that gets people amped up, and leverage it as far as it will take you.”
‘Performance Art’
And he concluded by saying: “Last thing I care about is who is mad about who or what company because they are woke or conservative. That’s all just performative art on social media these days. I’ll pick what I like because I like it.”
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