If I ruled the world...

Imagine being one of the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth, developing multiple successful companies that are not only lucrative but have a great and meaningful impact on society. Imagine having unlimited resources and dedicating them to actual, practical problem solving. And imagine also having a sense of humor.

The running stereotype for mega billionaire tech geniuses was as a dorky, anti-social egghead who could not see beyond the tips of his own glasses... see this guy.

Then, the hip, bearded Steve Jobs came along. Charismatic, innovative, and with a clear eye for design. Jobs knew how to make and market a product that appealed to regular people and their aesthetics, but even he came across as an egomaniac, driven but self-centered.

Like Jobs and Gates, Elon Musk started his first company in a garage-sized office with a minimal budget and tiny workforce. And, like many billionaires he's had many more failures than successes. It takes a certain type of personality to fail (Zip2, a digital map application founded with his brother), fail again (X.com, an email payment processing application) and not give up. These are usually ruthless Type A brains who come across as humorless. The kind who wear the same polo shirt or black turtleneck every day. But there's something very different about Elon.

I've seen several interviews with him, and followed Tesla, SpaceX and his lesser known Boring Company very closely. I've even put in a pre-order for a Cybertruck. I like what he's doing as a problem solver. And if he does end up owning Twitter, I may actually log back in for the first time in years.

But it did get me thinking, given his M.O., why overpay for Twitter right now? It's a given that Musk started Tesla because he knew the future of battery tech wouldn't develop fast enough for electric cars to be standardized by traditional auto companies. His SpaceX work is primarily because he sees colonization of Mars a priority for the continuation of the species. I can only assume that his Twitter play is because he sees what a problem freedom of speech on a digital environment has become. Could this be a sea-change for the healthy dissemination of ideas? We shall see. But I'm cautiously optimistic, especially given Elon's ability to laugh at himself.