Billionaire Twitter Battle: ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Debate Heats Up

Chamath Palihapitiya and Mark Cuban spar over the impact of woke companies and the effectiveness of boycotts.

July 1, 2023 2 min read

Billionaire Twitter Battle: ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Debate Heats Up

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reacts during a timeout in the game against the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Center on March 22, 2023 in Dallas, Texas.The tweet battle with Palihapitiya comes after Cuban showed support for companies that choose to embrace “woke” ideology, which he called good for businesses. PHOTO BY TIM HEITMAN/GETTY IMAGES

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Two well-known billionaires and investors are duking it on Twitter over the belief that companies that go woke often go broke. The debate comes as companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) and Target Corp (NYSE: TGT) have faced boycotts over their support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Palihapitiya responded that it could have been several items that led to the changing of the guard.

“My guess is that SALT (state and local taxes) lit the fuse and Covid added the gas. I think generally, most people want: 1) decent weather 2) good job 3) low taxes 4) gvt that stays out of their way 5) nice neighbors.”

Cuban Chimes In: Billionaire investor and NBA team owner Cuban wasn’t a fan of Palihapitiya’s tweet and responded with “Can you name one woke company that has gone broke?”

Palihapitiya responded with a link listing 452 startups that have failed.

“This list isn’t entirely of woke companies, but I suspect a few of these companies fit the bill&mldr;” Palihapitiya said.

Cuban wasn’t a fan of the link or the suggestion that startups could be examples.

“A list of STARTUPS failing is weak and you know it Chamath,” Cuban said.

Cuban went on to say that “most startups fail. Saying some failed because he ‘suspects’ they may be woke is ridiculous and he knows it” of Palihapitiya.

Palihapitiya then shared a list of companies that went bankrupt in 2022.

“This 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,” Palihapitiya said.

Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya shared an article on Twitter that showed people were moving to states in the South. The tweet prompted a sharp response from Mark Cuban, who has been speaking out recently on the limited impact of boycotts to woke brands.Go woke, go broke.PHOTO BY MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES

Cuban also cited the performance of Papa John’s International Inc (NASDAQ: PZZA), which he called a conservative company.

Cuban said Bud Light didn’t do anything wrong and people like Kid Rock saw an opportunity to get people fired up.

“Last thing I care about is who is mad about who or what company because they are woke or conservative. That’s all just performance art on social media these days. I’ll pick what I like because I like it.”

Radio host Clay Travis chimed in on the debate to have a “long-form conversation” with Cuban.

“I’ll lay out what I think, you lay out what you think. Long-form, no short soundbite cuts,” Travis said.

Cuban said they could debate on Twitter.

With Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg gearing up for a potential cage match to settle their disagreements, could Cuban and Palihapitiya be the next to enter the ring?

Produced in association with Benzinga