The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google

by Scott Galloway

Google is a whole lot cuter than Microsoft. And Sergey and Larry are more likable than Bill and Steve. Immigrants, nice-looking guys, a great story. Marissa Mayer: very compelling. Wisconsin, engineer, blonde, future Vogue photo feature. It’s no accident Google sent Ms. Mayer to Senate hearings to opine regarding the slaughter of newspapers at the hands of Google . . . Oops, I mean the future. When faced with tough questions like “How is the fourth estate going to survive if Google kills the newspaper classified business?” Ms. Mayer responded: “It’s still early.”8 Early? It was the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter for newspapers. The gray-haired senators ate it up. Who wants to be the insurance salesman elected to Congress (the most prevalent career of the House of Representatives)9 who raises his hand and says, “I’m the guy who does NOT get it. I don’t like Apple.” Apple is the largest tax avoider in the history of U.S. business,10 but Apple is hip, and everyone wants to be friends with the cool kid. Same with Amazon, because e-commerce is hip and cool vs. lame and old, traditional retail. In March 2017 Amazon decided to pay sales tax in every state.11 Here’s a company now worth more than Walmart that until 2014 was only paying state sales tax in five states. The benefit of the subsidy has eclipsed $1 billion. Did Amazon need a $1 billion government subsidy? By purposefully managing their business at breakeven, Amazon has built a firm approaching half a trillion d...