~snip~
I can imagine how a billionaire just wanted to show off being out with friends or so. They might have been talking trash and one guy just said hey let's have some fun, anyone believing that I am going to bet this amount on that outcome? Sure he never expected to lose it, but the thrill is still there for anyone seeing it and secretly hoping that this unlikely event turns into reality. It is not about the few thousand dollars I think. The guy who bet that amount just wanted to show he has the balls to do it. We don't know what the set up was like, whether they are filthy rich, had been drunk or on drugs and just pushed each other to this absurd bet. If it was a billionaire, I am sure he still slept well. 1.4 million dollars is a lot to Elon Musk, but he can keep his smile burning through 200 billion dollars because the share prices fell, I think he could even afford some fun with friends and lose 1.4 million with a chance of less than one in a hundred.
It's interesting that we presume billionaires can't lose that much money. I can only imagine the exhilaration of the gamble. Who would take such a huge risk? Was it a power play or a risk worth taking?
One wonders what drives such a person. Did they have too much money to spend or were they playing a game? Maybe they wanted to win big! It's logical that such a massive stake fascinates others.
Billionaires have human feelings and desires. Losing 1.4 million dollars affects Elon Musk. I hope the individual who placed the bet could do so without any negative consequences and sleep well, knowing they took a risk few others would. But who in their right mind would risk such an amount on an unlikely event?