This column was originally published in VentureBeat by editor-in-chief Dylan Tweney and is reprinted here with permission. When Kleiner Perkins cofounder Tom Perkins wrote on Friday that a "progressive Kristallnacht" is coming, reaction was swift and severe.

Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt are all billionaires, many times over—which you might think disqualifies them from buying cheap vacation gas from the military to keep their private aircraft fueled in government-owned hangars. Incorrect.

If I didn't live on an island I would have a Tesla! - @richardbranson

Oh, Sean. This isn't how you get people on your side.

Software wealth emperor Larry Ellison, whose riches can now only be measured in parts of the Earth he legally owns, has reached a new mega-money milestone, the New York Times reports: His plans for the America's Cup sailing race are so expensive, dangerous, and insane, everyone else is quitting.

Boats, part of Hawaii, and now $200 mil worth of luxury Malibu real estate—tech billionaire Larry Ellison's eternal spending spree crusade continues. This is how you stay busy when you're the third richest man in America.

Gather round, campers, turn down the lantern, and prepare for a story from our friends at Bloomberg. A story of two rich, good looking men, ripped by the claws of fortune and fate as they struggle to create a website for other rich people. This is a true story.